Amendments to the NSW Work Health Safety Act – March 2018
Amendments have been made to the WHS Act, to reflect six of the eleven recommendations from the NSW Work Health and Safety Act 2011 Statutory Review Report.
Some of the amendments are minor, however others provide clarity such as:
- The recording of interviews by a WHS Inspector, using sound recording or audio-visual devices, without the consent of the person being interviewed, but only following notice given to the interviewee that the recording will take place. This will provide a clear and accurate record of an interview, reducing the scope for dispute.
- Extraterritorial application of information, to allow the NSW WHS Regulators to serve a notice outside NSW to require production of information. It allows the regulators to carry out their functions where cross border issues are involved, to avoid disputes and be more transparent, such as when investigating a workplace incident. This is particularly relevant due to technological advances and the number of business operating in NSW who have their head office, data centres or control rooms in another state or territory.
These changes, which came into effect on 21 March 2018, will assist in improving compliance and enforcement measures for the NSW WHS Regulators, to make the lives of workers and business owners healthier, safer and more productive, and improve public safety.
This fact sheet outlines the amendments to the NSW Work Health and Safety Act 2011 resulting from the review.