Model WHS bill for Western Australia

The Western Australian version of the model Work Health and Safety (WHS) Bill will be introduced into the current spring session of state parliament. This will be in the form of a Green Bill, which will be released for public comment until the end of this year.

The Western Australian version of the model WHS Bill will be based on the model WHS Bill developed by Safe Work Australia for adoption by states and territories to harmonise occupational safety and health legislation across Australia. When the Minister for Commerce made the announcement about the Bill, he advised parliament that the Green Bill will contain the core principles contained in the model WHS Bill but will have some minor modifications to suit the Western Australian working environment.

At the time the model Work Health and Safety (WHS) Regulations were developed, a national Regulation Impact Statement (RIS) was created by Safe Work Australia. An examination of that RIS showed that it did not contain adequate Western Australian specific content to demonstrate that there were sufficient benefits to be delivered by the model WHS Regulations to offset any costs that would be associated with the adoption of those laws. Consequently, a Western Australian specific RIS process on the model WHS Regulations was undertaken by independent consulting firm Marsden Jacob Associates. The Western Australian RIS is available on the WorkSafe WA website.