Work Health and Safety Act 2011 | OHSA Occupational Health Services Australia

The Work Health and Safety Act 2011 provides a framework to protect the health, safety and welfare of all workers at work. It also protects the health and safety of all other people who might be affected by the work.

All workers are protected by the WHS Act, including:

• employees
• contractors
• subcontractors
• outworkers
• apprentices and trainees
• work experience students
• volunteers
• employers who perform work.

The WHS Act also provides protection for the general public so that their health and safety is not placed at risk by work activities.

The WHS Act places the primary health and safety duty on a person conducting a business or undertaking (PCBU). The PCBU must ensure, so far as is reasonably practicable, the health and safety of workers at the workplace. Duties are also placed on officers of a PCBU, workers and other persons at a workplace.

All duties under the WHS Act are qualified by the term ‘reasonably practicable’.

The WHS Act also sets out the requirements for the following:

• incident notification
• consultation with workers
• issue resolution
• inspector powers and functions
• offences and penalties.