Workplace Health & Safety Legislation Changes

On 3 April 2014, the Work Health and Safety and Other Legislation Amendment Act 2014 (amendment Act) was passed in the Queensland Parliament.

The amendments:

•  require at least 24 hours, but no more than 14 days, prior notice by WHS entry permit holders before they can enter a workplace to inquire into a suspected contravention. This will align with other entry notification periods in the WHS Act and the Fair Work Act 2009
•  increase penalties for non-compliance with WHS entry permit conditions and introduce penalties for failure to comply with the entry notification requirements
•  require at least 24 hours, but no more than 14 days, prior notice before any person assisting a health and safety representative can have access to the workplace
•  remove the power of health and safety representatives to direct workers to cease unsafe work
•  remove the requirement under the WHS Act for a person conducting a business or undertaking to provide a list of health and safety representatives to the WHS regulator
•  allow for codes of practice adopted in Queensland to be approved, varied or revoked without requiring national consultation as currently required by the WHS Act
•  increase the maximum penalty that can be prescribed for offences in the Electrical Safety Regulation 2013 to 300 penalty units.

 The amendment Act implements findings from the Queensland Government’s review of national model Work Health and Safety (WHS) laws which commenced in Queensland on 1 January 2012.  As part of this review concerns were raised about the misuse of entry powers by union officials and the inconsistencies in entry notification requirements that exist between states.  The changes aim to align workplace health and safety legislation with the Fair Work Act in terms of union entry notice periods, and to prevent unjustified workplace disruption by Health and Safety Representatives and unions.

 These changes mean that employee concerns regarding unsafe work conditions are more likely to be escalated directly to Workplace Health and Safety Qld if they are not raised or resolved between employee and employer.

 HR Business Direction encourages all employers to implement effective workplace health and safety consultation processes and to ensure that employees are familiar with and follow an agreed workplace health and safety issue resolution process.  These measures will assist in the resolution of WH&S issues in a timely an amicable matter, without regulator involvement as the first point of call.