Work Health and Safety Act 2020

The main object of this Act is to provide for a balanced and nationally consistent framework to secure the health and safety of workers and workplaces by —

protecting workers and other persons against harm to their health, safety and welfare through the elimination or minimisation of risks arising from work; and

providing for fair and effective workplace representation, consultation, cooperation and issue resolution in relation to work health and safety; and

fostering cooperation and consultation between, and providing for the participation of, the following persons in the formulation and implementation of work health and safety standards to current levels of technical knowledge and development and encouraging those persons to take a constructive role in promoting improvements in work health and safety practices —

workers;

persons conducting businesses or undertakings;

unions;

employer organisations;

promoting the provision of advice, information, education and training in relation to work health and safety; and

securing compliance with this Act through effective and appropriate compliance and enforcement measures; and

ensuring appropriate scrutiny and review of actions taken by persons exercising powers and performing functions under this Act; and

providing a framework for continuous improvement and progressively higher standards of work health and safety; and

providing for the formulation of policies, and for the coordination of the administration of laws, relating to work health and safety; and

maintaining and strengthening the national harmonisation of laws relating to work health and safety and to facilitate a consistent national approach to work health and safety in the State.

In furthering subsection (1)(a), regard must be had to the principle that workers and other persons should be given the highest level of protection against harm to their health, safety and welfare from hazards and risks arising from work as is reasonably practicable.

some Part, Division and section numbers are included in this Act although they are not used for this State; and

alphanumeric numbers are used in this Act for some sections that are inserted for this State.