New WHS Laws in WA – whats going on?

There’s been some  significant developments of late regarding new Work Health and Safety (WHS) laws for WA. New WHS laws for WA of course links back to the “Harmonisation” (…….remember that word??) process that started nearly ten years ago with the aim of bringing about uniform WHS legislation across Australia.

Since then, WA and Victoria remain the only states not to have adopted the new WHS legislation. So here’s the recent key moments in WA in case you missed them:

  1. July 2017  – State government announcement that they have decided to proceed with the development of a Work Health and Safety Bill. The Bill is to be based on the national Work Health and Safety Act, and will improve consistency with the rest of Australia.  The Bill will replace three Acts:  the Occupational Safety and Health Act 1984, Mines Safety and Inspection Act 1994; and the Petroleum and Geothermal Energy Safety Levies Act 2011. To see the full media statement from the State Government – https://www.mediastatements.wa.gov.au/Pages/McGowan/2017/07/New-Work-Health-and-Safety-Bill-to-protect-workers–.aspx
  2. August 2017 –  announcement of the Ministerial Advisory Panel on WHS Reform Membership and Terms of Reference i.e. the panel that will advise on the development of the WHS Act. For full details – https://www.commerce.wa.gov.au/worksafe/ministerial-advisory-panel-work-health-and-safety-reform 

The State Government has pegged mid-2019 as the timeframe for the introduction of the Bill to State Parliament.