With an estimated 630,000 Australians suffering a work-related injury each year, the Australian government has introduced harmonisation of work health and safety (WHS) laws.

1. Harmonisation of work health
& safety laws in Australia
Harmonisation of work health
& safety laws in Australia
Work health and safety (WHS) is a major issue in Australia,
with the Australian Government estimating that:
• Over 630,000 Australians suffer a work-related injury every year
• Between 2003 and 2015 over 3,200 Australian workers
were killed in work-related incidents
Harmonisation of WHS laws
In 2008, ministers agreed that the use of model legislation was the most effective way to achieve
harmonisation of WHS laws to create a seamless national economy.
(In all, there have been more than 150 statutes to regulate health and safety at work across Australia in the mid-1990s.)
The model WHS laws were implemented in:
• Australian Capital Territory
• New South Wales
• Northern Territory
• Queensland
• South Australia
• Tasmania
They have yet to be implemented in:
• Victoria
• Western Australia
Australian Capital Territory
New South
Wales
Northern
Territory
South
Australia
Western
Australia
Victoria
Queensland
Tasmania
An independent body, Safe Work Australia, develop the latest model work health and safety laws
in partnership with state and territory governments, employers and workers.
Categories and penalties for breach of
health and safety duty offences
Breaching the new WHS laws can lead to fines of up to $3 million and prosecutions of
up to five years in prison for businesses, senior executives and individual workers.
CATEGORY 1
CATEGORY 2
CATEGORY 3
$3 million
$15 million
$500,000
$600,000,
5 years in prison or both
$300,000
$100,000
$300,000,
5 years in prison or both
Individual as worker or otherIndividual as PCBU* or officer
*PCBU - person conducting a business or an undertaking
Corporation
$150,000
$50,000
Western Australia and the mining industry
92%
of WA’s income
in 2015-16
In Western Australia (WA), mining is hugely important to economic success. According to
Australia’s Department of Mines and Petroleum, the mining and petroleum industry accounted for:
41%
of Australia’s
overall income
Employment of over
100,000 people
in WA
Without specific guidance on mining as part of harmonisation,
the state continues to be covered by its own Act and regulations.
Opportunities
The changing and evolving nature of Australia’s WHS laws presents a significant
challenge to national and international businesses operating in the country.
For more information, please visit
www.procorre.com.au
and to download our White Paper click here
By working with Procorre, we can help national and international organisations deliver
projects successfully and safely. We develop skills, strategies and ‘best practice’
principles in the workplace which are fully compliant with WHS laws.
working to new horizons