PCBU Primary Duty of Care
Under Section 19 of the New South Wales WHS Act 2011, a Person Conducting a Business or Undertaking (PCBU) has a primary duty of care to ensure the health and safety of workers and others who may be affected by a health and safety matter in their work or during their visit to the workplace.
A PCBU in simple terms is a business entity. [Ref 1]
It is responsible for the health and safety of everyone in the workplace including customers and other visitors present at the workplace. (Note. A self-employed person has this same primary duty, to themselves and to their employees.)
This primary duty of care includes:
provision and maintenance of a safe work environment
provision and maintenance of safe plant and structures
provision and maintenance of safe systems of work [Ref 2]
safe use, handling and storage of plant, structures, and substances
provision of accessible and adequate facilities (for example access to washrooms, lockers, and dining areas)
provision of any instruction, training, information, and supervision
monitoring of workers health and conditions at the workplace and
maintenance of any accommodation owned or under their management and control to ensure the health and safety of workers occupying the premises.
"Health" is defined in the model WHS Act as both physical and psychological health. It is the duty of the PCBU to manage risks to a worker’s physical and psychological health, so far as is reasonably practicable.
Instruction, training, and supervision includes:
provide adequate training, information and instruction to ensure that each worker is safe from injury and risks to health
ensure the provision of first aid equipment and facilities and prepare, maintain, and implement emergency plans
manage risks associated with remote or isolated work (including working from home), airborne contaminants, hazardous atmospheres, storage of flammable or combustible substances and falling objects, and
comply with requirements regarding the use of personal protective equipment.
Business owners and company directors (as officers of a PCBU) must continue to review and update their risk management and safety protocols, and any training programs to ensure that the business they are managing is meeting its duties under the WHS Act. This may require they do things to further their knowledge to keep up-to-date with changes or improvements to health and safety, both in their industry and in the field of health and safety generally.
There are serious consequences for business owners and company directors for WHS breaches. They may be held personally liable and face large fines or even jail time in serious cases. Training on foundational WHS law principles should be an early step that business owners and company directors take to empower them to better manage their operations.
Foundational WHS training for company directors and business owners includes:
For more information on WHS training or WHS compliance services, or if you would like help to make your WHS management system even more robust, please feel free to contact us at train@courtenell.com.au or phone us on 02 9552 2066.
[Ref 2] The provision of "safe systems of work" could be summed up as the WHS management system for the business.
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