AU Archives - Page 9 of 14

We’ve heard all sorts of myths and misconceptions when it comes to health and safety. We’re here to debunk some of the more common ones we hear.

H&S admin takes too long on site, it slows us down.

Back in the day we’d agree with you on this one, however times have changed. With the HazardCo system you can complete your health and safety quickly and easily.

Did you know our members reduced health and safety admin time by 50% when they switched from paper systems? Our easy to use app will guide you through what needs to be done to ensure you’re on top of your health and safety.

I’m not going to have an incident on site, I’ve been doing this for years and I’m not silly.

Even if you haven’t had an incident on-site for a long time, it doesn’t mean you never will. In fact, the more often you’re exposed to a risk, the less your brain perceives the significance of the risk, although the level of risk has not changed.

Project sites are constantly changing which could mean new hazards come up as the build progresses. It’s important to regularly review your health and safety measures on-site and continually make changes where necessary.

HazardCo helps you to stay on top of your health and safety at all times. Learn about the common incidents on-site and how to reduce the risk.

I don’t need to worry about health and safety because I’m a small builder, the Regulators have bigger fish to fry.

The role of WorkSafe and SafeWork is to reduce workplace harm. Stats show there continues to be a large number of incidents happening on residential building sites, which is why it continues to be a focus of WorkSafe and SafeWork. WorkSafe and SafeWork often issue safety alerts on recent issues and focus areas, such as height related incidents on resi sites.

It’s important to focus on health and safety not just because of the regulators, but because it can keep your workers and other people safe on-site.

Staying on top of your health and safety can mean:

Getting everyone home safe at the end of every day
A happier and healthier workplace
Less incidents, which means less worker injury claims, costs to your business and less downtime investigating and resolving HS issues

It’s fine for me to use the same safety plan on all my sites because the houses I build are really similar.

A WHS Management Plan / Health and Safety Coordination plan must be specific to the site.

Sure, some key hazards and risks will be the same across projects, therefore certain content may remain the same from project to project however it’s essential that a site specific plan is reviewed and amended for each project.

It’s up to the contractors and subbies on site to make sure they are safe, it’s not up to me as the building company.

Construction work requires many businesses to be involved in the same task or activity (for example suppliers, contractors, and building owners).

If you’re a Principal Contractor, you also have additional health and safety obligations relating to the project site. Find out more about sharing health and safety duties in construction.

I don’t need to report or investigate near misses, as nothing happened.

Near misses should be considered the same as an incident. But often they aren’t. We often find that near misses are very rarely reported, and actually brushed off.

Near misses are just as dangerous as actual incidents. If you’ve had a near miss, you might have got lucky but someone else might not. Treat near misses as a free learning tool to review your processes and the controls in place to prevent more serious incidents from occurring.

No matter how big or small, report all near misses and incidents so you can all learn from them.

Don’t take near misses lightly. Report the incident as soon as it happens with the HazardCo App. Read more about the importance of reporting and recording near misses

I don’t need to worry about managing ‘Health’ when it comes to Health and Safety on-site.

Health can often be overlooked in the construction industry, but it’s a big contributor to time off work and workers compensation costs across Australia. Both physical and mental health risks can significantly impact the health of your workers and negatively impact your business if not taken seriously.

Get the best from your team and work safer and healthier. Find out more about the importance of looking after you and your worker’s physical and mental health.

A construction site can be a real hotspot for hand injuries. Due to their frequency, we want to look at the impact of these injuries and how to manage them better.

The types of injuries

There are a fair few ways these occur on-site. The most common include:

Crushed hands and fingers
Cuts and punctures
Burns
Electric shock

The causes are often the result of equipment malfunctions, falling objects, compression between objects, electrical faults, and insufficient training or instruction.

Hand tools

Hand tools are a huge contributor to hand related injuries in the workplace. When using common tools such as hammers, hand saws, pliers, angle grinders etc, fatigue, rushing, complacency, using faulty or damaged tools or a lack of training can often lead to workers injuring themselves.

The long-term impact

The long-term impact of a hand injury ranges from minor to severe. A minor injury could mean changes in grip strength and reduced range of motion of the fingers. In more serious cases, a worker may lose the ability to use their hand.

Raise Awareness

Awareness is everything. You can educate your workers in the following ways:

Pre-starts to ensure that the tool is in good working condition. Any sign of damage/wear and tear, do not use it. Place it out of service so no one else accidentally uses it and replace the tool (if it’s bent, don’t bend it back – replace it!)
Plan the task and take your time. Ensure you have a firm grip on the tool and check your surroundings
Use the correct tool for the job and follow any relevant manufacturer instructions
Think about the potential reaction once an action has been made (if you’re pulling a nog out, how hard do you have to pull/hit it, do you have a solid footing, what/who is behind you).
Hand placement, hand placement, hand placement! – Ensure your free hand is as far away from the area as possible. It may be needed to hold the item steady, but ensure it is as far away from blades/hammerheads as possible.
Hold safety demos for all dangerous machinery (some tool suppliers have demo and training courses available).
When holding toolbox meetings, regularly highlight hand safety and discuss with the team key hazards and controls so its kept front of mind
Ensure appropriate PPE is worn e.g. gloves

This is more than just talking to your workers, as a supervisor/manager you need to give your workers adequate information, instruction and supervision when it comes to health and safety on-site. Real-life examples of incidents that have life-changing effects on workers (e.g. health, livelihood) can further highlight the importance of hand safety.

Ensure the workplace is regularly monitored and reviewed to ensure controls are in place / being used and that they remain effective. One way to do this is to complete a site review in the HazardCo app.

If you’ve got a question about hand injuries or any other health and safety matter, the HazardCo Advisory Team is here to help. Give them a call on 1800 954 702.

Physical Health

Musculoskeletal injuries

Work-related musculoskeletal injuries account for the majority of workers compensation costs in Australia compared to any other type of injury. Musculoskeletal injuries account for 37% of serious claims in Australia*.

Work-related musculoskeletal injuries can arise from body stressing such as:

handling, lifting, carrying or putting down of objects
Repetitive movement

Common injuries for construction workers can range from sprains, strains, and bruising which can be caused by heavy lifting, repetitive movement, poor body posture, forcefulness or muscle effort, or the vibrations from continuous use of hand tools. It’s important to note that these types of injuries can occur suddenly or develop over a period of time. Symptoms of a musculoskeletal injury may be in the form of pain and/or discomfort located in and around the neck, shoulders, wrists, back, and knees.

There are many factors to consider when it comes to managing the risks associated with body stressing, however two key areas you can focus on are:

Physical factors:

Heavy loads
Lack of equipment
Challenging environments
Poor layout
Forces
Repetition
Awkward postures

Work Organisation factors:

Work hours / Time pressure
Lack of help
No breaks
Poor work planning
Training / Skill level

Prevention Tips

Some effective ways to help prevent these types of injuries include:

Pre planning the task / job
Task rotation with others
breaking up your tasks throughout the day
warm-up and cool down stretches
Use mechanical aids for lifts
Ensure correct manual handling techniques
choosing a different piece of equipment
Encourage workers to report all instances where they may feel pain or discomfort. Don’t let it escalate into something more serious

For more information on musculoskeletal injuries, refer to one of our recent blogs on What treatments might look like and prevention tips.

Health Monitoring

Did you know businesses are legally required to monitor the health of their workers in certain circumstances?

On construction sites, workers can be exposed to many hazards that can cause them harm over time. Some common hazards are:

Airborne dust and fibres (i.e Asbestos, Silica)
Hazardous chemicals
loud noises

Continuous exposure to these hazards can cause progressively worse health issues for your workers. This is why it is important to monitor your worker’s health where there may be a risk to their health. How monitoring is conducted can vary based on the hazard they may be exposed to. For example it may involve a hearing test, lung function or vision assessment.

If your worksite exposes your workers to environments that can cause them harm, we recommend beginning the process of monitoring your worker’s health.

Mental Health

Workplace hazards that create risks of harm to psychological (mental) health are known as psychosocial hazards. These hazards, when excessive or prolonged, can cause serious harm. It can have a significant impact on workers, their families and business.

Construction workers are six times more likely to die from suicide than an accident at work. Every year 190 Australians working in the construction industry take their own lives; this means we lose a construction worker every second day to suicide. Young construction workers are two times more likely to take their own lives than other young workers. Workplaces have a legal responsibility to manage risks to mental health and wellbeing just like they do any other health and safety risk.

Psychosocial hazards can come from:

work relationships and interactions, including bullying, harassment, discrimination, aggression and violence
the way the work or job is designed, organised and managed
the equipment, working environment or requirements to undertake duties

Some work-related factors that can affect a mentally healthy work site include:

Work-related violence and aggression
Workplace bullying
Lack of recognition and reward
Low role clarity
Low support
Poor environmental conditions
Poor organisational justice
Remote and isolated work

Knowing where to start can feel overwhelming but getting started doesn’t have to be. Take action to improve the mental health of your team today. Identifying risks and controlling them should be done by communicating with workers about what workplace conditions may be affecting their mental health.

Some other tips to help build and maintain a mentally healthy work site include:

Create a more positive and supportive work site
Establish awareness and support for workers experiencing mental health issues.
Celebrate workers and their efforts.
Take steps to improve role clarity and job satisfaction
Increase workers’ ability to make their own decisions about their work
Focus on retaining staff
Promote work-life balance
Commit to zero tolerance for workplace bullying, violence and aggression

To learn more, we have developed a great resource on How to build a mentally healthy work site which provides useful tips to help build and maintain a mentally healthy work site.

The hidden costs to your business

There is a large range of costs that surface when someone has an incident on the job that impacts their physical or mental state, especially when they can’t return to work the next day or sometimes for weeks or months. This can have a huge impact on deadlines, bottom line, skills on-site and team dynamics.

How HazardCo can help

Get the best from your team and work safer and healthier. Some simple ways to do this include:

Monitor and Review
- Conduct regular Site Reviews using the HazardCo App, to help identify and manage both physical and mental health hazards on-site.
Communication and Consultation
- Start managing mental health at work today. Have a toolbox meeting to discuss the common issues that impact your worker’s mental health. Discuss ways to eliminate or minimise these risks. It’s good practice to keep records of your meetings, this can be done in the HazardCo App.
- Stuck on toolbox talk topics? Discuss recent incidents, site review results and ideas on how to make the site safer both physically and mentally
Ensure any near misses, injuries, incidents or illnesses, including mental health related incidents are reported using the HazardCo App and investigated.

If you have any further questions in regards to this topic or need more support, reach out to HazardCo and speak to one of our expert Health and Safety Advisors. You can contact us on 1800 954 702.

* Safe Work Australia reporting period of 2019 – 2020.

When it comes to incidents, a common misconception is that you need to report incidents to HazardCo immediately. This is not the case. Reporting to HazardCo can often happen later once details of the incident have been established. The only time an incident should be reported immediately is when it falls under the criteria of being a notifiable incident, which means it needs to be reported to the Regulator (WorkSafe/SafeWork).

The HazardCo Safety Advisory team assesses all incidents that get reported via the ‘Report an Incident’ function on the HazardCo App. If the incident is notifiable to the Regulator, we will contact you to provide support, determine further details and ensure that the appropriate steps have been taken.

Reporting an incident on the HazardCo App

Go to ‘Report an Incident’ on the HazardCo App to create a new record
Select the site location where the incident occurred
Select the date that the incident occurred on
List the people that were involved in the incident
Select the type of incident (near miss, injury, illness, other, incident)
Select the treatment received (first aid, medical centre, hospital, unsure, none)
Describe what happened: This is where you enter initial information about the incident. List the facts that are known so far. Such as :
- what job or activity was being performed at the time.
- What plant, equipment or tools were being used
- What went wrong
- What was the injury or damage (or the potential)
- What happened immediately after the incident

Below is an example of an incident report that could be improved upon and what good reporting looks like.

Initial incident report Description
Geoff hurt his leg.

What’s wrong with it?
This tells us nothing about Geoff’s injury, how he is or how it happened.

What does good reporting look like
Geoff hurt his leg whilst carrying timber planks around the site by himself. The load he was carrying was awkward and there were star pickets uncapped near where he was walking. Geoff scraped his leg on one of the uncapped start pickets and dropped the timber. He suffered a graze to the back of his right leg. Geoff was checked over by Bob, a first aider. The grace was cleaned and a band-aid was applied to his graze. Geoff rested for a few minutes and was able to return to work.

What’s good about it?
See how good reporting tells us everything that we need to know about the incident, only includes the facts, and can still be done in a quick and easy way. The summary provided key information such as:

What Geoff was doing prior/during the incident
What went wrong
What injury was sustained
What occured after the incident and if applicable, what the treatment was

Need Help?
Reach out to HazardCo and speak to one of our expert Health and Safety Advisors if you have any questions or need support for incidents or near misses on your site. You can contact us on 1800 954 702.

To put it simply, health and safety regulators (WorkSafe / SafeWork) work with you and your workers to keep you safe and healthy. Their main goal is to ensure that across Australia, businesses are safe and healthy environments. It’s important to know that not all visits are pre-arranged and inspectors are allowed to show up at any reasonable time, regardless of whether or not you’re there. So, what should you expect when they come a-knocking?

What does a site visit look like?

Typically a visit from WorkSafe/SafeWork follows the below process:

Step 1: Conversation

A friendly chat isn’t that scary, right? When the WorkSafe/SafeWork inspector first arrives, they’ll have a conversation. This discussion is a two-way street where they’ll be looking to learn about your business, what risks you’ve identified, the actions you’re completing to minimise them and answer any questions you may have. Ensure you use this opportunity to ask questions and seek clarification if anything doesn’t make sense.

Step 2: Observation

Following the chat, the inspector will usually take a walk around your worksite to have a look around. Sometimes its a general walk around, other times it may be focusing on a particular area or activity.

If the inspector sees anything concerning during the walkabout, they will discuss this with you further.

Step 3: Processes and Documentation

At this stage, the inspector might ask to see what kind of processes and safe practices you have. This could include anything from your risk assessments, worker’s licenses or training certificates, machine maintenance logs, to incident reports. The focus will be on whether your processes and records demonstrate good health and safety practices for your worksite, workers and business.

So what are inspectors allowed to do during the visit?

Inspectors have the right to:

ask you, your employees or other people questions
take photographs, recordings and measurements
ask to see your documents, make copies or take the documents
take items away with them for examination, testing or for use as evidence

What happens if an issue is found?

If the inspector does find an issue, you and the inspector will discuss what needs to be done to fix it. The three main outcomes issued by the inspector are an improvement notice, prohibition notice, or an infringement notice.

Improvement notices – The most common type of notice which directs a person to address an identified health and safety risk in a specified time. The inspector will explain what was identified, how things need to change, and the timeframe in which it needs to be completed.
Prohibition notices – Directs the business to stop doing a particular thing that involves a serious risk to health or safety. For example, stopping a specific activity or instructing you to stop using a dangerous piece of machinery. The notice will tell you what needs to be fixed.
An infringement notice – This notice, or fine, is a penalty for breaking the law. Depending on your state or territory it can include an on-the-spot fine for breaching certain health and safety laws and may lead to prosecution.

Using HazardCo can cut the time you spend on health and safety admin in half and can guide you through what you need to do to keep your workers and your business safe.

Of course, if there are any questions or concerns, just call us at HazardCo for help on 1800 954 702.

Work-related musculoskeletal injuries can arise from body stressing such as:

handling, lifting, carrying or putting down of objects
Repetitive movement

Common injuries for construction workers can range from sprains, strains, and contusions (bruising) which can be caused by heavy lifting, repetitive movement, poor body posture, forcefulness or muscle effort, or the vibrations from continuous use of hand tools. It’s important to note that these types of injuries can occur suddenly or develop over a period of time. Symptoms of a musculoskeletal injury may be in the form of pain and/or discomfort located in and around the neck, shoulders, wrists, back, and knees.

What is the Musculoskeletal system?
The musculoskeletal system is made up of the bones, muscles, tendons, ligaments, and cartilage of the human body. Maintaining good musculoskeletal health through prevention and early treatment can make for a long healthy career if you work in the construction industry.

When should I seek help if I suspect an injury?
As soon as you detect any pain or discomfort, inform your employer. It may mean adjusting your work for the day so as not to worsen the pain. You can seek medical assessment and treatment from a professional if the pain or discomfort is preventing you from working or if you have any concerns.

Can physiotherapy help?
Physiotherapy can provide treatment and support and will work with you to understand what work and movement can be done safely and what the recovery process may involve. They can also assist with creating a return to work process if required, so employers know how to support you during your recovery period.

Musculoskeletal physiotherapy aims to help the patient recover from their condition more quickly through regular treatment sessions and to develop coping strategies to aid the injured worker during the recovery process and prevent secondary problems from occurring. This can be achieved by manual therapy, education, exercise rehabilitation, and finding alternative ways to accomplish your goals and live your best life. The ultimate goal of your unique treatment plan is to bring your body function back to optimal so you can continue carrying out your role in the workplace and continue to enjoy the activities you love in your personal time.

What can I do to prevent injury?
Prevention and early intervention are key to maintaining a healthy musculoskeletal system so you can carry out your day-to-day duties on-site as well as personal activities. Ensure you keep fit and healthy; regular exercise, a good diet, and sleep can all assist in keeping your body ready to perform optimally and recover faster.

Where can I find more information?
Across Australia there is a lot of information available on this topic, we have provided a few below for you. Of course, reach out to Hazard Co and speak to one of our expert Health and Safety Advisors if you have any questions or need more support on this topic. You can contact us on 1800 954 702.

* Safe Work Australia reporting period of 2019 – 2020.

We know chatting to your team about health and safety isn’t the most exciting topic, however it is the most important! Health and safety is the responsibility of everyone on-site, so it’s important to get your team and subbies involved. Thankfully it’s easy to get started, simply scan in/out of site every day.

As the main builder on-site, one of the timesaving HazardCo tools at your fingertips is the site-specific QR code located on your HazardCo Hazard Board. Getting everyone to scan in and out every day benefits you because:

Even if you’re not on-site you still know who is – and it’s all saved in your HazardCo Hub so you can check the site history whenever you need to.
Anyone scanning in for the first time can complete a site induction where the worker is made aware of important site specific information such as emergency contacts and site safety rules.
Gives workers quick and easy access to the Site Specific Safety Plan (SSSP) which covers important information around some key things like:
- health and safety roles and responsibilities
- Key hazards and control measures onsite
- Incident and emergency management
On Project Plus sites, HazardCo’s Digital Site Noticeboard feature enables workers scanning in the ability to view site specific notices on their HazardCo App, where you can communicate any hazards or risks that may be present on-site.
Simply scanning in gives people an important daily reminder to be aware of health and safety – and we all know the more we think and talk about safety , the more we look out for hazards and ways to control the risks on-site.
Getting everyone’s participation shares the health and safety responsibility with everyone on-site.

If previously you’ve had subbies or team members who don’t use the QR code to scan in/out daily, here are a few ideas to get them using the QR code regularly:

Use your next Toolbox Meeting to walk everyone through the process of scanning in and out using the QR code on your Hazard Boards, making sure the team has the HazardCo App downloaded and set up.
If you need to use some incentive, you could shout the team pizza and a cold beverage on Friday afternoon if everyone scans in and out every day that week… it gets the team working together to remind each other.
You could make it part of your contract with any new subbies, and add it to the employment agreement you have with your own team. Or, go a step further and require subbies to be HazardCo members in order to win contracts on your projects.

There are lots of good reasons to get everyone scanning that QR code so get your team on board with it today.

Construction work involves many businesses and undertakings involved in the same task or activity (for example suppliers, contractors, and building owners). This means there may be multiple businesses that owe a duty to workers and other persons.

There may be multiple people or businesses that are responsible for the duty of care to workers and others on-site. Therefore, more than one person can have the same duty. When it comes to sharing duties, all parties have responsibility. In these situations, all parties need to consult, coordinate and cooperate so they can all meet their shared responsibilities.

**Some examples of duties you are likely to share include*:**

Managing risk
Identifying hazards, assessing, and controlling the risks. If the risk cannot be eliminated, minimise it. Regularly review your controls to ensure they are effective
Worker consultation, engagement, participation, and representation
Ensure that workers are consulted. This involves sharing information, giving workers a reasonable opportunity to express views, and taking those views into account before making decisions on health and safety matters. Consultation may also occur through the builder talking to subcontractors and asking them to share information with the subcontractors’ workers and pass any feedback back to the builder.
Information, Training, and Instruction
Ensure that workers receive relevant information, training, and instruction to protect every individual from risks to their health and safety arising from construction work carried out.
Notification
If a notifiable event occurs, you must notify the Regulator as soon as you become aware of the event.
First aid
Ensure that your workers have access to first aid equipment and trained first aiders. If you share a workplace with other businesses, you can coordinate sharing first-aid resources with them.
Emergency plans
You have a duty to prepare, maintain and implement an emergency plan at your work. Consult, cooperate and coordinate with other businesses that you share overlapping duties with to coordinate emergency procedures.

What are some ways you can ensure that people are not harmed, and that you are complying with your legal obligations?

Set clear health and safety expectations and incorporate these into your agreements with contractors
Ensure contractors have appropriate health and safety procedures in place
Prepare a Site Specific Safety Plan (SSSP) for the job and share it with all workers and contractors. A SSSP, also known as a WHS Management Plan or Health and Safety Coordination Plan, may be required by your relevant state/territory (based on a contract value or in the case of WA, the number of persons likely to be on-site)
Establish health and safety reporting requirements with your contractors. A great tool for this is to use the HazardCo App to complete SWMS, Risk Assessments, site reviews, Incident Reports, and more.
Ensure site inductions take place. Communicate site rules and procedures to everyone who accesses the site.
Get workers to sign in and out of the site. This can be done via the HazardCo App by scanning the QR code located on your Hazard Board.
Set up clear requirements for information sharing for the duration of the project
Ensure that there is effective communication between all parties (e.g. Toolbox Meetings through the HazardCo App)
Monitor your workers and/or contractors you engage

* This is not a full list of duties, it is important to make yourself familiar with health and safety duties for your relevant state/territory or talk to our Advisory team if you have any questions.

The Toolbox Meeting feature on the HazardCo App means you’ll no longer have to carry around paperwork for your meetings. Our app makes it easy for you to keep energy levels high and hold everyone’s attention with short and focused talks. With the HazardCo App running on your smartphone, you can easily move the meeting to the most relevant place on-site. One man band? No worries, you can use the toolbox feature to capture conversations when you talk to other subbies on-site.

On the HazardCo App, the Toolbox Meeting feature guides you through a team chat with an easy to follow guide that helps you cover all the necessary points and capture key details as you go. It means you don’t need to do any special preparation for your toolbox meeting, just make the time, follow the app, and you’ll get a completed report on the Hub at the end which you can download or email to others. Plus, save yourself some time by using your voice to text feature on your phone which comes as part of most Android and iPhone devices, look for the microphone icon on the keyboard pop up. You can also record attendees with a photo.

Using HazardCo Toolbox Meetings gives you another easy way to keep the team involved too – simply get someone different to run the meeting each week. It keeps everyone thinking more about health and safety, and it shares the admin around. And did you know that the Toolbox Meeting feature isn’t just for toolboxes, you can also use it to conduct safety meetings, pre-start meetings, and committee meetings.

Toolbox Meetings are a vital component of keeping your site safe, and with HazardCo in the palm of your hand, you have all the tools you need for great toolbox meetings with your wider crew.

You might have heard some rumblings that Western Australia is introducing new Work Health and Safety (WHS) laws. Work started on modernising the WHS laws way back in 2017, and after a heap of industry consultation, the new rules will be in place from 31st March 2022.

It’s a bit to get your head around, so we’ve summarised the main things you need to know as a residential builder in WA.

What is happening?

The new laws are largely based on the national model used in other states and territories, so companies will now have similar obligations and requirements across Australia (except Victoria who like to be a bit different and do their own thing).

The WHS Act is supported by three sets of industry specific regulations to suit WA’s unique conditions. One is the “Work Health and Safety Regulations (General)” which applies to all workplaces including the residential building industry. The other two are for Mining and Petroleum industries so we won’t focus on them.

Why the change?

The new WHS laws are intended to improve the protection of workers by factoring in modern employment agreements, higher penalties for companies and individuals, and introducing the term ‘person conducting a business or undertaking’ (PCBU).

Did WA adopt all the clauses from the national model WHS laws?

Some sections of the WHS laws were tailored for WA following extensive consultation. The term ‘Not used’ has replaced any clauses that don’t apply in WA.

Will there be a transition period for businesses to adopt the new laws?

Transitional arrangements will be put into place where duties are new or are substantially changed from existing requirements.

Keep in mind, the systems for identifying, assessing and controlling known hazards should already be in place, as both the WHS legislation and the previous occupational safety and health legislation already focused on the elimination or minimisation of risks.

What are some of the key changes to what is currently in place?

Based on extensive consultation and recommendations, key changes by the government include:

Terms and definitions including the new term PCBU
Industrial manslaughter and increase in penalties
Prohibition on insurance for monetary penalties;
Union right of entry was retained in the Industrial Relations Act 1979 and not included in the WHS Act; and
A specific duty is included for providers of work health and safety services to ensure those services do not pose a risk to persons at the workplace.

What the heck is a PCBU?

PCBU is a new term and stands for Person Conducting a Business or Undertaking. This term is used throughout WHS legislation to describe all forms of modern working arrangements. As well as an employer, a PCBU can be a:

A builder (including principal contractors and sub-contractors)
Corporation
Association
Partnership
Sole trader

PCBUs have a duty to ensure the health and safety of their workers and others like visitors and volunteers.

PCBUs have the equal duty of care to a worker, even if there are multiple PCBUs involved. For example, if you employ a contractor who brings in a labour hire worker, you, the contractor and the labour hire company all share the same duty of care to that labour hire worker. So if an incident occurs, you can all be prosecuted under the WA WHS Act.

What is Management of Control?

Management of control (MoC) is when the PCBU has MoC of the workplace, where they are required to ensure that the means of entering and exiting the workplace and anything arising from the workplace are without risks to the health and safety of any person.

Who is the Principal Contractor (PC) on a construction site?

A PCBU that commissions a construction project is the Principal Contractor for the project. That person can engage another PCBU as the Principal Contractor and authorise them to have MoC of the workplace.

A construction project can only have one Principal Contractor at any specific time.

Find out more about how how you can work with other PCBUs as the principal contractor

What are the changes to Industrial Manslaughter?

The new offense of industrial manslaughter provides substantial penalties for PCBUs where a failure to comply with a WHS duty causes the death of an individual, in circumstances where the PCBU knew the conduct could cause death or serious harm.

The criteria for convicting someone for industrial manslaughter under the WHS Act is the same as convicting someone under the current WA gross negligence law. But the WHS Act states that prosecutors no longer have to convict the company to be able to convict individual company officers.

The WHS Act includes a penalty provision for industrial manslaughter. The maximum penalty for an individual for industrial manslaughter is $5 million and up to 20 years in prison, but penalties vary based on many factors.

What are the changes to Insurance?

If you’re prosecuted under the current OHS Act, your insurance can pay for your legal fees and your penalties.

Once the WHS Laws comes into effect, your insurance can still pay for your legal fees, but when it comes to paying the penalty, company officers and PCBUs cannot take out insurance to cover fines for breaches.

What does this mean for me?

Both the old laws and the new laws require you to have systems in place to identify, assess and control hazards.

These new laws are a good prompt to take stock of your current health and safety practices and make sure you’re protecting both your crew on site as well as your business. Here is the WHS laws checklist with advice on the key things you should be ticking off when it comes to your project site.

If you’re not yet a HazardCo member, sign up for a free trial today. We can help you get your health and safety sorted – making it simple and easy to manage but without cutting corners.

We’re here to support you, so don’t hesitate to get in touch for a chat if you have any questions or concerns. Give us a call on 1800 954 702 or email info@hazardco.com.