New Workplace Laws From January 2012

The new model Work Health and Safety Act is due to take effect next January for most Australian states. Safe To Work has published a great interview with Patricia Ryan, practice manager and solicitor at EI Legal, on the new workplace safety laws being introduced Australia-wide.

Currently, there are eight jurisdictions with different sets of laws concerning workplace safety.

In January 2012, the various occupational health and safety (OH&S) laws will be replaced by national laws, based on a model Work Health and Safety Act (WHS).

The exceptions are Victoria and Western Australia, who are likely to defer implementation until later in 2012.

Essentially, the model WHS Act hopes to provide greater consistency and a more streamlined approach to the way OH&S is regulated in Australia.

The new WHS will provide:
• new roles and responsibilities for employers
• new wording and definition changes
• critical changes regarding consultation
• changes to union rights of entry
• protection from discrimination, coercion and misrepresentation
• new penalties for breaches of the WHS
• new roles and responsibilities for health and safety representatives HSRs

Read more at Safe-To-Work or view more Safety Superstore Safety News.