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WORK HEALTH AND SAFETY LEGISLATION
PROGRESS ON WA'S NEW WORK HEALTH AND SAFETY LAWS The work health and safety (WHS) reforms represent the most significant change to workplace health and safety laws in over 30 years, with new legislation bringing together all industries under one Act, the Work Health and Safety Act 2020 (WHS Act).
WA’s Work Health and Safety legislation is not expected to come into force until January 2022. This means that the current occupational, mines safety and petroleum safety legislation still applies.
On 11 March 2021, the State Government announced that it would enact three sets of WHS regulations, covering mines, petroleum, geothermal energy and general workplaces by January 2022.
SUPPORTING MATERIALS
The new laws will harmonise WA with other States and Territories (except Victoria), enabling businesses to comply with similar requirements in each State and Territory. However, some provisions have been tailored to suit WA workplaces.
The Department is developing systems and tools to implement the new WHS laws. This involves reviewing, changing and developing more than 3,000 documents and systems, including:
The Department and the Regulator (WorkSafe Commissioner) are gearing up for the implementation of the new laws. Detailed instructions for drafting the regulations have been provided to the Parliamentary Counsel’s Office, responsible for drafting the legislation, taking stakeholder feedback into account. Industry, unions and other stakeholders continue to provide advice on the implementation of the WHS regime through current advisory committees.
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Instructions have also been prepared to detail transitional arrangements, which will phase in some requirements over the next few years, providing industry with more time to comply.
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codes of practice policies and procedures forms and notices prosecution and enforcement processes notification and triaging processes online systems staff training courses licensing processes systems and forms guidance material communications (website pages, social media, publications, information sessions, etc.).
