Occupational Health and Safety Act 2004
The Occupational Health and Safety Act 2004 is the major legislation covering health and safety in Victorian workplaces. It revised the 1985 OHS Act and came into effect from July 1 2005.
The Act sets out very clearly the duties‚ rights and responsibilities of all parties and the consequences of breaching or ignoring those duties. Its objectives are to:
- Secure the health‚ safety and welfare of employees and other persons at work
- Eliminate‚ at the source‚ risks to the health‚ safety or welfare of employees and other persons at work
- Ensure that the health and safety of members of the public are not placed at risk by the conduct of undertakings by employees and self-employed persons
- Provide for the involvement of employees‚ employers‚ and organisations representing those persons‚ in the formulation and implementation of health‚ safety and welfare standards.
Features of the 2004 Act
Although building largely on the 1985 Act‚ the 2004 revision made a number of significant changes. For the first time‚ psychological hazards are identified as legitimate health and safety concerns‚ creating a duty for employers to "provide and maintain for employees...an environment that is safe and without risks to health"‚ which explicitly encompasses their psychological health — including factors such as stress‚ occupational violence and bullying in the workplace.
This means health and safety reps can use the provisions of the Act to address psychological health issues such as bullying and stress for members of their designated workgroup‚ and ultimately issue Provisional Improvement Notices (P{INs) where those issues cannot be resolved by other means.
HSRs also became entitled to attend annual refresher training under the Act‚ as well as an initial five-day training course. Employers are responsible for meeting the cost of the training and associated costs.
Designated workgroups are now able to consider the need for additional representation‚ as the 2004 Act contains a provision for more that one HSR for each group and also a provision for Deputy HSRs.
The sections governing the appointment of Health and Safety Representatives and their statutory rights and functions are set out in Part 7, Division 4 of the 2004 Act.
Further information and downloads
WorkSafe overview of the 2004 Act and guidance documents (PDF, 180KB)
List of OHS Laws and regulations covering workplace safety
Download the OHS Act 2004 (PDF‚ 550KB)
