Introduction to the Occupational Health and Safety Act 1985

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Introduction to theOccupational Health and
Safety Act 1985
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Session aims

• Inform employers and employees about key
  provisions of the Occupational Health and Safety
  Act 1985
• Assist workplaces to establish consultative
  structures to manage health and safety
• Encourage involvement of all workplace parties in
  health and safety activities

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What are the Objects of the Act?(S. 6)

• Secure the health, safety and welfare of people
  at work
• Protect people at work against risks to health or
  safety
• Help ensure safe and healthy work environments
• Eliminate, at the source, risks to the health,
  safety and welfare of people at work
• Involve employees, employers and their
  representatives in formulating and implementing
  health and safety standards

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What does the Act cover?

• Victorian workplaces
• Any place where employees work, including
• self-employed
• outworkers
• contractors
• employees of contractors
• employees in State Government departments

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General duties under the Act
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What are the duties of employers? 21(1)

• Provide and maintain, so far as is practicable
  for employees, a workingenvironment that is safe
  and without risks to health

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What is practicable?

• Practicable means having regard to
• severity of hazard or risk
• state of knowledge about the hazard or risk and
  ways to remove or reduce it
• availability and suitability of ways to remove or
  reduce the hazard or risk
• cost to remove or reduce the hazard or risk

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What are the duties of employers? 21(2)

• Provide and maintain safe plant and systems of
  work
• Ensure the absence of risk in connexion with the
  use, handling, storage and transport of plant and
  substances
• Maintain a safe working environment
• Provide adequate welfare facilities
• Provide information, instruction, training and
  supervision to enable employees to work safely

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Employer duties extend to independent contractors
21(3)

• Employers have the same obligations to
  independent contactors (and employees of such
  independent contractors) as they have to their
  own employees

This means that outsourcing work to a contractor
does not remove the employers responsibility for
the health and safety of workers who perform the
work
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Other employer duties in relation to health and
safety 21(4)

• Monitor the health of employees
• Keep information and records
• Engage or employ suitable people to provide
  advice on health and safety in the workplace
• Nominate appropriately senior person/s to act as
  the employers representative
• Monitor conditions at the workplace
• Provide information to employees in appropriate
  language, including the names of persons to whom
  the employee can make an inquiry or complaint

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Employers duties in relation to public health
and safety (S. 22)

• Employers (and self-employed people) must ensure,
  so far as is practicable, that persons (other
  than employees) are not exposed to risks to their
  health or safety arising from the conduct of the
  undertaking of the employer

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Other duties (S. 23)

• Occupiers of workplaces must take all practicable
  measures to ensure the workplace and means of
  entry and exit are safe and without risks to
  health

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Duties of designers, manufacturers, suppliers and
importers (S. 24)

• Ensure, as far as practicable, that plant is
  designed and constructed to be safe and without
  risks to health
• Carry out or arrange for testing of equipment to
  ensure it meets this requirement
• Provide information necessary to ensure that any
  substance or equipment is used safely and without
  risks to health
• Provide information and any results of tests
  carried out on plant or hazardous substances

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What are the duties of employees? (S. 25)

• Take reasonable care for their own health and
  safety and for anyone else who may be affected by
  their acts or omissions
• Cooperate with their employer on any actions
  taken to comply with the requirements of the OHS
  Act

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Consultative structures
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Consultation

• The OHS Act emphasises consultation as the key to
  successful management of OHS
• The Act encourages the establishment of
  structures to assist in the consultation process
  
• initiate or establish one or more designated work
  groups
• elect health and safety representatives (and
  nominate management representatives)
• establish health safety committees

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What are health and safety representatives (HSR)?

• Elected by members of a designated work group who
  are the link between the employees and their
  employer on health and safety matters

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What do health and safety representatives do?

• consult with employers on health and safety
  matters
• must be consulted on any proposed changes to the
  workplace
• inspect the workplace
• access information on hazards

• participate in issue resolution
• issue provisional improvement notices (PIN)
• receive paid time off work to attend training or
  perform functions
• accompany inspector during inspection

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What are the key functions of health and safety
committees?

• Facilitate cooperation between employer and
  employees in taking steps to ensure health and
  safety at the workplace
• Formulate and distribute health and safety rules,
  standards and procedures to employees

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How are health and safety committees
established?(S. 37)

• Established within 3 months of request by a
  health and safety representative
• Health and safety representatives must be
  consulted on composition
• Comprise management and employees (at least 50)
• Meet at least every 3 months
• Deals with longer-term issues e.g. policies and
  procedures

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Offences and penalties under the Act
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What is discrimination of an employee? (S.54)

• Dismissal of a worker acting within their rights
  under the Act
• Discrimination against any employee who
• performs functions of a HSR or as health and
  safety committee members
• provides information to an inspector, HSR or
  health and safety committee member
• makes a complaint about health and safety to an
  employer, HSR, inspector or fellow employee

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What are the penalty provisions of the OHS Act
1985?

• Indictable offences
• (offences against the Act)
• Body corporate 250,000 (maximum)
• Individuals 50,000 (maximum)
• The government has proposed that these penalties
  be increased

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Summary

• Occupational Health and Safety Act
• The employer has a duty to provide and maintain a
  safe workplace
• Employee involvement is paramount to the
  successful implementation of health and safety in
  the workplace

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Summary

• We are aware of the meaning and the importance
  of
• Designated work groups
• Health and safety representatives
• Health and safety committees
• Penalties exist for offences committed under the
  Act
• Inspectors are empowered under the Act

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Health and Safety At WorkIt is everyones
responsibility