Occupational Health & Safety Legal Framework

Creating and maintaining a healthy and safe workplace requires an integrated approach involving government, employers and employees. As with other work practices, OHS is supported and enforced at several levels, being:

• Acts,
• Regulations,
• Codes of practice, and
• Industry standards and guidance notes.

The Acts and Regulations are legally enforceable. The codes of practice, standards and guidance notes are more specific and provide information on how to implement legal requirements. The controlling body for health and safety within Australia is the National Occupational Health and Safety Commission (NOHSC), also known as Worksafe Australia. Each state or territory also has its own regulatory OHS body. Some relevant websites are:

• Occupational Health and Safety Act 1991
• Australian Safety and Compensation Council
• Index of National Codes of Practice and Guidance Notes

State Bodies

• Victorian WorkCover Authority
• WorkCover Authority New South Wales (NSW)
• Workplace Health and Safety Queensland
• WorkCover Corporation of South Australia
• Worksafe Western Australia
• Workplace Standards Tasmania
• Northern Territory Work Health Authority
• Australian Capital Territory (ACT) WorkCover

The Acts all specify that final responsibility for providing a healthy and safe workplace rests with the employer and requires employers to monitor OHS conditions in their workplace. They also require employees to carry out their work in a way that ensures their own health and safety and that of others in the workplace.