Safe Work Australia - Model WHS Laws

Amendments to the model WHS laws

The Model Work Health and Safety Legislation Amendment (Offences and Penalties) 2023 has been published on the Safe Work Australia website.

The amending instrument includes the final set of legislative amendments required to implement WHS ministers’ decisions on the 2018 Review of the model WHS laws: Final Report (2018 Review), in addition to making a number of other amendments.

The amendments do not automatically apply in a jurisdiction. For the model WHS Act and model WHS Regulations to have effect in a jurisdiction they must be enacted in that jurisdiction.

They include amendments to:

1. Increase the level of penalties and provide for the indexation of penalties in line with national CPI in both the model WHS Act and model WHS Regulations. These amendments give effect to recommendation 22 of the 2018 Review.
2. Introduce new s 30A in the model WHS Act to give effect to the decision of WHS ministers. At the WHS ministers meeting on 28 February 2023, the requisite majority of ministers agreed to amend the model WHS Act to include a jurisdictional note and model penalties for the offence of industrial manslaughter.
3. Amend s 31 in the model WHS Act to clarify that an officer may commit a Category 1 offence under s 31 of the Act.
4. Introduce new sections 244A - 244D in the model WHS Act allowing for aggregation of conduct for body corporate PCBUs.
5. Amend regulations 55C and 55D in the model WHS Regulations (psychosocial regulations) to correct the placement of the regulation 9 note.

The model WHS Act and model WHS Regulations and accompanying Explanatory Memorandum and Explanatory Statement are currently being consolidated to incorporate the new provisions. Once the consolidation is finalised, the web pages will be updated accordingly.

The amendments do not automatically apply in a jurisdiction. For the model WHS Act and model WHS Regulations to have effect in a jurisdiction they must be enacted in that jurisdiction.

For information on WHS laws in your jurisdiction, please contact your WHS regulator.