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
and Other Legislation
Amendment Bill 2008
Queensland
Workplace Health and Safety and Other
Legislation Amendment Bill 2008
Contents
Page
Part 1 Preliminary
1 Short title . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6
2 Commencement . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6
Part 2 Amendment of Workplace Health and Safety Act 1995
3 Act amended in pt 2 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7
4 Amendment of s 7 (Objective of Act) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7
5 Amendment of s 22 (Ensuring workplace health and safety) . . . . 7
6 Amendment of s 42C (Ministerial notices in urgent
circumstances) ................................. 7
7 Amendment of s 42D (Meaning of workplace health and safety
undertaking) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8
8 Amendment of s 67 (Who is a workplace health and safety
representative?) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8
9 Amendment of s 81 (Entitlements of workplace health and
safety representatives) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8
10 Insertion of new pt 7, div 3, sdivs 4A and 4B . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8
Subdivision 4A Provisional improvement notices
81A Who is a qualified workplace health and safety
representative. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9
81B Provisional improvement notices . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9
81C Consultation required before issue of provisional
improvement notice . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9
81D Contents of provisional improvement notice. . . . . . . . 9
81E Provisional improvement notice may state measures
to remedy contravention . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10
81F What person given provisional improvement notice
must do . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10
81G Compliance with provisional improvement notice. . . . 10
Workplace Health and Safety and Other Legislation Amendment Bill 2008
Contents
81H Request for inspector to enquire into giving of
provisional improvement notice . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 11
81I Attendance of inspector in relation to provisional
improvement notice . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 11
81J Service of provisional improvement notice . . . . . . . . . 12
81K Formal irregularities or defects in provisional
improvement notice . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 13
81L Qualified workplace health and safety representative
may cancel provisional improvement notice at any
time ................................. 13
81M Proceeding for offence not affected by provisional
improvement notice . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 13
Subdivision 4B Suspension or cancellation of workplace
health and safety representative's entitlement
to give provisional improvement notice
81N Application to suspend or cancel . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 14
81O Decision on application may be given on the papers
or at a hearing . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 14
81P Applications decided on the papers . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 14
81Q Applications decided at a hearing . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 16
11 Amendment of s 85 (Ceasing to be a workplace health and
safety representative) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 17
12 Amendment of s 90Q (Applications decided on the papers) . . . . 17
13 Amendment of s 97 (Employer and principal contractor to help
workplace health and safety officer etc.) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 18
14 Amendment of s 104 (Entry to places) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 18
15 Insertion of new pt 9, div 3A hdg and new s 118A . . . . . . . . . . . . 18
Division 3A Orders to secure compliance with notices
given by an inspector
118A Definition for div 3A . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 18
16 Amendment of s 119 (Order to secure compliance with notices). 19
17 Amendment of s 122 (Power to require production of certain
documents) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 19
18 Amendment of s 147A (Definitions for pt 11) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 19
19 Amendment of s 165 (Limitation on time for starting
proceedings) .................................. 20
20 Amendment of s 166 (Responsibility for acts or omissions of
representatives) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 20
21 Insertion of new s 168B . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 20
168B Information during sentencing of impact of offence on
person . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 20
Page 2
Workplace Health and Safety and Other Legislation Amendment Bill 2008
Contents
22 Insertion of new pt 12 div 3 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 21
Division 3 Proceedings against government bodies
170 Definitions for div 3 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 21
170A Government body may be prosecuted . . . . . . . . . . . . 22
170B Responsible entity for a proceeding against the State 22
170C Penalties in proceedings against government body . . 23
170D Notices may be given to a government body . . . . . . . 23
23 Amendment of s 176 (Impersonating inspectors and others). . . . 24
24 Amendment of s 183 (Protection from liability--officials) . . . . . . . 24
25 Amendment of s 185A (Powers of chief executive to require
production of particular documents) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 24
26 Insertion of new pt 17 div 5 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 24
Division 5 Transitional provision for Workplace Health
and Safety and Other Legislation Amendment
Act 2008
195 Applications to Supreme Court . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 24
27 Amendment of sch 1 (Prescribed activities) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 25
2 Prescribed activities--work to remove friable
asbestos containing material . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 25
28 Amendment of sch 3 (Dictionary) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 25
Part 3 Amendment of Electrical Safety Act 2002
29 Act amended in pt 3 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 26
30 Amendment of s 3 (Act binds all persons) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 26
31 Amendment of s 49 (Meaning of electrical safety undertaking) . . 26
32 Amendment of s 156 (Order to secure compliance with notices). 26
33 Amendment of s 187 (Limitation on time for starting
proceedings) .................................. 27
34 Amendment of s 188 (Responsibility for act or omission of
representative) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 27
35 Insertion of new s 189A . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 27
189A Information during sentencing of impact of offence
on person . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 27
36 Insertion of new pt 13 div 2A . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 28
Division 2A Proceedings against government bodies
192A Definitions for div 2A. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 28
192B Government body may be prosecuted . . . . . . . . . . . . 29
192C Responsible entity for a proceeding against the State 29
192D Penalties in proceedings against government body . . 30
Page 3
Workplace Health and Safety and Other Legislation Amendment Bill 2008
Contents
192E Notices may be given to a government body . . . . . . . 30
37 Insertion of new pt 17 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 31
Part 17 Transitional provision for Workplace Health
and Safety and Other Legislation Amendment
Act 2008
243 Applications to Supreme Court . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 31
Part 4 Amendment of Workers' Compensation and Rehabilitation
Act 2003
38 Act amended in pt 4 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 31
39 Amendment of s 128B (Entitlements of worker with terminal
condition) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 32
40 Insertion of new ss 128D and 128E . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 32
128D Worker's dependants . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 32
128E To whom payments made for death of worker . . . . . . 33
41 Amendment of s 194 (Application and object of pt 11). . . . . . . . . 33
42 Insertion of new ch 24 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 34
Chapter 24 Transitional and declaratory provisions for
Workplace Health and Safety and Other
Legislation Amendment Act 2008
657 Worker with terminal condition--application for
compensation lodged on or after 28 October 2008 . . 34
658 Worker with terminal condition--application for
compensation lodged before 28 October 2008 . . . . . 34
659 Amendment of regulation . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 35
Part 5 Amendment of Workers' Compensation and Rehabilitation
Regulation 2003
43 Regulation amended in pt 5 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 35
44 Amendment of s 85 (Application for compensation). . . . . . . . . . . 35
Page 4
2008
A Bill
for
An Act to amend the Workplace Health and Safety Act 1995, the
Electrical Safety Act 2002, the Workers' Compensation and
Rehabilitation Act 2003 and the Workers' Compensation and
Rehabilitation Regulation 2003 for particular purposes
Workplace Health and Safety and Other Legislation Amendment Bill 2008
Part 1 Preliminary
[s 1]
The Parliament of Queensland enacts-- 1
Part 1 Preliminary 2
Clause 1 Short title 3
This Act may be cited as the Workplace Health and Safety and 4
Other Legislation Amendment Act 2008. 5
Clause 2 Commencement 6
(1) Part 4 is taken to have commenced on 28 October 2008. 7
(2) Part 2, other than the following provisions, commences on 1 8
January 2009-- 9
· sections 8 to 11 10
· section 15 11
· section 16(1) 12
· section 22 so far as it inserts section 170D(c) 13
· section 23 14
· section 28(2) so far as it inserts the definitions 15
provisional improvement notice and qualified workplace 16
health and safety representative. 17
(3) Part 3 commences on 1 January 2009. 18
(4) The following provisions commence on a day to be fixed by 19
proclamation-- 20
· sections 8 to 11 21
· section 15 22
· section 16(1) 23
· section 22 so far as it inserts section 170D(c) 24
· section 23 25
Page 6
Workplace Health and Safety and Other Legislation Amendment Bill 2008
Part 2 Amendment of Workplace Health and Safety Act 1995
[s 3]
· section 28(2) so far as it inserts the definitions 1
provisional improvement notice and qualified workplace 2
health and safety representative. 3
Part 2 Amendment of Workplace 4
Health and Safety Act 1995 5
Clause 3 Act amended in pt 2 6
This part amends the Workplace Health and Safety Act 1995. 7
Clause 4 Amendment of s 7 (Objective of Act) 8
Section 7(1) and (2), `at a workplace'-- 9
omit, insert-- 10
`at a relevant place'. 11
Clause 5 Amendment of s 22 (Ensuring workplace health and 12
safety) 13
Section 22(a) and (b), `at a workplace'-- 14
omit, insert-- 15
`at a relevant place'. 16
Clause 6 Amendment of s 42C (Ministerial notices in urgent 17
circumstances) 18
Section 42C(1)(a)(i), `at a workplace'-- 19
omit, insert-- 20
`at a relevant place'. 21
Page 7
Workplace Health and Safety and Other Legislation Amendment Bill 2008
Part 2 Amendment of Workplace Health and Safety Act 1995
[s 7]
Clause 7 Amendment of s 42D (Meaning of workplace health and 1
safety undertaking) 2
Section 42D-- 3
insert-- 4
`(2) The chief executive of a public sector unit may give a 5
workplace health and safety undertaking for the public sector 6
unit.'. 7
Clause 8 Amendment of s 67 (Who is a workplace health and 8
safety representative?) 9
Section 67(3)-- 10
insert-- 11
`Note-- 12
See section 81A for qualified workplace health and safety 13
representatives.' 14
Clause 9 Amendment of s 81 (Entitlements of workplace health 15
and safety representatives) 16
Section 81(1)-- 17
insert-- 18
`(p) for a qualified workplace health and safety 19
representative--to give a person in the representative's 20
area of representation a provisional improvement 21
notice.'. 22
Clause 10 Insertion of new pt 7, div 3, sdivs 4A and 4B 23
After section 81-- 24
insert-- 25
`Subdivision 4A Provisional improvement notices 26
Page 8
Workplace Health and Safety and Other Legislation Amendment Bill 2008
Part 2 Amendment of Workplace Health and Safety Act 1995
[s 10]
`81A Who is a qualified workplace health and safety 1
representative 2
`For this subdivision, a qualified workplace health and safety 3
representative is a workplace health and safety representative 4
who has completed a training course approved by the chief 5
executive that includes training in the giving of provisional 6
improvement notices. 7
`81B Provisional improvement notices 8
`(1) This section applies if a qualified workplace health and safety 9
representative reasonably believes that a person within the 10
representative's area of representation-- 11
(a) is contravening a provision of this Act; or 12
(b) has contravened a provision in circumstances that make 13
it likely that the contravention will continue or be 14
repeated. 15
`(2) The qualified workplace health and safety representative may 16
give the person a written notice (a provisional improvement 17
notice) requiring the person to remedy the contravention or 18
likely contravention. 19
`81C Consultation required before issue of provisional 20
improvement notice 21
`Before giving a provisional improvement notice to a person, 22
a qualified workplace health and safety representative must 23
consult with the person about remedying the contravention or 24
likely contravention. 25
`81D Contents of provisional improvement notice 26
`A provisional improvement notice must state the following in 27
relation to a contravention of this Act-- 28
(a) that the qualified workplace health and safety 29
representative believes the person-- 30
(i) is contravening a provision of this Act; or 31
Page 9
Workplace Health and Safety and Other Legislation Amendment Bill 2008
Part 2 Amendment of Workplace Health and Safety Act 1995
[s 10]
(ii) has contravened a provision in circumstances that 1
make it likely that the contravention will continue 2
or be repeated; 3
(b) the provision the representative believes is being, or has 4
been, contravened; 5
(c) how the provision is being, or has been, contravened; 6
(d) a day, at least 8 days after the day the notice is given, 7
before which the person is required to remedy the 8
contravention or likely contravention. 9
`81E Provisional improvement notice may state measures 10
to remedy contravention 11
`A provisional improvement notice may state measures to be 12
taken to remedy the contravention or likely contravention. 13
`81F What person given provisional improvement notice 14
must do 15
`A person given a provisional improvement notice must-- 16
(a) if the person is a worker--bring the notice to the 17
attention of the relevant person for the worker; or 18
(b) if the person is not a worker-- 19
(i) bring the notice to the attention of each other 20
person whose work is affected by the notice; and 21
(ii) if possible, display a copy of the notice, while it is 22
in force, in a conspicuous position in the part of the 23
workplace covered by the qualified workplace 24
health and safety representative's area of 25
representation. 26
Maximum penalty--20 penalty units. 27
`81G Compliance with provisional improvement notice 28
`A person given a provisional improvement notice must 29
comply with the notice, unless an inspector is asked to enquire 30
Page 10
Workplace Health and Safety and Other Legislation Amendment Bill 2008
Part 2 Amendment of Workplace Health and Safety Act 1995
[s 10]
into the circumstances relating to the giving of the notice 1
under section 81H(1). 2
Maximum penalty--40 penalty units. 3
`81H Request for inspector to enquire into giving of 4
provisional improvement notice 5
`(1) Within 7 days after a provisional improvement notice is given 6
to a person-- 7
(a) the person given the notice; or 8
(b) if the person given the notice is a worker--the relevant 9
person for the worker; 10
may ask the chief executive to arrange for an inspector to 11
attend the workplace to enquire into the circumstances 12
relating to the giving of the notice. 13
`(2) The operation of the notice is suspended until the inspector 14
completes the inspector's enquiry. 15
`(3) A qualified workplace health and safety representative may 16
ask the chief executive to arrange for an inspector to attend the 17
workplace to enquire into the circumstances relating to the 18
giving of the notice if-- 19
(a) the person given the notice has not complied with the 20
notice within the time stated in the notice; and 21
(b) subsection (1) does not apply. 22
`81I Attendance of inspector in relation to provisional 23
improvement notice 24
`(1) As soon as practicable after the request is made, the chief 25
executive must arrange for an inspector to-- 26
(a) attend the workplace; and 27
(b) enquire into the circumstances relating to the giving of 28
the provisional improvement notice. 29
`(2) The inspector must-- 30
Page 11
Workplace Health and Safety and Other Legislation Amendment Bill 2008
Part 2 Amendment of Workplace Health and Safety Act 1995
[s 10]
(a) enquire into the circumstances relating to the giving of 1
the provisional improvement notice; and 2
(b) by written notice given to the qualified workplace health 3
and safety representative who gave the notice and to the 4
person given the notice, do 1 of the following-- 5
(i) affirm the provisional improvement notice; 6
(ii) affirm the provisional improvement notice with 7
changes; 8
(iii) cancel the provisional improvement notice. 9
`(3) The notice given by the inspector must state-- 10
(a) the decision; and 11
(b) the reason for the decision; and 12
(c) that the person may apply within 14 days for the 13
decision to be reviewed; and 14
(d) how the person may apply for the review. 15
`(4) A person given a provisional improvement notice that is 16
affirmed by an inspector must comply with the notice within 17
the time stated by the inspector in the notice given by the 18
inspector. 19
Maximum penalty for subsection (4)--40 penalty units. 20
`81J Service of provisional improvement notice 21
`(1) A provisional improvement notice may be given to a person 22
by leaving it for the person at the workplace to which the 23
notice relates with a person who is apparently-- 24
(a) at least 16 years old; and 25
(b) is, or appears to be, the person in control of the 26
workplace or the work to which the contravention 27
relates. 28
`(2) Subsection (1) does not limit the Acts Interpretation Act 1954, 29
section 39. 30
Page 12
Workplace Health and Safety and Other Legislation Amendment Bill 2008
Part 2 Amendment of Workplace Health and Safety Act 1995
[s 10]
`81K Formal irregularities or defects in provisional 1
improvement notice 2
`A provisional improvement notice is not invalid merely 3
because of-- 4
(a) a formal defect or irregularity in the notice, unless the 5
defect or irregularity is misleading or causes or is likely 6
to cause substantial injustice; or 7
(b) a failure to use the correct name of the person to which 8
the notice is given, if the notice sufficiently identifies the 9
person and is given to the person in accordance with 10
section 81J or the Acts Interpretation Act 1954, section 11
39. 12
`81L Qualified workplace health and safety representative 13
may cancel provisional improvement notice at any 14
time 15
`A qualified workplace health and safety representative may at 16
any time cancel a provisional improvement notice given to a 17
person by written notice given to the person. 18
`81M Proceeding for offence not affected by provisional 19
improvement notice 20
`The giving, variation or cancellation of a provisional 21
improvement notice does not affect a proceeding for an 22
offence against this Act for a matter in relation to which the 23
notice was given. 24
`Subdivision 4B Suspension or cancellation of 25
workplace health and safety 26
representative's entitlement to give 27
provisional improvement notice 28
Page 13
Workplace Health and Safety and Other Legislation Amendment Bill 2008
Part 2 Amendment of Workplace Health and Safety Act 1995
[s 10]
`81N Application to suspend or cancel 1
`(1) This section applies if the chief executive or the relevant 2
person in a qualified workplace health and safety 3
representative's area of representation reasonably believes 4
that the representative has unreasonably given a provisional 5
improvement notice to a person. 6
`(2) The chief executive or the relevant person may apply to the 7
industrial commission to suspend or cancel the 8
representative's entitlement to give a provisional improvement 9
notice. 10
`81O Decision on application may be given on the papers 11
or at a hearing 12
`The industrial commission may decide whether or not to take 13
action on an application under section 81N entirely or partly 14
from a consideration of the documents filed. 15
`81P Applications decided on the papers 16
`(1) This section applies if the industrial commission decides to 17
decide the application after a consideration of the documents 18
filed and without a hearing. 19
`(2) The industrial commission must give the applicant and the 20
representative a written notice stating-- 21
(a) the industrial commission is considering whether to 22
suspend or cancel the qualified workplace health and 23
safety representative's entitlement to give a provisional 24
improvement notice (the proposed action); and 25
(b) the reason for the proposed action; and 26
(c) if the proposed action is suspension of the 27
entitlement--the proposed suspension period; and 28
(d) an invitation-- 29
(i) to the representative to show in writing, within a 30
stated time of at least 14 days after the date of the 31
Page 14
Workplace Health and Safety and Other Legislation Amendment Bill 2008
Part 2 Amendment of Workplace Health and Safety Act 1995
[s 10]
notice, why the proposed action should not be 1
taken; and 2
(ii) to the applicant to comment in writing, within a 3
stated time of at least 14 days after the date of the 4
notice, on the appropriateness of the proposed 5
action. 6
`(3) The industrial commission may take action under subsection 7
(4) if, after considering all documents filed in the application 8
and all written submissions made within the time allowed 9
under subsection (2)(d), the industrial commission-- 10
(a) is satisfied, on the balance of probabilities, that the 11
representative has unreasonably given a provisional 12
improvement notice to a person; and 13
(b) considers the representative's entitlement to give a 14
provisional improvement notice should be suspended or 15
cancelled. 16
`(4) The industrial commission may-- 17
(a) if the proposed action is to suspend the 18
entitlement--suspend the entitlement for no longer than 19
the proposed suspension period; or 20
(b) if the proposed action is to cancel the 21
entitlement--cancel the entitlement or suspend it for a 22
period. 23
`(5) The industrial commission must give the applicant and the 24
representative a written notice stating-- 25
(a) the decision; and 26
(b) the reasons for the decision; and 27
(c) that the applicant or the authorised representative may 28
appeal against the decision under part 11. 29
`(6) In this section-- 30
applicant means-- 31
(a) if the application under section 81N is made by the chief 32
executive--the chief executive; or 33
Page 15
Workplace Health and Safety and Other Legislation Amendment Bill 2008
Part 2 Amendment of Workplace Health and Safety Act 1995
[s 10]
(b) if the application under section 81N is made by a 1
relevant person--the relevant person and the chief 2
executive. 3
`81Q Applications decided at a hearing 4
`(1) This section applies if the industrial commission decides to 5
decide the application at a hearing. 6
`(2) The industrial commission must give the applicant and the 7
representative at least 14 days notice of the hearing date. 8
`(3) To the extent practicable, the hearing is to be conducted under 9
the rules applying to hearings of the industrial commission 10
under the Industrial Relations Act 1999 with necessary 11
changes or, if the rules make no provision or insufficient 12
provision, in accordance with directions of the industrial 13
commission. 14
`(4) The industrial commission may take action under subsection 15
(5) if, after considering the evidence and submissions in 16
relation to the application, the industrial commission-- 17
(a) is satisfied, on the balance of probabilities, that the 18
representative has unreasonably given a provisional 19
improvement notice to a person; and 20
(b) considers the representative's entitlement to give a 21
provisional improvement notice should be suspended or 22
cancelled. 23
`(5) The industrial commission may-- 24
(a) suspend the entitlement for a stated period; or 25
(b) cancel the entitlement. 26
`(6) The industrial commission must give the applicant and the 27
representative a written notice stating-- 28
(a) the decision; and 29
(b) the reasons for the decision; and 30
(c) that the applicant or the representative may appeal 31
against the decision under part 11. 32
Page 16
Workplace Health and Safety and Other Legislation Amendment Bill 2008
Part 2 Amendment of Workplace Health and Safety Act 1995
[s 11]
`(7) In this section-- 1
applicant means-- 2
(a) if the application under section 81N is made by the chief 3
executive--the chief executive; or 4
(b) if the application under section 81N is made by the 5
relevant person--the relevant person and the chief 6
executive.'. 7
Clause 11 Amendment of s 85 (Ceasing to be a workplace health 8
and safety representative) 9
(1) Section 85, heading-- 10
omit, insert-- 11
`85 Ceasing to be a workplace health and safety 12
representative or a qualified workplace health and safety 13
representative'. 14
(2) Section 85-- 15
insert-- 16
`(2) A worker stops being a qualified workplace health and safety 17
representative if the worker stops being a workplace health 18
and safety representative.'. 19
Clause 12 Amendment of s 90Q (Applications decided on the 20
papers) 21
Section 90Q(2)(a)-- 22
omit, insert-- 23
`(a) the industrial commission is considering whether to 24
suspend or cancel the authorised representative's 25
appointment or to amend the conditions of the 26
appointment (the proposed action); and' 27
Page 17
Workplace Health and Safety and Other Legislation Amendment Bill 2008
Part 2 Amendment of Workplace Health and Safety Act 1995
[s 13]
Clause 13 Amendment of s 97 (Employer and principal contractor to 1
help workplace health and safety officer etc.) 2
Section 97(1)(a), `at a workplace'-- 3
omit, insert-- 4
`at a relevant place'. 5
Clause 14 Amendment of s 104 (Entry to places) 6
Section 104(1)(f)-- 7
omit, insert-- 8
`(f) a prescribed activity, or work to remove bonded asbestos 9
containing material, is being performed at the place by a 10
person who holds a certificate to perform the activity or 11
work; or'. 12
Clause 15 Insertion of new pt 9, div 3A hdg and new s 118A 13
After section 118-- 14
insert-- 15
`Division 3A Orders to secure compliance with 16
notices given by an inspector 17
`118A Definition for div 3A 18
`In this division-- 19
notice means any of the following-- 20
(a) a notice given by an inspector in relation to a provisional 21
improvement notice; 22
(b) an improvement notice; 23
(c) a prohibition notice.'. 24
Page 18
Workplace Health and Safety and Other Legislation Amendment Bill 2008
Part 2 Amendment of Workplace Health and Safety Act 1995
[s 16]
Clause 16 Amendment of s 119 (Order to secure compliance with 1
notices) 2
(1) Section 119(1), `an improvement or prohibition notice'-- 3
omit, insert-- 4
`a notice'. 5
(2) Section 119(2), from `make' to `Court'-- 6
omit, insert-- 7
`apply to an industrial magistrate'. 8
(3) Section 119(3), `court'-- 9
omit, insert-- 10
`magistrate'. 11
(4) Section 119(3), `it'-- 12
omit, insert-- 13
`the magistrate'. 14
Clause 17 Amendment of s 122 (Power to require production of 15
certain documents) 16
(1) Section 122(1)(b), `at a workplace'-- 17
omit, insert-- 18
`at a relevant place'. 19
(2) Section 122(8)-- 20
omit. 21
Clause 18 Amendment of s 147A (Definitions for pt 11) 22
Section 147A, definition original decision, paragraph (d)-- 23
insert-- 24
`(ia) an order or decision of the industrial commission 25
under section 81P or 81Q; or'. 26
Page 19
Workplace Health and Safety and Other Legislation Amendment Bill 2008
Part 2 Amendment of Workplace Health and Safety Act 1995
[s 19]
Clause 19 Amendment of s 165 (Limitation on time for starting 1
proceedings) 2
Section 165-- 3
insert-- 4
`(c) if the offence involves a breach of an obligation causing 5
death and the death is investigated by a coroner under 6
the Coroners Act 2003--within 2 years after the coroner 7
makes a finding in relation to the death.'. 8
Clause 20 Amendment of s 166 (Responsibility for acts or 9
omissions of representatives) 10
Section 166(1), definition representative-- 11
insert-- 12
`(c) of a public sector unit--an officer or employee of the 13
public sector unit.'. 14
Clause 21 Insertion of new s 168B 15
After section 168A-- 16
insert-- 17
`168B Information during sentencing of impact of offence on 18
person 19
`(1) If a court convicts a person (defendant) of an offence against 20
this Act, the prosecutor should, at the sentencing of the 21
defendant, tell the sentencing court the appropriate details of 22
the harm caused to a victim by the defendant's failure to 23
comply with this Act. 24
`(2) In deciding what details are not appropriate, the prosecutor 25
may have regard to the victim's wishes. 26
`(3) However-- 27
(a) it is not mandatory for a victim to give the prosecutor 28
details of the harm caused to the victim by the 29
defendant's failure to comply with this Act; and 30
Page 20
Workplace Health and Safety and Other Legislation Amendment Bill 2008
Part 2 Amendment of Workplace Health and Safety Act 1995
[s 22]
(b) the fact that details of the harm caused to a victim by the 1
defendant's failure to comply with this Act are absent at 2
the sentencing does not of itself give rise to an inference 3
that the defendant's failure caused little or no harm to 4
the victim. 5
`(4) A prosecutor should ensure the sentencing court has regard to 6
the Penalties and Sentences Act 1992, section (9)(2)(c), if it 7
would help the victim to have the benefit of the principle 8
mentioned in subsection (1). 9
`(5) In this section-- 10
harm means death, grievous bodily harm or bodily harm. 11
victim means a person who has suffered harm because-- 12
(a) a defendant has committed an offence against this Act; 13
or 14
(b) the person is a member of the immediate family of, or is 15
a dependant of, a victim mentioned in paragraph (a).'. 16
Clause 22 Insertion of new pt 12 div 3 17
After section 169-- 18
insert-- 19
`Division 3 Proceedings against government 20
bodies 21
`170 Definitions for div 3 22
`In this division-- 23
government body means the State, another State or the 24
Commonwealth. 25
responsible entity see section 170B(1). 26
successor in law, of a public sector unit, means-- 27
(a) if the functions of the public sector unit (the former 28
unit) are substantially performed by another public 29
sector unit (the current unit)--the current unit; or 30
Page 21
Workplace Health and Safety and Other Legislation Amendment Bill 2008
Part 2 Amendment of Workplace Health and Safety Act 1995
[s 22]
(b) if the functions of the former unit are performed by 2 or 1
more public sector units--the unit that has the function 2
of the former unit most closely connected with the act or 3
omission that is alleged to constitute the offence. 4
`170A Government body may be prosecuted 5
`(1) A government body may be prosecuted for an offence against 6
this Act. 7
`(2) For a prosecution against the State for an offence against this 8
Act, the proceeding must be taken against the responsible 9
entity. 10
`170B Responsible entity for a proceeding against the State 11
`(1) For a proceeding mentioned in section 170A(2), the 12
responsible entity is-- 13
(a) the public sector unit whose act or omission is alleged to 14
constitute the offence; or 15
(b) if the public sector unit has ceased to exist--the 16
successor in law of the public sector unit; or 17
(c) if the public sector unit has ceased to exist and there is 18
no clear successor in law--the entity declared by the 19
court to be the responsible entity. 20
`(2) For a proceeding mentioned in subsection (1)-- 21
(a) the proceeding is to be taken against the responsible 22
entity as if it were a separate legal entity, if it is not 23
otherwise a separate legal entity; and 24
(b) the responsible entity is to be stated in the charge for the 25
offence; and 26
(c) subject to any rules of court, the responsible entity has 27
the procedural rights and obligations of the State as the 28
defendant in the proceeding. 29
Page 22
Workplace Health and Safety and Other Legislation Amendment Bill 2008
Part 2 Amendment of Workplace Health and Safety Act 1995
[s 22]
`(3) The prosecutor may, during the proceeding and with the 1
court's leave, substitute for the responsible entity stated in the 2
charge its successor in law. 3
`(4) The chief executive of the responsible entity, or a person 4
authorised by the chief executive, may act on behalf of the 5
responsible entity for the purposes of the proceeding. 6
`(5) A document may be served on a responsible entity for the 7
purposes of the proceeding-- 8
(a) by delivering it to the chief executive of the entity or to a 9
person authorised by the chief executive at a place of 10
business of the responsible entity; or 11
(b) by leaving it at, or sending it by post, telex, facsimile or 12
similar facility to, the usual business address of the 13
responsible entity. 14
`(6) This section applies in relation to the State despite the Crown 15
Proceedings Act 1980. 16
`170C Penalties in proceedings against government body 17
`(1) The penalty that may be imposed on a government body if it is 18
convicted of an offence against this Act is the penalty 19
applicable to a body corporate. 20
`(2) A government body may be served with an infringement 21
notice under the State Penalties Enforcement Act 1999 in 22
relation to an offence against this Act. 23
`170D Notices may be given to a government body 24
`The following notices may be given to a government body-- 25
(a) a prohibition notice; 26
(b) an improvement notice; 27
(c) a provisional improvement notice.'. 28
Page 23
Workplace Health and Safety and Other Legislation Amendment Bill 2008
Part 2 Amendment of Workplace Health and Safety Act 1995
[s 23]
Clause 23 Amendment of s 176 (Impersonating inspectors and 1
others) 2
Section 176-- 3
insert-- 4
`(f) a qualified workplace health and safety representative.'. 5
Clause 24 Amendment of s 183 (Protection from liability--officials) 6
Section 183(2)-- 7
insert-- 8
`Examples of an act done-- 9
giving information or advice' 10
Clause 25 Amendment of s 185A (Powers of chief executive to 11
require production of particular documents) 12
Section 185A(1)(b), `at a workplace'-- 13
omit, insert-- 14
`at a relevant place'. 15
Clause 26 Insertion of new pt 17 div 5 16
After section 194-- 17
insert-- 18
`Division 5 Transitional provision for Workplace 19
Health and Safety and Other 20
Legislation Amendment Act 2008 21
`195 Applications to Supreme Court 22
`Section 119, as in force immediately before the 23
commencement of this section, continues to apply after the 24
commencement to an application to the Supreme Court made 25
before the commencement as if the Workplace Health and 26
Page 24
Workplace Health and Safety and Other Legislation Amendment Bill 2008
Part 2 Amendment of Workplace Health and Safety Act 1995
[s 27]
Safety and Other Legislation Amendment Act 2008, section 1
16(2) to (4) had not been enacted.'. 2
Clause 27 Amendment of sch 1 (Prescribed activities) 3
Schedule 1, section 2-- 4
omit, insert-- 5
`2 Prescribed activities--work to remove friable 6
asbestos containing material 7
`Work to remove friable asbestos containing material is a 8
prescribed activity.'. 9
Clause 28 Amendment of sch 3 (Dictionary) 10
(1) Schedule 3, definitions asbestos removal work, relevant place 11
and unbonded asbestos containing material-- 12
omit. 13
(2) Schedule 3-- 14
insert-- 15
`provisional improvement notice see section 81B(2). 16
qualified workplace health and safety representative see 17
section 81A. 18
relevant person see section 28(1). 19
relevant place, in part 1, division 3 and part 3, division 2, 20
means-- 21
(a) for plant, other than specified high risk plant, or 22
substances--a workplace; or 23
(b) for specified high risk plant--any place, whether or not 24
a workplace.'. 25
(3) Schedule 3, definition friable asbestos containing material, 26
`unbonded'-- 27
omit. 28
Page 25
Workplace Health and Safety and Other Legislation Amendment Bill 2008
Part 3 Amendment of Electrical Safety Act 2002
[s 29]
(4) Schedule 3, definitions work caused illness and work injury, 1
`at a workplace'-- 2
omit, insert-- 3
`at a relevant place'. 4
Part 3 Amendment of Electrical Safety 5
Act 2002 6
Clause 29 Act amended in pt 3 7
This part amends the Electrical Safety Act 2002. 8
Clause 30 Amendment of s 3 (Act binds all persons) 9
Section 3(2)-- 10
omit. 11
Clause 31 Amendment of s 49 (Meaning of electrical safety 12
undertaking) 13
Section 49-- 14
insert-- 15
`(2) The chief executive of a public sector unit may give an 16
electrical safety undertaking for the public sector unit.'. 17
Clause 32 Amendment of s 156 (Order to secure compliance with 18
notices) 19
(1) Section 156(2), from `make' to `Court'-- 20
omit, insert-- 21
`apply to an industrial magistrate'. 22
(2) Section 156(3), `court'-- 23
Page 26
Workplace Health and Safety and Other Legislation Amendment Bill 2008
Part 3 Amendment of Electrical Safety Act 2002
[s 33]
omit, insert-- 1
`magistrate'. 2
(3) Section 156(3), `it'-- 3
omit, insert-- 4
`the magistrate'. 5
Clause 33 Amendment of s 187 (Limitation on time for starting 6
proceedings) 7
Section 187-- 8
insert-- 9
`(c) if the offence involves a breach of an obligation causing death 10
and the death is investigated by a coroner under the Coroners 11
Act 2003--within 2 years after the coroner makes a finding in 12
relation to the death.'. 13
Clause 34 Amendment of s 188 (Responsibility for act or omission 14
of representative) 15
Section 188(4), definition representative-- 16
insert-- 17
`(c) of a public sector unit--an officer or employee of the 18
public sector unit.'. 19
Clause 35 Insertion of new s 189A 20
After section 189-- 21
insert-- 22
`189A Information during sentencing of impact of offence 23
on person 24
`(1) If a court convicts a person (defendant) of an offence against 25
this Act, the prosecutor should, at the sentencing of the 26
defendant, tell the sentencing court the appropriate details of 27
the harm caused to a victim by the defendant's failure to 28
comply with this Act. 29
Page 27
Workplace Health and Safety and Other Legislation Amendment Bill 2008
Part 3 Amendment of Electrical Safety Act 2002
[s 36]
`(2) In deciding what details are not appropriate, the prosecutor 1
may have regard to the victim's wishes. 2
`(3) However-- 3
(a) it is not mandatory for a victim to give the prosecutor 4
details of the harm caused to the victim by the 5
defendant's failure to comply with this Act; and 6
(b) the fact that details of the harm caused to a victim by the 7
defendant's failure to comply with this Act are absent at 8
the sentencing does not of itself give rise to an inference 9
that the defendant's failure caused little or no harm to 10
the victim. 11
`(4) A prosecutor should ensure the sentencing court has regard to 12
the Penalties and Sentences Act 1992, section (9)(2)(c), if it 13
would help the victim to have the benefit of the principle 14
mentioned in subsection (1). 15
`(5) In this section-- 16
harm means death, grievous bodily harm or bodily harm. 17
victim means a person who has suffered harm because-- 18
(a) a defendant has committed an offence against this Act; 19
or 20
(b) the person is a member of the immediate family of, or is 21
a dependant of, a victim mentioned in paragraph (a).'. 22
Clause 36 Insertion of new pt 13 div 2A 23
After section 192-- 24
insert-- 25
`Division 2A Proceedings against government 26
bodies 27
`192A Definitions for div 2A 28
`In this division-- 29
Page 28
Workplace Health and Safety and Other Legislation Amendment Bill 2008
Part 3 Amendment of Electrical Safety Act 2002
[s 36]
government body means the State, another State or the 1
Commonwealth. 2
responsible entity see section 192C(1). 3
successor in law, of a public sector unit, means-- 4
(a) if the functions of the public sector unit (the former 5
unit) are substantially performed by another public 6
sector unit (the current unit)--the current unit; or 7
(b) if the functions of the former unit are performed by 2 or 8
more public sector units--the unit that has the function 9
of the former unit most closely connected with the act or 10
omission that is alleged to constitute the offence. 11
`192B Government body may be prosecuted 12
`(1) A government body may be prosecuted for an offence against 13
this Act. 14
`(2) For a prosecution against the State for an offence against this 15
Act, the proceeding must be taken against the responsible 16
entity. 17
`192C Responsible entity for a proceeding against the State 18
`(1) For a proceeding mentioned in section 192B(2), the 19
responsible entity is-- 20
(a) the public sector unit whose act or omission is alleged to 21
constitute the offence; or 22
(b) if the public sector unit has ceased to exist--the 23
successor in law of the public sector unit; or 24
(c) if the public sector unit has ceased to exist and there is 25
no clear successor in law--the entity declared by the 26
court to be the responsible entity. 27
`(2) For a proceeding mentioned in subsection (1)-- 28
(a) the proceeding is to be taken against the responsible 29
entity as if it were a separate legal entity, if it is not 30
otherwise a separate legal entity; and 31
Page 29
Workplace Health and Safety and Other Legislation Amendment Bill 2008
Part 3 Amendment of Electrical Safety Act 2002
[s 36]
(b) the responsible entity is to be stated in the charge for the 1
offence; and 2
(c) subject to any rules of court, the responsible entity has 3
the procedural rights and obligations of the State as the 4
defendant in the proceeding. 5
`(3) The prosecutor may, during the proceeding and with the 6
court's leave, substitute for the responsible entity stated in the 7
charge its successor in law. 8
`(4) The chief executive of the responsible entity, or a person 9
authorised by the chief executive, may act on behalf of the 10
responsible entity for the purposes of the proceeding. 11
`(5) A document may be served on a responsible entity for the 12
purposes of the proceeding-- 13
(a) by delivering it to the chief executive of the entity or to a 14
person authorised by the chief executive at a place of 15
business of the responsible entity; or 16
(b) by leaving it at, or sending it by post, telex, facsimile or 17
similar facility to, the usual business address of the 18
responsible entity. 19
`(6) This section applies despite the Crown Proceedings Act 1980. 20
`192D Penalties in proceedings against government body 21
`(1) The penalty that may be imposed on a government body if it is 22
convicted of an offence against this Act is the penalty 23
applicable to a body corporate. 24
`(2) A government body may be served with an infringement 25
notice under the State Penalties Enforcement Act 1999 in 26
relation to an offence against this Act. 27
`192E Notices may be given to a government body 28
`The following notices may be given to a government body-- 29
(a) an improvement notice; 30
Page 30
Workplace Health and Safety and Other Legislation Amendment Bill 2008
Part 4 Amendment of Workers' Compensation and Rehabilitation Act 2003
[s 37]
(b) an electrical safety protection notice; 1
(c) an unsafe equipment notice.'. 2
Clause 37 Insertion of new pt 17 3
After section 242-- 4
insert-- 5
`Part 17 Transitional provision for 6
Workplace Health and Safety 7
and Other Legislation 8
Amendment Act 2008 9
`243 Applications to Supreme Court 10
`Section 156, as in force immediately before the 11
commencement of this section, continues to apply after the 12
commencement to an application to the Supreme Court made 13
before the commencement as if the Workplace Health and 14
Safety and Other Legislation Amendment Act 2008, section 32 15
had not been enacted.'. 16
Part 4 Amendment of Workers' 17
Compensation and 18
Rehabilitation Act 2003 19
Clause 38 Act amended in pt 4 20
This part amends the Workers' Compensation and 21
Rehabilitation Act 2003. 22
Page 31
Workplace Health and Safety and Other Legislation Amendment Bill 2008
Part 4 Amendment of Workers' Compensation and Rehabilitation Act 2003
[s 39]
Clause 39 Amendment of s 128B (Entitlements of worker with 1
terminal condition) 2
Section 128B(2)(b)-- 3
omit, insert-- 4
`(b) additional lump sum compensation for care of 10% of 5
the amount payable under paragraph (a);'. 6
Clause 40 Insertion of new ss 128D and 128E 7
Chapter 3, part 3, division 5, after section 128C-- 8
insert-- 9
`128D Worker's dependants 10
`(1) This section applies if the worker has dependants. 11
`(2) The worker's dependants are entitled to lump sum 12
compensation equal to the sum of the following amounts-- 13
(a) 15% of the amount payable under section 200(2)(a); 14
(b) 2% of the amount payable under section 200(2)(a) for 15
the reasonable expenses of the worker's funeral. 16
`(3) An insurer may pay the compensation under this section-- 17
(a) to the worker; or 18
(b) to the worker's dependants at the same time as the 19
insurer pays the worker lump sum compensation under 20
section 128B. 21
`(4) The worker's dependants are not entitled to further 22
compensation under chapter 3, part 11 for the death of the 23
worker. 24
`(5) In this section-- 25
dependant, of a worker, means a member of the worker's 26
family who is completely or partly dependent on the worker's 27
earnings. 28
member of the family, of a worker, means-- 29
(a) the worker's-- 30
Page 32
Workplace Health and Safety and Other Legislation Amendment Bill 2008
Part 4 Amendment of Workers' Compensation and Rehabilitation Act 2003
[s 41]
(i) spouse; or 1
(ii) parent, grandparent and step-parent; or 2
(iii) child, grandchild and stepchild; or 3
(iv) brother, sister, half-brother and half-sister; or 4
(b) if the worker stands in the place of a parent to another 5
person--the other person; or 6
(c) if another person stands in the place of a parent to the 7
worker--the other person. 8
`128E To whom payments made for death of worker 9
`(1) This section applies if-- 10
(a) the worker dies because of the latent onset injury; and 11
(b) the worker had received a payment of lump sum 12
compensation under section 128B for the latent onset 13
injury; and 14
(c) if the worker left dependants--an insurer had not paid 15
the worker or the worker's dependants the lump sum 16
compensation under section 128D to which the worker's 17
dependants were entitled. 18
`(2) The compensation under section 128D for the worker's 19
dependants is payable-- 20
(a) to the worker's legal personal representative; or 21
(b) if there is no legal personal representative--to the 22
worker's dependants. 23
`(3) The worker's legal personal representative must pay or apply 24
the compensation to or for the benefit of the worker's 25
dependants.'. 26
Clause 41 Amendment of s 194 (Application and object of pt 11) 27
Section 194(2)(b)-- 28
omit, insert-- 29
Page 33
Workplace Health and Safety and Other Legislation Amendment Bill 2008
Part 4 Amendment of Workers' Compensation and Rehabilitation Act 2003
[s 42]
`(b) the worker had received a payment of lump sum 1
compensation or damages for the latent onset injury 2
under this Act, another Act or a law of another State or 3
the Commonwealth.'. 4
Clause 42 Insertion of new ch 24 5
Before schedule 1-- 6
insert-- 7
`Chapter 24 Transitional and declaratory 8
provisions for Workplace 9
Health and Safety and Other 10
Legislation Amendment Act 11
2008 12
`657 Worker with terminal condition--application for 13
compensation lodged on or after 28 October 2008 14
`The provisions of chapter 3, part 3, division 5 and part 11, as 15
amended by the Workplace Health and Safety and Other 16
Legislation Amendment Act 2008, only apply if a worker's 17
application for compensation for a latent onset injury that is a 18
terminal condition is lodged on or after 28 October 2008. 19
`658 Worker with terminal condition--application for 20
compensation lodged before 28 October 2008 21
`(1) This section applies if-- 22
(a) a worker lodged an application for compensation for a 23
latent onset injury that is a terminal condition before 28 24
October 2008; and 25
(b) the worker had received a payment of lump sum 26
compensation under section 128B for the latent onset 27
injury; and 28
Page 34
Workplace Health and Safety and Other Legislation Amendment Bill 2008
Part 5 Amendment of Workers' Compensation and Rehabilitation Regulation 2003
[s 43]
(c) the worker dies because of the latent onset injury on or 1
after 28 October 2008. 2
`(2) The worker's dependants are entitled to compensation under 3
chapter 3, part 3, division 5 as if the worker's application for 4
compensation had been lodged on or after 28 October 2008. 5
`659 Amendment of regulation 6
`The amendment of the Workers' Compensation and 7
Rehabilitation Regulation 2003 by the Workplace Health and 8
Safety and Other Legislation Amendment Act 2008 does not 9
affect the power of the Governor in Council to further amend 10
the regulation or to repeal it.'. 11
Part 5 Amendment of Workers' 12
Compensation and 13
Rehabilitation Regulation 2003 14
Clause 43 Regulation amended in pt 5 15
This part amends the Workers' Compensation and 16
Rehabilitation Regulation 2003. 17
Clause 44 Amendment of s 85 (Application for compensation) 18
Section 85-- 19
insert-- 20
`(2) Also, if the injury is a latent onset injury that is a terminal 21
condition and the worker has dependants, a claim for 22
compensation in relation to the dependency must be supported 23
by proof of the relationship to the worker of persons claiming 24
to be the worker's dependants. 25
`(3) In this section-- 26
Page 35
Workplace Health and Safety and Other Legislation Amendment Bill 2008
Part 5 Amendment of Workers' Compensation and Rehabilitation Regulation 2003
[s 44]
dependant, of a worker, means a member of the worker's 1
family who is completely or partly dependent on the worker's 2
earnings. 3
member of the family, of a worker, means-- 4
(a) the worker's-- 5
(i) spouse; or 6
(ii) parent, grandparent and step-parent; or 7
(iii) child, grandchild and stepchild; or 8
(iv) brother, sister, half-brother and half-sister; or 9
(b) if the worker stands in the place of a parent to another 10
person--the other person; or 11
(c) if another person stands in the place of a parent to the 12
worker--the other person.'. 13
© State of Queensland 2008
Page 36
[Index] [Search] [Download] [Related Items] [Help]