New South Wales Consolidated Regulations

OCCUPATIONAL HEALTH AND SAFETY REGULATION 2001 - REG 3

3 Definitions

(1) In this Regulation:
"ADG Code" means the Australian Code for the Transport of Dangerous Goods by Road and Rail approved by the Ministerial Council for Road Transport and published by the Australian Government from time to time.
"approved form" means the form approved for the time being by WorkCover for the purposes of the provision in which the expression is used.
"authorised medical practitioner" means a medical practitioner authorised by WorkCover, or authorised by another body or under a scheme approved by WorkCover, to perform health surveillance for the purposes of this Regulation.
"building" includes a structure, and includes part of a building or structure.
"chemical name" of a substance means a recognised chemical name of the substance that is generally used in scientific or technical texts.
"competent person" for any task means a person who has acquired through training, qualification or experience, or a combination of them, the knowledge and skills to carry out that task.
"construction work" means any of the following:

(a) excavation, including the excavation or filling of trenches, ditches, shafts, wells, tunnels and pier holes, and the use of caissons and cofferdams,

(b) building, including the construction (including the manufacturing of prefabricated elements of a building at the place of work concerned), alteration, renovation, repair, maintenance and demolition of all types of buildings,

(c) civil engineering, including the construction, structural alteration, repair, maintenance and demolition of, for example, airports, docks, harbours, inland waterways, dams, river and avalanche and sea defence works, roads and highways, railways, bridges and tunnels, viaducts, and works related to the provision of services such as communications, drainage, sewerage, water and energy supplies.

"consumer package" means a container that is intended for retail display and sale, and includes a container that is transported and distributed as part of a larger consolidated container that consists of a number of identical consumer packages.
"dangerous goods", except in Chapter 6A, has the same meaning as in the ADG Code.
"emergency service" includes any of the following:

(a) the Ambulance Service of New South Wales,

(b) New South Wales Fire Brigades,

(c) the NSW Rural Fire Service,

(d) the NSW Police Force,

(e) the State Emergency Service,

(f) the New South Wales Volunteer Rescue Association Incorporated,

(g) an accredited rescue unit within the meaning of the State Emergency and Rescue Management Act 1989 .

"employer" includes self-employed person in Chapters 2, 4, 5, 6, 6A, 7 and 8.
"former Act" means the Occupational Health and Safety Act 1983 .
"generic name" of a substance means a name that describes the category or group of chemicals to which the substance belongs (for example, azo dyes or halogenated aromatic amines).
"hazard" means anything (including work practices or procedures) that has the potential to harm the health or safety of a person.
"hazardous substance" means a substance that:

(a) is listed in the document entitled “ List of Designated Hazardous Substances [NOHSC: 10005 (1999)] ” published by the NOHS Commission, as in force from time to time, or

(b) fits the criteria for a hazardous substance set out in the document entitled “ Approved Criteria for Classifying Hazardous Substances [NOHSC: 1008 (1999)] ” published by the NOHS Commission, as in force from time to time.

"health practitioner" means a health practitioner within the meaning of the Health Care Complaints Act 1993 .
"height" of a building means the height measured from ground level to its highest part.
"ingredient" means any component of a substance, and includes any impurity that is mixed in with the substance.
"LEL (lower explosive limit)" means the concentration of flammable gas or vapour in air below which the gas atmosphere is not explosive.
"NOHS Commission" means the National Occupational Health and Safety Commission of the Commonwealth.
"penalty levels" -see subclause (2).
"product name" of a substance means the brand name, trade name, code name or code number specified by the supplier of the substance.
"public place" means a public road or any other place to which the public, whether on payment of a fee or otherwise, ordinarily has access.
"record" includes any form in which information is stored on a permanent basis or from which information may be reproduced.
"retail warehouse operator" means a person who operates a warehouse at which unopened packaged goods intended for retail sale are held, but does not include a retailer.
"retailer" means a person who sells goods to members of the public who are not themselves engaged in any further resale of those goods.
"risk phrase", in relation to a substance, means a phrase that describes the hazards of the substance, as referred to in the document entitled List of Designated Hazardous Substances [NOHSC: 10005 (1999)] published by the NOHS Commission, as in force from time to time.
"safety phrase", in relation to a substance, means a phrase that describes the procedures for the safe handling or storage of the substance, or the use of personal protective equipment in conjunction with the substance, as referred to in the document entitled List of Designated Hazardous Substances [NOHSC: 10005 (1999)] published by the NOHS Commission, as in force from time to time.
"substance" means any natural or artificial entity, composite material, mixture or formulation, other than something (that is not a fluid or particle) that:

(a) is formed during production to a specific shape or design, or to have a specific surface, and

(b) has an end use that depends in whole or in part on its shape, design or surface, and

(c) undergoes no change in chemical composition or physical state during its end use, except as an intrinsic aspect of that end use.

Note: In a number of publications relating to hazardous substances the things that are excluded from the definition of "substance" are called “articles”.

"the Act" means the Occupational Health and Safety Act 2000 .
"WorkCover" means the WorkCover Authority constituted under the Workplace Injury Management and Workers Compensation Act 1998 .

Note: Other relevant definitions are contained in the Act and the Interpretation Act 1987 . They include the following:
"employee" means an individual who works under a contract of employment or apprenticeship.
"employer" means a person who employs persons under contracts of employment or apprenticeship.
"occupier" of premises includes:

(a) a person who, for the time being, has (or appears to have) the charge, management or control of the premises, or

(b) a person who, for the time being, is in charge (or appears to be in charge) of any operation being conducted on the premises.

"place of work" means premises where persons work.
"plant" includes any machinery, equipment or appliance.
"premises" includes any place, and in particular includes:

(a) any land, building or part of any building, or

(b) any vehicle, vessel or aircraft, or

(c) any installation on land, on the bed of any waters or floating on any waters, or

(d) any tent or movable structure.

"self-employed person" means a person who works for gain or reward otherwise than under a contract of employment or apprenticeship, whether or not employing others.
"work" means work as an employee or as a self-employed person.
The Interpretation Act 1987 also provides that expressions defined for the purposes of this Regulation apply except in so far as the context or subject-matter otherwise indicates or requires.

(2) The following levels of penalty apply for the purposes of determining the maximum penalty for an offence against a provision of this Regulation, and references in this Regulation to those levels are to be construed accordingly:

(a) Level 1-20 penalty units,

(b) Level 2-30 penalty units,

(c) Level 3-100 penalty units,

(d) Level 4-250 penalty units.

Note: At the time of making this Regulation, each penalty unit was $110-see section 17 of the Crimes (Sentencing Procedure) Act 1999 .

(3) In this Regulation, a reference to an Australian Standard is a reference to an Australian Standard (AS) or an Australian/New Zealand Standard (AS/NZS) published by Standards Australia in the year referred to in the citation of the Standard, as in force from time to time.

(4) If WorkCover has indicated, by notice in writing, that it is satisfied that another standard provides an equivalent standard of safety to an Australian Standard or an Australian/New Zealand Standard, that other standard may be applied instead for the purposes of the relevant provision of this Regulation.

(5) If there is an inconsistency between a provision of this Regulation and a provision of an Australian Standard or another standard referred to in this Regulation, the provision of this Regulation prevails.