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Work Health and Safety in Harmony Project
The Council of Australian Governments (COAG) has identified work health and safety as a priority area for national reform. An Intergovernmental Agreement was signed in 2008 to reflect a commitment to both regulatory and operational reform in work health and safety. This Agreement set out the principles and processes for cooperation between the Commonwealth, States and Territories to implement uniform work health and safety legislation complemented by consistent approaches to compliance and enforcement. In doing so, COAG required there be no reduction or compromise in work health and safety standards.
The harmonisation of legislation aims to reduce the incidence of workplace death, injury and disease across Australia while also creating greater consistency and certainty for workers and persons conducting a business or undertaking.
In August 2009, the Heads of Workplace Safety Authorities (HWSA) approved a framework aimed at all Australian regulators working together to develop common approaches to the administration and enforcement of uniform WHS laws that will take effect in the Commonwealth and all States and Territories on 1 January 2012.
This project will:
- assist jurisdictions meet their commitments to the intergovernmental agreement;
- involve collaboration and cooperation between all jurisdictions to coordinate the implementation of the model laws at an operational level across the country; and
- involve ongoing consultation with Safe Work Australia and with key stakeholder representatives.
This WHS Regulators in Harmony project is a national effort to ensure consistent administration of the model laws from 1 January 2012. The project incorporates a wide range of activities that will influence the way in which the work health and safety regulators and their inspectors administer the future workplace health and safety laws. Examples of the areas of work included in this project are:
- developing common principles and operational protocols and procedures for inspection work;
- developing common performance measures for inspectors;
- developing a common approach to training and development for inspectors;
- reviewing and revising the national compliance and enforcement policy;
- developing common procedures for investigations, prosecutions and enforceable undertakings;
- agreeing to common approaches to approving training courses for health and safety representatives; and
- establishing a common approach to the regulator’s role in relation to OHS entry permit holders.
Click here to find out more on the current National OHS Compliance and Enforcement Policy.
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