OCCUPATIONAL HEALTH AND SAFETY ACT 2004 - SECT 137 Release on the giving of a health and safety undertaking

OCCUPATIONAL HEALTH AND SAFETY ACT 2004 - SECT 137

    (1)     If a court convicts a person or finds a person guilty of an offence against this Act or the regulations the court may (with or without recording a conviction) adjourn the proceeding for a period of up to 2 years and make an order for the release of the offender on the offender giving an undertaking with specified conditions.

    (2)     An undertaking must specify the following conditions—

S. 137(2)(a) amended by No. 68/2009 s. 97(Sch. item 90.26).

        (a)     that the offender attends before the court if called on to do so during the period of the adjournment and, if the court so specifies, at the time to which the further hearing is adjourned;

S. 137(2)(b) amended by Nos 66/2008 s. 32(2), 48/2017 s. 23.

        (b)     that the offender does not commit, during the period of the adjournment, any offence against this Act, the regulations, the Equipment (Public Safety) Act 1994 or the  Dangerous Goods Act 1985 or regulations made under those Acts;

        (c)     that the offender observes any special conditions imposed by the court.

    (3)     Without limiting subsection (2)(c), the court may impose on an offender who is an employer special conditions that the offender—

        (a)     engage a consultant, who is approved in writing by the Authority, to advise on or assist with occupational health and safety matters; and

        (b)     develop and implement a systematic approach to managing risks to health or safety that arise or may arise in the conduct of the offender's undertaking; and

        (c)     arrange for the carrying out of an audit of the offender's undertaking in relation to health and safety by an independent person who is approved in writing by the Authority.

S. 137(4) amended by No. 68/2009 s. 97(Sch. item 90.27).

    (4)     An offender who has given an undertaking under this section may be called on to attend before the court—

        (a)     by order of the court; or

        (b)     by notice issued by the proper officer (within the meaning of section 72(4) of the Sentencing Act 1991 ) of the court.

S. 137(5) amended by No. 68/2009 s. 97(Sch. item 90.28).

    (5)     An order or notice under subsection (4) must be served on the offender not less than 4 days before the time specified in it for the attendance.

    (6)     If the court is satisfied at the time to which a further hearing of a proceeding is adjourned that the offender has observed the conditions of the undertaking, it must discharge the offender without any further hearing of the proceeding.

    (7)     The court may make an order under this section in relation to an offender in addition to or instead of—

        (a)     imposing a penalty on the offender; or

        (b)     making any other order that the court may make in relation to the offence.

S. 138 (Heading) amended by No. 65/2011 s. 107(Sch. item 10.1).

S. 138 amended by Nos 65/2011 s. 107(Sch. items 10.2, 10.3), 32/2013 s. 44, 21/2015 s. 3(Sch.  1 item 36).