Work Health and Safety Act 2011 (Qld)

Work Health and Safety Act 2011

An Act to provide comprehensively for work health and safety, to provide for a new definition of asbestos in particular legislation and for a work health and safety levy, to amend other legislation as a consequence, and to amend the Workers' Compensation and Rehabilitation Act 2003 for particular purposes

Part 1 Preliminary

Division 1 Introduction

1 Short title This Act may be cited as the Work Health and Safety Act 2011.

2 Commencement (1) The following provisions commence on 1 January 2014— (a) part 18, division 2; (b) sections 391 and 401; (c) schedule 4, part 1. (2) Sections 395, 396, 397(2) and 398 to 400 commence immediately after the commencement of sections 391 and 401. (3) The remaining provisions commence on a day to be fixed by proclamation.

Division 2 Object

3 Object (1) The main object of this Act is to provide for a balanced and nationally consistent framework to secure the health and safety of workers and workplaces by— (a) protecting workers and other persons against harm to their health, safety and welfare through the elimination or minimisation of risks arising from work or from particular types of substances or plant; and (b) providing for fair and effective workplace representation, consultation, cooperation and issue resolution in relation to work health and safety; and (c) encouraging unions and employer organisations to take a constructive role in promoting improvements in work health and safety practices, and assisting persons conducting businesses or undertakings and workers to achieve a healthier and safer working environment; and (d) promoting the provision of advice, information, education and training in relation to work health and safety; and (e) securing compliance with this Act through effective and appropriate compliance and enforcement measures; and (f) ensuring appropriate scrutiny and review of actions by persons exercising powers and performing functions under this Act; and (g) providing a framework for continuous improvement and progressively higher standards of work health and safety; and (h) maintaining and strengthening the national harmonisation of laws relating to work health and safety and to facilitate a consistent national approach to work health and safety in Queensland. (2) In furthering subsection (1)(a), regard must be had to the principle that workers and other persons should be given the highest level of protection against harm to their health, safety and welfare from hazards and risks arising from work or from particular types of substances or plant as is reasonably practicable. Note— The numbering of this Act closely corresponds to the same numbering in a model Bill prepared for and approved by the Council of Australian Governments. To maximise uniformity between this Act and the model Bill, the numbers of some sections in the model Bill that are not relevant have not been used in the numbering of this Act, unless required for provisions particular to the State. Adoption of the numbering of the model Bill also results in alphanumeric numbering being used to insert further provisions particular to the State.