Queensland Bills Queensland Bills[Index] [Search] [Download] [Related Items] [Help]
This is a Bill, not an Act. For current law, see the Acts databases.
Queensland
WORKPLACE HEALTH AND
SAFETY AMENDMENT BILL
1997
Queensland
WORKPLACE HEALTH AND SAFETY
AMENDMENT BILL 1997
TABLE OF PROVISIONS
Section Page
1 Short title . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6
2 Commencement . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6
3 Act amended . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6
4 Replacement of long title . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6
5 Replacement of pt 1, div 3 (Overall object of Act) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6
Division 3--Objective of Act
7 Objective of Act . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6
6 Amendment of s 9 (What is a "workplace"?) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8
7 Amendment of s 11 (Who is a "worker" and who is not?) . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8
8 Amendment of s 13 (Who is the "principal contractor"?) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8
9 Omission of pt 2, div 1, heading (Being at work and performing work) . . . 9
10 Omission of pt 2, div 2, heading (Consultation) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9
11 Amendment of s 18 (What is consultation?) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9
12 Omission of pt 2, div 3 (Compliance standards, advisory
standards, regulations and the difference between them) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9
13 Omission of pt 2, div 4, heading (Ensuring workplace health and
safety) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9
14 Amendment of s 22 (How should workplace health and safety be
ensured?) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9
15 Amendment of s 24 (Discharge of obligations) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10
16 Insertion of new s 24A . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 11
24A Charges for offences against s 24 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 11
17 Amendment of s 26 (How obligations can be discharged if
standard made) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 11
2
Workplace Health and Safety Amendment
18 Amendment of s 27 (How obligations can be discharged if no
standard made) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 12
19 Amendment of s 30 (Obligations of persons in control of workplaces) . . . . 12
20 Amendment of s 31 (Obligations of principal contractors) . . . . . . . . . . . . . 12
21 Amendment of s 37 (Defences for div 2 or 3) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 13
22 Replacement of pt 4 (Compliance standards) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 14
PART 4--REGULATIONS, ADVISORY STANDARDS,
INDUSTRY CODES OF PRACTICE AND MINISTERIAL NOTICES
38 Regulations . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 14
23 Replacement of pt 5, heading (Advisory standards) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 15
24 Omission of s 40 (Purpose of advisory standards) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 15
25 Amendment of s 41 (Advisory standards) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 15
26 Amendment of s 42 (Use of advisory standards in proceedings) . . . . . . . . . 16
27 Insertion of new pt 4, divs 3 and 4 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 16
Division 3--Industry codes of practice
42A Industry codes of practice . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 16
42B Use of industry codes of practice in proceedings . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 17
Division 4--Ministerial notices
42C Ministerial notices in urgent circumstances . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 17
28 Amendment of s 43 (Purposes of part) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 18
29 Amendment of pt 6, div 2 (The council and its functions) . . . . . . . . . . . . . 18
30 Replacement of s 44 (Workplace health and safety council) . . . . . . . . . . . 19
44 Workplace health and safety board . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 19
31 Replacement of s 45 (Functions of council) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 19
45 Functions of board . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 19
32 Insertion of new s 45A . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 20
45A Annual report . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 20
33 Amendment of pt 6, div 3, heading (Membership and conduct of
council proceedings) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 21
34 Amendment of s 46 (Membership of council) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 21
35 Amendment of s 47 (Times of council meetings) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 21
36 Amendment of s 48 (Conduct of proceedings) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 22
37 Amendment of s 49 (Disclosure of interests) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 22
3
Workplace Health and Safety Amendment
38 Amendment of s 50 (Minutes) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 22
39 Amendment of pt 6, div 4, heading (Provisions about appointed
council members) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 22
40 Omission of s 51 (Application of division) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 23
41 Amendment of s 52 (Duration of appointment) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 23
42 Amendment of s 53 (Leave of absence) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 23
43 Amendment of pt 6, div 5, heading (Industry committees) . . . . . . . . . . . . . 23
44 Replacement of ss 55 and 56 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 23
55 Industry sector standing committees . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 23
56 Functions of industry sector standing committees . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 24
45 Amendment of pt 6, div 6, heading (Membership and conduct of
industry committee proceedings) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 24
46 Amendment of s 57 (Membership of industry committee) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 25
47 Amendment of s 58 (Times of industry committee meetings) . . . . . . . . . . . 25
48 Amendment of s 59 (Conduct of industry committee proceedings) . . . . . . 26
49 Amendment of s 60 (Disclosure of interests) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 26
50 Amendment of s 61 (Minutes) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 26
51 Amendment of pt 6, div 7, heading (Provisions about industry
committee members) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 26
52 Amendment of s 66 (Definitions for part) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 26
53 Amendment of s 108 (General powers after entering places) . . . . . . . . . . . 27
54 Amendment of s 109 (Power to seize evidence etc.) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 27
55 Amendment of s 122 (Power to require production of certain
documents) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 27
56 Amendment of s 165 (Limitation on time for starting proceedings) . . . . . . 28
57 Insertion of new s 168A . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 28
168A Costs of investigation . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 28
58 Amendment of s 176 (Impersonating inspectors and others) . . . . . . . . . . . . 28
59 Amendment of pt 14, div 1, heading (Accredited officers) . . . . . . . . . . . . . 28
60 Amendment of s 177 (Appointment) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 29
61 Amendment of s 178 (Functions of accredited officers) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 29
62 Amendment of s 179 (Accredited officer's appointment conditions) . . . . . 29
63 Amendment of s 180 (Accredited officer's identity card) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 29
4
Workplace Health and Safety Amendment
64 Amendment of s 181 (Production or display of accredited
officer's identity card) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 30
65 Amendment of s 182 (Revocation of accredited officer's appointment) . . 30
66 Amendment of s 183 (Protection from liability--officials) . . . . . . . . . . . . . 31
67 Omission of pt 16 (Regulations) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 31
68 Amendment of pt 17, heading (Transitional provisions and repeals) . . . . . 31
69 Insertion of new pt 17, div 1, heading . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 31
70 Renumbering of s 194 (Existing health and safety officers) . . . . . . . . . . . . 31
71 Renumbering of s 204A (Workplace Health and Safety Act 1989
references) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 31
72 Insertion of new pt 17, div 2 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 32
Division 2--Transitional provisions for the Workplace Health and
Safety Amendment Act 1997
190 Existing advisory standards . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 32
191 Existing accredited officers . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 33
73 Amendment of sch 1 (List of offences and penalties) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 34
74 Amendment of sch 3 (Dictionary) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 34
1997
A BILL
FOR
An Act to amend the Workplace Health and Safety Act 1995
s1 6 s5
Workplace Health and Safety Amendment
The Parliament of Queensland enacts-- 1
title 2
Short
Clause 1. This Act may be cited as the Workplace Health and Safety Amendment 3
Act 1997. 4
5
Commencement
Clause 2. This Act commences on a day to be fixed by proclamation. 6
amended 7
Act
Clause 3. This Act amends the Workplace Health and Safety Act 1995. 8
of long title 9
Replacement
Clause 4. Long title-- 10
omit, insert-- 11
`An Act about workplace health and safety, and for related 12
purposes'. 13
of pt 1, div 3 (Overall object of Act) 14
Replacement
Clause 5. Part 1, division 3-- 15
omit, insert-- 16
3--Objective of Act 17
`Division
of Act 18
`Objective
`7.(1) The objective of this Act is to prevent a person's death, injury or 19
illness being caused by a workplace, by workplace activities or by specified 20
high risk plant. 21
s5 7 s5
Workplace Health and Safety Amendment
1
Example of an illness caused by a workplace--
2
Asthma caused by inhaling spray paint mist from a neighbouring workplace.
3
Example of an illness caused by a workplace activity--
4
Carbon monoxide poisoning caused by a liquefied petroleum gas operated forklift
5
being used in a coldroom.
6
Example of an illness caused by specified high risk plant--
7
Legionnaire's disease caused by inhaling legionella bacteria from the
8
contaminated cooling tower of an air conditioning unit.
`(2) The objective is achieved by preventing or minimising a person's 9
exposure to the risk of death, injury or illness caused by a workplace, by 10
workplace activities or by specified high risk plant. 11
`(3) This Act establishes a framework for preventing or minimising 12
exposure to risk by-- 13
(a) imposing workplace health and safety obligations on certain 14
persons who may affect the health and safety of others by their 15
acts or omissions; and 16
(b) establishing benchmarks for industry through the making of 17
regulations and advisory standards; and 18
(c) establishing a workplace health and safety board-- 19
(i) to allow industry to participate in developing strategies for 20
improving workplace health and safety; and 21
(ii) to promote community awareness about workplace health 22
and safety; and 23
(d) providing for industry participation in workplace health and safety 24
by industry developing their own codes of practice; and 25
(e) providing for the election of workplace health and safety 26
representatives, and the establishment of workplace health and 27
safety committees, to foster cooperation between employers, 28
principal contractors, and workers; and 29
(f) providing for the appointment of-- 30
(i) workplace health and safety officers to assist employers and 31
principal contractors to manage workplace health and safety; 32
and 33
s6 8 s8
Workplace Health and Safety Amendment
(ii) accredited providers to assist industry in managing particular 1
risks; and 2
(iii) inspectors to monitor and enforce compliance with this Act. 3
`(4) The achievement of this Act's objective will help-- 4
(a) reduce the human cost to individuals, families and the community 5
caused by these deaths, injuries and illnesses; and 6
(b) reduce the financial burden on individuals, families and the 7
community caused by these deaths, injuries and illnesses; and 8
(c) reduce the burden on the workers' compensation scheme caused 9
by these deaths, injuries and illnesses, which in turn reduces costs 10
imposed on industry; and 11
(d) maintain the community standard for workplace health and 12
safety, which is eroded when persons gain an unfair competitive 13
advantage by not implementing appropriate standards.'. 14
of s 9 (What is a "workplace"?) 15
Amendment
Clause 6. Section 9(2), example, `estimated final price at practical completion'-- 16
omit, insert-- 17
`cost of building and construction work'. 18
of s 11 (Who is a "worker" and who is not?) 19
Amendment
Clause 7.(1) Section 11(2), example-- 20
omit. 21
(2) Section 11(3), example-- 22
omit. 23
of s 13 (Who is the "principal contractor"?) 24
Amendment
Clause 8. Section 13(3) and (4)-- 25
omit. 26
s9 9 s 14
Workplace Health and Safety Amendment
of pt 2, div 1, heading (Being at work and performing 1
Omission
work) 2
Clause 9. Part 2, division 1, heading-- 3
omit. 4
of pt 2, div 2, heading (Consultation) 5
Omission
Clause 10. Part 2, division 2, heading-- 6
omit. 7
of s 18 (What is consultation?) 8
Amendment
Clause 11. Section 18(2)(a)-- 9
omit, insert-- 10
`(a) at an industry level through establishing the workplace health and 11
safety board and industry sector standing committees under 12
part 6; and'. 13
of pt 2, div 3 (Compliance standards, advisory standards, 14
Omission
regulations and the difference between them) 15
Clause 12. Part 2, division 3-- 16
omit. 17
of pt 2, div 4, heading (Ensuring workplace health and 18
Omission
safety) 19
Clause 13. Part 2, division 4, heading-- 20
omit. 21
of s 22 (How should workplace health and safety be 22
Amendment
ensured?) 23
Clause 14.(1) Section 22, heading-- 24
omit, insert-- 25
s 15 10 s 15
Workplace Health and Safety Amendment
`Ensuring workplace health and safety'. 1
(2) Section 22, `should be ensured'-- 2
omit, insert-- 3
`can generally be managed'. 4
(3) Section 22-- 5
renumber as section 22(2) 6
(4) Section 22-- 7
insert-- 8
`22.(1) Workplace health and safety is ensured when persons are free 9
from-- 10
(a) death, injury or illness caused by any workplace, workplace 11
activities or specified high risk plant; and 12
(b) risk of death, injury or illness created by any workplace, 13
workplace activities or specified high risk plant.'. 14
(4) Section 22-- 15
insert-- 16
`(3) However, this Act also specifies particular ways in which workplace 17
health and safety must be ensured in particular circumstances. 18
`(4) Compliance with subsection (2) does not excuse a person from an 19
obligation to ensure workplace health and safety or a particular obligation 20
imposed on the person under this Act.'. 21
of s 24 (Discharge of obligations) 22
Amendment
Clause 15. Section 24(1), penalty-- 23
omit, insert-- 24
`Maximum penalty-- 25
(a) if the breach caused death or grievous bodily harm--800 penalty 26
units or 2 years imprisonment; or 27
(b) if the breach involved exposure to a substance that is likely to 28
cause death or grievous bodily harm--500 penalty units or 1 year 29
s 16 11 s 17
Workplace Health and Safety Amendment
imprisonment; or 1
(c) if the breach caused bodily harm--500 penalty units or 1 year 2
imprisonment; or 3
(d) otherwise--400 penalty units or 6 months imprisonment.'. 4
of new s 24A 5
Insertion
Clause 16. Part 3, division 1-- 6
insert-- 7
for offences against s 24 8
`Charges
`24A.(1) This section applies to an offence against section 24 for a failure 9
to discharge an obligation under section 28(1), 28(2) or 29. 10
`(2) A complaint against a person for the offence may allege in the 11
alternative that the person committed the offence as employer or 12
self-employed person. 13
`(3) A person may be convicted on the complaint on proof that the 14
person committed the offence either as employer or self-employed person 15
without further proof of the capacity in which the person committed the 16
offence. 17
`(4) Also, a person charged with a failure to discharge an obligation 18
under 1 of the following sections may be convicted of a failure to discharge 19
an obligation under either of the other sections that is proved by the 20
evidence-- 21
(a) section 28(1); 22
(b) section 28(2); 23
(c) section 29.'. 24
of s 26 (How obligations can be discharged if standard 25
Amendment
made) 26
Clause 17.(1) Section 26, heading, `standard'-- 27
omit, insert-- 28
`regulation etc.'. 29
s 18 12 s 20
Workplace Health and Safety Amendment
(2) Section 26(1) and (2), `compliance standard'-- 1
omit, insert-- 2
`regulation or ministerial notice'. 3
(3) Section 26(3), `or ways of identifying and'-- 4
omit, insert-- 5
`of'. 6
(4) Section 26(3)(a) and (b), `identifies and'-- 7
omit. 8
of s 27 (How obligations can be discharged if no 9
Amendment
standard made) 10
Clause 18.(1) Section 27, heading, `standard'-- 11
omit, insert-- 12
`regulation etc.'. 13
(2) Section 27(1), `compliance standard'-- 14
omit, insert-- 15
`regulation or ministerial notice'. 16
(3) Section 27(1), `identify and'-- 17
omit. 18
of s 30 (Obligations of persons in control of workplaces) 19
Amendment
Clause 19. Section 30(1)(a) and (b), `disease or injury'-- 20
omit, insert-- 21
`injury or illness'. 22
of s 31 (Obligations of principal contractors) 23
Amendment
Clause 20.(1) Section 31(1)(b)-- 24
omit, insert-- 25
s 21 13 s 21
Workplace Health and Safety Amendment
`(b) to ensure that persons at the workplace are not exposed to risks 1
from-- 2
(i) something that has been provided for the general use of 3
persons at the workplace for which no other person owes a 4
workplace health and safety obligation; or 5
(ii) a hazard at the workplace for which no other person owes a 6
workplace health and safety obligation;'. 7
(2) Section 31(1)(c), `disease or injury'-- 8
omit, insert-- 9
`injury or illness'. 10
(3) Section 31(1)(d), `compliance standard'-- 11
omit, insert-- 12
`regulation'. 13
(4) Section 31(3)(b), `obligation.'-- 14
omit, insert-- 15
`obligation.1'. 16
(5) Section 31(4)-- 17
omit. 18
of s 37 (Defences for div 2 or 3) 19
Amendment
Clause 21.(1) Section 37(1)(a), `compliance standard'-- 20
omit, insert-- 21
`regulation or ministerial notice'. 22
(2) Section 37(1)(a), `standard'-- 23
omit, insert-- 24
`regulation or notice'. 25
1 See section 36(a) for the obligation to comply with the instructions given for
workplace health and safety at the workplace by the principal contractor.
s 22 14 s 22
Workplace Health and Safety Amendment
(3) Section 37(1)(b), `identify and'-- 1
omit. 2
(4) Section 37(1)(b)(ii), `identified and'-- 3
omit. 4
(5) Section 37(1)(c), `compliance'-- 5
omit, insert-- 6
`regulation, ministerial notice'. 7
(6) Section 37(3)-- 8
omit, insert-- 9
`(3) In this section, a reference to a regulation, ministerial notice or 10
advisory standard is a reference to the regulation, notice or standard in force 11
at the time of the contravention.'. 12
of pt 4 (Compliance standards) 13
Replacement
Clause 22. Part 4-- 14
omit, insert-- 15
`PART 4--REGULATIONS, ADVISORY STANDARDS, 16
INDUSTRY CODES OF PRACTICE AND 17
MINISTERIAL NOTICES 18
`Division 1--Regulations 19
20
`Regulations
`38.(1) The Governor in Council may make regulations under this Act. 21
`(2) A regulation may-- 22
(a) deal with matters of an administrative nature; or 23
(b) prohibit exposure to risk; or 24
(c) prescribe ways to prevent or minimise exposure to risk. 25
s 23 15 s 25
Workplace Health and Safety Amendment
1
Examples of matters under paragraph (a)--
2
1. Notification of building and construction work.
3
2. Registration of registrable plant.
4
Examples of paragraph (b)--
5
Prohibiting the use of certain hazardous substances.
6
Examples of paragraph (c)--
7
1. Preparing and providing a material safety data sheet for a hazardous substance.
8
2. Providing certain workplace amenities.
`(3) A regulation may-- 9
(a) prescribe offences for a breach of a regulation; and 10
(b) fix a maximum penalty of not more than 40 penalty units for the 11
breach. 12
`(4) A regulation may declare something to be a workplace health and 13
safety obligation imposed on a person for this Act.'. 14
of pt 5, heading (Advisory standards) 15
Replacement
Clause 23. Part 5, heading-- 16
omit, insert-- 17
`Division 2--Advisory standards'. 18
of s 40 (Purpose of advisory standards) 19
Omission
Clause 24. Section 40-- 20
omit. 21
of s 41 (Advisory standards) 22
Amendment
Clause 25. Section 41(1)-- 23
omit, insert-- 24
`41.(1) The Minister may make advisory standards that give practical 25
advice on ways to manage exposure to risks common to industry. 26
s 26 16 s 27
Workplace Health and Safety Amendment
1
Example--
2
An advisory standard about managing noise exposure may provide advice about
3
identifying sources of noise, assessing actual or potential levels of noise exposure
4
and eliminating or minimising noise exposure as a risk to health at a workplace.
`(1A) The standard must include a provision that states the standard 5
expires 5 years after its commencement.'. 6
of s 42 (Use of advisory standards in proceedings) 7
Amendment
Clause 26.(1) Section 42, `An advisory standard' to `under this Act'-- 8
omit, insert-- 9
`In a proceeding under this Act, a document purporting to be an advisory 10
standard is admissible as evidence of the advisory standard'. 11
(2) Section 42(b), `identify and'-- 12
omit. 13
(3) Section 42(c), `identifying and'-- 14
omit. 15
of new pt 4, divs 3 and 4 16
Insertion
Clause 27. Part 4-- 17
insert-- 18
`Division 3--Industry codes of practice 19
codes of practice 20
`Industry
`42A.(1) The workplace health and safety board may make industry 21
codes of practice that give practical advice on ways to manage exposure to 22
risks identified by a part of industry as typical in the part of industry. 23
24
Examples of a part of industry--
25
1. The rural sector.
26
2. Canegrowing within the rural sector.
`(2) The code must include a provision that states the code expires 27
s 27 17 s 27
Workplace Health and Safety Amendment
5 years after its commencement. 1
`(3) The board must advise, by gazette notice, the making of an industry 2
code of practice. 3
`(4) If an industry code of practice is inconsistent with a regulation or 4
advisory standard, the regulation or standard prevails to the extent of the 5
inconsistency. 6
`(5) The chief executive must ensure that a copy of each industry code of 7
practice and any document applied, adopted or incorporated by the code is 8
made available for inspection, without charge, during normal business 9
hours at each department office dealing with workplace health and safety. 10
`(6) A notice mentioned in subsection (3) is subordinate legislation. 11
of industry codes of practice in proceedings 12
`Use
`42B. In a proceeding under this Act, a document purporting to be an 13
industry code of practice is admissible as evidence of the code of practice 14
if-- 15
(a) the proceeding relates to the breach of section 24; and 16
(b) the person is claimed to have breached section 24 by failing to 17
manage exposure to a risk; and 18
(c) the code is about managing exposure to the risk. 19
`Division 4--Ministerial notices 20
notices in urgent circumstances 21
`Ministerial
`42C.(1) This section applies if the Minister considers-- 22
(a) a situation has arisen, or is likely to arise-- 23
(i) at or near a workplace because of a workplace activity; or 24
(ii) at any place because of specified high risk plant; and 25
(b) because of the situation, there is, or is likely to be, a risk of 26
s 28 18 s 29
Workplace Health and Safety Amendment
serious bodily injury2 to someone. 1
`(2) The Minister may make a notice about the situation. 2
`(3) The notice may prescribe methods of work or other things to prevent 3
or minimise exposure to the risk. 4
`(4) A notice expires-- 5
(a) 1 year from the day it is notified in the gazette; or 6
(b) on an earlier day stated in the notice. 7
`(5) However, a regulation may extend the notice's operation for a 8
further period of not more than 1 year. 9
`(6) If a notice is inconsistent with a regulation or advisory standard, the 10
notice prevails to the extent of the inconsistency. 11
`(7) A notice is subordinate legislation.'. 12
of s 43 (Purposes of part) 13
Amendment
Clause 28.(1) Section 43(a), `council'-- 14
omit, insert-- 15
`board'. 16
(2) Section 43(b), `committees'-- 17
omit, insert-- 18
`sector standing committees of the board'. 19
of pt 6, div 2 (The council and its functions) 20
Amendment
Clause 29. Part 6, division 2, heading, `council'-- 21
omit, insert-- 22
`board'. 23
2 See schedule 3 (Dictionary) for definition of "serious bodily injury".
s 30 19 s 31
Workplace Health and Safety Amendment
of s 44 (Workplace health and safety council) 1
Replacement
Clause 30. Section 44-- 2
omit, insert-- 3
health and safety board 4
`Workplace
`44. The workplace health and safety board (the "board") is 5
established.'. 6
of s 45 (Functions of council) 7
Replacement
Clause 31.(1) Section 45-- 8
omit, insert-- 9
of board 10
`Functions
`45.(1) The primary functions of the board are-- 11
(a) to give advice and make recommendations to the Minister about 12
policies, strategies, allocation of resources, and legislative 13
arrangements, for workplace health and safety; and 14
(b) to make industry codes of practice. 15
`(2) Without limiting subsection (1), the board may discharge its primary 16
functions by-- 17
(a) developing a 5 year strategic plan for improving workplace health 18
and safety; and 19
(b) examining whether the 5 year strategic plan meets the existing 20
and future needs of industry and the community; and 21
(c) advising the Minister about state, national and international 22
workplace health and safety issues; and 23
(d) considering other issues referred to it by the Minister; and 24
(e) reviewing the appropriateness of provisions of this Act, a 25
regulation, advisory standard or industry code of practice; and 26
(f) considering recommendations made to it by an industry sector 27
standing committee; and 28
(g) reviewing the performance of an industry sector standing 29
s 32 20 s 32
Workplace Health and Safety Amendment
committee; and 1
(h) recommending to the Minister the establishment of industry 2
sector standing committees; and 3
(i) reviewing the membership of an industry sector standing 4
committee; and 5
(j) establishing working parties on the recommendation of an 6
industry sector standing committee; and 7
(k) deciding procedures for the operation of working parties; and 8
(l) appointing members to a working party; and 9
(m) considering the most effective and efficient way of applying 10
funds allocated for workplace health and safety; and 11
(n) ensuring industry has been adequately consulted on proposed 12
industry codes of practice; and 13
(o) advising industry, by gazette notice, of the making of an industry 14
code of practice; and 15
(p) promoting workplace health and safety to industry and the 16
community to encourage a healthy and safe culture at workplaces. 17
`(3) The chief executive must give the board reasonable help to enable it 18
to perform its functions.'. 19
of new s 45A 20
Insertion
Clause 32. Part 6, division 2-- 21
insert-- 22
report 23
`Annual
`45A.(1) As soon as practical, but within 4 months, after the end of each 24
financial year, the board must prepare and give to the Minister a report on 25
the board's operations for the year. 26
`(2) The Minister must table a copy of the report in the Legislative 27
Assembly within 14 sitting days after receiving it.'. 28
s 33 21 s 35
Workplace Health and Safety Amendment
of pt 6, div 3, heading (Membership and conduct of 1
Amendment
council proceedings) 2
Clause 33. Part 6, division 3, heading, `council'-- 3
omit, insert-- 4
`board'. 5
of s 46 (Membership of council) 6
Amendment
Clause 34.(1) Section 46(3) and heading, `council'-- 7
omit, insert-- 8
`board'. 9
(2) Section 46(3)-- 10
renumber as section 46(4). 11
(3) Section 46(1) and (2)-- 12
omit, insert-- 13
`46.(1) The board consists of a chairperson, and at least 6 other 14
members, appointed by the Minister. 15
`(2) The person the Minister appoints as chairperson must be 16
representative of industry. 17
`(3) In appointing a person as a member, the Minister must consider the 18
person's practical experience, and competence, in the management of 19
workplace health and safety.'. 20
of s 47 (Times of council meetings) 21
Amendment
Clause 35.(1) Section 47, `council'-- 22
omit, insert-- 23
`board'. 24
(2) Section 47(3)(b), `quarter'-- 25
omit, insert-- 26
`third'. 27
s 36 22 s 39
Workplace Health and Safety Amendment
of s 48 (Conduct of proceedings) 1
Amendment
Clause 36.(1) Section 48(1) and (3) to (7), `council'-- 2
omit, insert-- 3
`board'. 4
(2) Section 48(3)(a)-- 5
omit, insert-- 6
`(a) a quorum is at least 4 members; and'. 7
of s 49 (Disclosure of interests) 8
Amendment
Clause 37.(1) Section 49(1) to (3), `council'-- 9
omit, insert-- 10
`board'. 11
(2) Section 49(2) and (3), `council's'-- 12
omit, insert-- 13
`board's'. 14
of s 50 (Minutes) 15
Amendment
Clause 38. Section 50, `council'-- 16
omit, insert-- 17
`board'. 18
of pt 6, div 4, heading (Provisions about appointed 19
Amendment
council members) 20
Clause 39. Part 6, division 4, heading, `council'-- 21
omit, insert-- 22
`board'. 23
s 40 23 s 44
Workplace Health and Safety Amendment
of s 51 (Application of division) 1
Omission
Clause 40. Section 51-- 2
omit. 3
of s 52 (Duration of appointment) 4
Amendment
Clause 41. Section 52(2)(c), `council'-- 5
omit, insert-- 6
`board'. 7
of s 53 (Leave of absence) 8
Amendment
Clause 42. Section 53(3)-- 9
omit. 10
of pt 6, div 5, heading (Industry committees) 11
Amendment
Clause 43. Part 6, division 5, heading, after `Industry'-- 12
insert-- 13
`sector standing'. 14
of ss 55 and 56 15
Replacement
Clause 44. Sections 55 and 56-- 16
omit, insert-- 17
sector standing committees 18
`Industry
`55.(1) The following industry sector standing committees of the board 19
are established-- 20
(a) construction sector standing committee; 21
(b) manufacturing sector standing committee; 22
(c) rural sector standing committee; 23
(d) services sector standing committee; 24
s 45 24 s 45
Workplace Health and Safety Amendment
(e) transport and storage sector standing committee. 1
(2) Also, the Minister may, by gazette notice, establish other industry 2
sector standing committees for industry sectors. 3
of industry sector standing committees 4
`Functions
`56.(1) The primary function of an industry sector standing committee is 5
to give advice and make recommendations to the workplace health and 6
safety board about workplace health and safety in the industry sector for 7
which the committee is established. 8
`(2) Without limiting subsection (1), the committee may discharge its 9
primary function by-- 10
(a) examining the appropriateness of, and need for, setting workplace 11
health and safety standards; and 12
(b) considering issues referred to it by the board; and 13
(c) recommending to the board that working parties be established to 14
respond to workplace health and safety issues; and 15
16
Examples of responses under paragraph (c)--
17
1. Developing an industry code of practice.
18
2. Organising a workplace health and safety promotional program.
(d) recommending to the board who should be a member of a 19
working party; and 20
(e) recommending to the board procedures for the operation of 21
working parties.'. 22
of pt 6, div 6, heading (Membership and conduct of 23
Amendment
industry committee proceedings) 24
Clause 45. Part 6, division 6, heading, after `industry'-- 25
insert-- 26
`sector standing'. 27
s 46 25 s 47
Workplace Health and Safety Amendment
of s 57 (Membership of industry committee) 1
Amendment
Clause 46.(1) Section 57, heading, after `industry'-- 2
insert-- 3
`sector standing'. 4
(2) Section 57(1) to (3)-- 5
omit, insert-- 6
`57.(1) An industry sector standing committee consists of a chairperson, 7
and at least 6 other members, appointed by the Minister. 8
`(2) In appointing a person as a member, the Minister must consider the 9
person's practical experience, and competence, in the management of 10
workplace health and safety.'. 11
(3) Section 57(4), `industry'-- 12
omit. 13
(4) Section 57(4)-- 14
renumber as section 57(3). 15
of s 58 (Times of industry committee meetings) 16
Amendment
Clause 47.(1) Section 58(1) and heading, after `industry'-- 17
insert-- 18
`sector standing'. 19
(2) Section 58(3)(b), `quarter'-- 20
omit, insert-- 21
`third'. 22
(3) Section 58(4), after `the Minister'-- 23
insert-- 24
`or the board'. 25
s 48 26 s 52
Workplace Health and Safety Amendment
of s 59 (Conduct of industry committee proceedings) 1
Amendment
Clause 48.(1) Section 59(1), (4) to (7) and heading, after `industry'-- 2
insert-- 3
`sector standing'. 4
(2) Section 59(3)(a)-- 5
omit, insert-- 6
`(a) a quorum is at least half the members; and'. 7
of s 60 (Disclosure of interests) 8
Amendment
Clause 49. Section 60(1) to (3), after `industry'-- 9
insert-- 10
`sector standing'. 11
of s 61 (Minutes) 12
Amendment
Clause 50. Section 61, after `industry'-- 13
insert-- 14
`sector standing'. 15
of pt 6, div 7, heading (Provisions about industry 16
Amendment
committee members) 17
Clause 51. Part 6, division 7, heading, after `industry'-- 18
insert-- 19
`sector standing'. 20
of s 66 (Definitions for part) 21
Amendment
Clause 52. Section 66, definition "union"-- 22
omit, insert-- 23
` "union" means an employee association registered, or taken to be 24
s 53 27 s 55
Workplace Health and Safety Amendment
registered, as an organisation under the Industrial Organisations Act 1
1997.'. 2
of s 108 (General powers after entering places) 3
Amendment
Clause 53.(1) Section 108(3)(e), before `conduct surveys'-- 4
insert-- 5
`make inquiries or'. 6
(2) Section 108-- 7
insert-- 8
`(6) A reasonable excuse does not include a matter of mere convenience. 9
10
Example of a matter of mere convenience--
11
1. An inspector visits an employer's workplace to inspect plant involved in a
12
workplace accident. The employer explains to the inspector that the plant is now at
13
the employer's other workplace. The employer claims to be too busy to unlock the
14
other workplace for another week. This is a matter of mere convenience not a
15
reasonable excuse.
16
2. An inspector visits an employer's workplace to inspect plant. The employer
17
claims that the plant can not be operated because the worker who normally operates
18
the plant is not working then. However, another worker at the workplace is
19
competent to operate the plant. The employer refuses to allow the other worker to
20
operate the plant. This is a matter of mere convenience not a reasonable excuse.'.
of s 109 (Power to seize evidence etc.) 21
Amendment
Clause 54. Section 109(1)(b), before `seizure'-- 22
insert-- 23
`for an entry made with the occupier's consent--'. 24
of s 122 (Power to require production of certain 25
Amendment
documents) 26
Clause 55.(1) Section 122(2) and (3), `subsection (1)(b)'-- 27
omit, insert-- 28
`subsection (1)'. 29
s 56 28 s 59
Workplace Health and Safety Amendment
(2) Section 122(2), after `the employer,'-- 1
insert-- 2
`person,' 3
of s 165 (Limitation on time for starting proceedings) 4
Amendment
Clause 56. Section 165(b), from `, but within' to `the offence'-- 5
omit. 6
of new s 168A 7
Insertion
Clause 57. After section 168-- 8
insert-- 9
of investigation 10
`Costs
`168A.(1) If a court convicts a person of an offence against this Act, the 11
court may order the person to pay the department's reasonable costs of 12
investigating the offence, including reasonable costs of preparing for the 13
prosecution of the offence. 14
`(2) This section does not limit the orders for costs the court may make.'. 15
of s 176 (Impersonating inspectors and others) 16
Amendment
Clause 58. Section 176, `accredited officer'-- 17
omit, insert-- 18
`accredited provider'. 19
of pt 14, div 1, heading (Accredited officers) 20
Amendment
Clause 59. Part 14, division 1, heading-- 21
omit, insert-- 22
`Division 1--Accredited providers'. 23
s 60 29 s 63
Workplace Health and Safety Amendment
of s 177 (Appointment) 1
Amendment
Clause 60. Section 177(1) and (2), `accredited officer'-- 2
omit, insert-- 3
`accredited provider'. 4
of s 178 (Functions of accredited officers) 5
Amendment
Clause 61.(1) Section 178, heading, `accredited officers'-- 6
omit, insert-- 7
`accredited providers'. 8
(2) Section 178(1) and (2), `accredited officer'-- 9
omit, insert-- 10
`accredited provider'. 11
(3) Section 178(1), `accredited officer's''-- 12
omit, insert-- 13
`accredited provider's'. 14
of s 179 (Accredited officer's appointment conditions) 15
Amendment
Clause 62.(1) Section 179, heading, `Accredited officer's'-- 16
omit, insert-- 17
`Accredited provider's'. 18
(2) Section 179(1) and (2), `accredited officer'-- 19
omit, insert-- 20
`accredited provider'. 21
of s 180 (Accredited officer's identity card) 22
Amendment
Clause 63.(1) Section 180, heading `Accredited officer's'-- 23
omit, insert-- 24
`Accredited provider's'. 25
s 64 30 s 65
Workplace Health and Safety Amendment
(2) Section 180(1), (2)(a), (b) and (c) and (3), `accredited officer'-- 1
omit, insert-- 2
`accredited provider'. 3
of s 181 (Production or display of accredited officer's 4
Amendment
identity card) 5
Clause 64.(1) Section 181, heading, `accredited officer's'-- 6
omit, insert-- 7
`accredited provider's'. 8
(2) Section 181, `accredited officer'-- 9
omit, insert-- 10
`accredited provider'. 11
(3) Section 181, `accredited officer's''-- 12
omit, insert-- 13
`accredited provider's'. 14
of s 182 (Revocation of accredited officer's appointment) 15
Amendment
Clause 65.(1) Section 182, heading, `accredited officer's'-- 16
omit, insert-- 17
`accredited provider's'. 18
(2) Section 182, `accredited officer's'-- 19
omit, insert-- 20
`accredited provider's'. 21
(3) Section 182, footnote, `accredited officer'-- 22
omit, insert-- 23
`accredited provider'. 24
s 66 31 s 71
Workplace Health and Safety Amendment
of s 183 (Protection from liability--officials) 1
Amendment
Clause 66. Section 183(1)(d)-- 2
omit, insert-- 3
`(d) a member of the board or industry sector standing committee; 4
and'. 5
of pt 16 (Regulations) 6
Omission
Clause 67. Part 16-- 7
omit. 8
of pt 17, heading (Transitional provisions and repeals) 9
Amendment
Clause 68. Part 17, heading `AND REPEALS'-- 10
omit. 11
of new pt 17, div 1, heading 12
Insertion
Clause 69. In part 17, before section 194-- 13
insert-- 14
`Division 1--Transitional provisions for Act No. 25 of 1995'. 15
of s 194 (Existing health and safety officers) 16
Renumbering
Clause 70. Section 194-- 17
renumber as section 188. 18
of s 204A (Workplace Health and Safety Act 1989 19
Renumbering
references) 20
Clause 71. Section 204A-- 21
renumber as section 189. 22
s 72 32 s 72
Workplace Health and Safety Amendment
of new pt 17, div 2 1
Insertion
Clause 72. After section 189 as renumbered-- 2
insert-- 3
`Division 2--Transitional provisions for the Workplace Health and 4
Safety Amendment Act 1997 5
advisory standards 6
`Existing
`190.(1) The Workplace Health and Safety (Advisory Standards) Notice 7
1995 (the "notice") is repealed. 8
`(2) The following advisory standards mentioned in the notice, as in 9
force at the commencement of this section, are continued in force as 10
standards for 1 year after the commencement-- 11
(a) Code of Practice for Manual Handling; 12
(b) Code of Practice for Plant; 13
(c) Code of Practice for the Management of Hazardous Substances; 14
(d) Code of Practice for the Selection, Provision and Use of Personal 15
Protective Equipment; 16
(e) Workplace Health and Safety (First Aid) Advisory Standard 17
1996; 18
(f) Workplace Health and Safety (Noise) Advisory Standard 1996; 19
(g) Workplace Health and Safety (Work Involving Repetition, Force, 20
or Awkward Postures) Advisory Standard 1996. 21
`(3) The following standards mentioned in the notice, as in force at the 22
commencement of this section, are continued in force as industry codes of 23
practice for 1 year after the commencement-- 24
(a) Code of Practice for Forest Harvesting; 25
(b) Code of Practice for Manual Handling in the Building Industry; 26
(c) Code of Practice for Manual Handling--The Handling of People; 27
(d) Code of Practice for Project Amenities; 28
(e) Code of Practice for Recreational Diving and Recreational 29
s 72 33 s 72
Workplace Health and Safety Amendment
Snorkelling at a Workplace; 1
(f) Code of Practice for Selection, Provision and Use of Personal 2
Protective Equipment in Building Work; 3
(g) Code of Practice for the Safe Design and Operation of Tractors; 4
(h) Code of Practice for the Safe Treatment, Removal and Disposal 5
of Asbestos--Cement Sheeting and Asbestos Coated Metal 6
Sheeting; 7
(i) Code of Practice for the Storage and Use of Chemicals at Rural 8
Workplaces; 9
(j) Code of Practice for the Use of Rural Plant at a Rural Workplace; 10
(k) Code of Practice for Workplace Amenities; 11
(l) Workplace Health and Safety (Asbestos Removal) Advisory 12
Standard 1996; 13
(m) Workplace Health and Safety (Excavation) Advisory Standard 14
1996; 15
(n) Workplace Health and Safety (Falling Objects) Advisory 16
Standard 1996; 17
(o) Workplace Health and Safety (Falls from Heights) Advisory 18
Standard 1996; 19
(p) Workplace Health and Safety (Formwork) Advisory Standard 20
1996; 21
(q) Workplace Health and Safety (Scaffolding) Advisory Standard 22
1996; 23
(r) Workplace Health and Safety (Steel Construction) Advisory 24
Standard 1996; 25
(s) Workplace Health and Safety (Work on Roofs) Advisory 26
Standard 1996. 27
accredited officers 28
`Existing
`191.(1) A person who, immediately before the commencement of this 29
section, was an accredited officer is taken to have been appointed as an 30
accredited provider at the commencement. 31
s 73 34 s 74
Workplace Health and Safety Amendment
`(2) This section is a law to which the Acts Interpretation Act 1954, 1
section 20A applies. 2
`(3) This section expires on 1 July 1998.'. 3
of sch 1 (List of offences and penalties) 4
Amendment
Clause 73. Schedule 1, section 2, entry for section 24(1)-- 5
omit, insert-- 6
`24(1)3-- 7
(a) death or grievous 8
bodily harm 800 penalty units or 2 years imprisonment 9
(b) substance exposure 500 penalty units or 1 year imprisonment 10
(c) bodily harm 500 penalty units or 1 year imprisonment 11
(d) otherwise 400 penalty units or 6 months imprisonment'. 12
of sch 3 (Dictionary) 13
Amendment
Clause 74.(1) Schedule 3, definitions "compliance standard", "council", 14
"risk", and "standard"-- 15
omit. 16
(2) Schedule 3-- 17
insert-- 18
3 Section 24 imposes the penalty for contraventions of the provisions of part 3,
divisions 2 and 3.
s 74 35 s 74
Workplace Health and Safety Amendment
` "board" see section 44. 1
"bodily harm" see Criminal Code, section 1.4 2
"grievous bodily harm" see Criminal Code, section 1.5 3
"illness" includes a disease. 4
"risk" means risk of death, injury or illness. 5
"workplace health and safety" see section 22(1). 6
(3) Schedule 3, definition "personal protective equipment", 7
`disease'-- 8
omit, insert-- 9
`illness'. 10
(4) Schedule 3, definition "work caused illness", paragraph (a), `a 11
disease'-- 12
omit, insert-- 13
`an illness'. 14
4 Criminal Code, section 1--
" bodily harm" means any injury which interferes with health or comfort.
5 The Criminal Code, section 1--
" grievous bodily harm" means--
(a) the loss of a distinct part or an organ of the body; or
(b) serious disfigurement; or
(c) any bodily injury of such a nature that, if left untreated, would endanger
or be likely to endanger life, or cause or be likely to cause permanent
injury to health;
whether or not treatment is or could have been available.
s 74 36 s 74
Workplace Health and Safety Amendment
(5) Schedule 3, definition "work caused illness", paragraph (b), 1
`disease'-- 2
omit, insert-- 3
`illness'. 4
© State of Queensland 1997
[Index] [Search] [Download] [Related Items] [Help]