New WHS Laws in Western Australia
The face of health and safety at work in Western Australia is changing. WorkSafe WA has announced that the new work health and safety (WHS) laws will become operational on 31 March 2022.
What does it mean for Business Owners?
- New responsibilities
- New terminology that introduces broader duties for duty holders
- New and/or additional duties on all persons within the supply chain of goods and services
- A redefined workplace that effectively increases the footprint of the laws
- Increased enforcement tools and penalties for breaches of the legislation
What are some of the new WHS laws and changes?
- The new offence of industrial manslaughter as a strong deterrent effect and to accord with community expectations
- Enforceable undertakings as an alternative to prosecution
- Prohibition on insurance for monetary penalties
- Health & Safety Representatives (HSRs) having the right to choose their course of training and greater involvement in decision making
- A specific duty for providers of work health and safety services to ensure those services do not pose a risk to persons at the workplace.
What is Employsure doing about it?
It is important to note that your primary duty has not changed under WHS laws. If you have a health and safety duty now, you will continue to have a duty.
However, Employsure recognises that such changes will impact our clients significantly. To help ensure our clients are set up for success, Employsure will be using its extensive marketing and communication channels to keep our clients up to date and will provide clients:
- updated and/or new policies, as required, to all clients impacted
- updated and newly developed policy support material such as checklists and forms
- a video titled “Roadmap to Compliance” to assist clients in implementing their new health and safety system documentation
- access to webinars conducted by Employsure
For information on health and safety advice, contact: 1300 651 415.
Need More Advice?
Employsure is one of Western Australia’s largest WHS advisers. We can help your business, whether it is based in Western Australia or interstate, understand and implement these changes.
About Employsure
Employsure is one of Australia’s largest workplace relations advisers to small- and medium-businesses, with over 30,000 clients in ANZ. We take the complexity out of workplace legislation to help small business employers protect their business and their people.
