Achieving Compliance with WHS Legal Requirements
Weekly WHS Article 23rd June 2021
On the 1st of July we will be in a new financial year – the 2022 financial year. Your organisation has probably already considered the actions your organisation should do to achieve compliance with WHS legal requirements during the 2022 financial year (the 1st of July 2021 to the 30th of June 2022)
Achieving compliance with everything in the WHS Act and WHS Regulation that is required of your organisation may sometimes seem like a daunting task. But it is a rewarding task.
Rewards for Compliance
The requirements in the WHS Act and WHS Regulation were well drafted. The PCBU who complies with those requirements will end up with rewards that are real and include:
a safe and healthy workplace,
WHS risks that are eliminated or minimised so far as is reasonably practicable,
not being prosecuted by SafeWork NSW and not paying considerable sums of money in prosecution costs, fines and workers compensation,
higher productivity and worker morale,
a good reputation in your industry, and
the knowledge that WHS risk in your workplace has been eliminated or minimised.
The PCBU’s Primary Duty of Care
Section 19 of the WHS Act is the PCBU’s Primary Duty of Care. It is a major requirement that must be satisfied. Section 19 (3) says that a PCBU must ensure so far as reasonably practicable that:
the work environment is without risks to health and safety
the plant and structures are safe
the systems of work are safe
the use, handling, and storage of plant, structures, and substances are safe
there are adequate facilities for the welfare at work of workers
information, training, instruction or supervision that is necessary to protect all persons from risks to their health and safety arising from work is provided
that the health of workers and the conditions at the workplace are monitored for the purpose of preventing illness or injury of workers
The Compliance Team
The persons in your workplace who have legal duties to comply with one or more elements of the WHS legal requirements are;
the PCBU,
the Officers of the PCBU,
the Workers, and
Other Persons who may be in your workplace
Everyone who is in your workplace has a role to play on this team. To do that each person needs to know what role they have, what they must do and be able to do that, and how their efforts fit in and align with, the role of other team members.
23rd June 2021