WHS "101"

The following points are arguably the most foundational principles of work health and safety. Every person whether an employer or employee should know these major principles. Collectively, we could call this "WHS 101."

• There are four WHS duty holders under WHS Law: PCBU, Officers of the PCBU, workers, others.

• Each WHS duty holder has WHS duties. These duties are non-delegable duties. (Cannot be relinquished to someone else or subcontracted out.) [Ref 4]

• It is the duty of the person conducting a business or undertaking (PCBU) to manage risks in the workplace and provide the WHS management system. [Ref 1] [Ref 2] 

• "Person" in PCBU is a business entity, not a person as a "human being."

• The PCBU must identify reasonably foreseeable hazards, assess their risks, and eliminate (or use risk control measures if not possible to eliminate) risks and hazards in their workplace. [Ref 1]

• The PCBU has the primary duty of care in the workplace. Workplace health and safety risk management is entirely the responsibility of the PCBU in the first place. [Ref 2.]

  
  

• Business owners and company directors (Officers of the PCBU) have the duty to oversee and ensure that the PCBU is complying with its duties under WHS law. [Ref 3] They use their leadership team to help them, and they may employ advisors and consultants as resources, but the duty in the first place is always theirs. [Ref 4]

• If the PCBU cannot eliminate a risk, the PCBU must implement risk control measures to minimise that risk so far as is reasonably practicable. [Ref 5]

• Before making any decisions on proposed controls or actions to resolve a WHS matter, all workers who might be affected by the matter must be consulted by the business first and their contributions to the resolution of those matters taken into consideration. [Ref 6]

• Once those controls have been created, the PCBU must ensure that staff and visitors know about and comply with those controls. Signage, instruction, information, and training may help educate all persons in the workplace. Once again, it is up to the business owners and company directors (as officers of the PCBU) to ensure this occurs. [Ref 8]

• Workers (and anyone else present at the work site) have a duty to take reasonable care for their own health and safety and comply with instructions and supervision. This means they must follow workplace rules established for health and safety. Staff must be supervised to this end. [Ref 7]

• Risks controls must be maintained and periodically reviewed. [Ref 8] If a risk control needs modification or changing, the risk must be re-assessed, and the WHS risk management process revisited. [Ref 9]

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.

References

Ref 1. WHS Regulation Clause 32-38 Managing risks to health and safety

Ref 2. WHS Act Section 19 Primary duty of care

Ref 3. WHS Act Section 27 Duties of officers

Ref 4. WHS Section 14 Duties not transferrable,

WHS Section 272 No contracting out

Ref 5. WHS Act Section 17 Management of Risks,

Section 18 Reasonably Practicable

Ref 6. WHS Act, Section 47 Duty to consult workers

Ref 7. WHS Act, Section 28 Duty of workers,

WHS Act, Section 29 Duties of others Ref 8. WHS Regulation, Clause 37 Maintenance of control measures, Ref 9. WHS Regulation, Clause 38 Review of control measures

17th November 2022 (Revised 31 July 2024)