Enforceable undertakings guidelines
Enforceable undertakings guidelines
These guidelines set out the approach SafeWork NSW takes to considering an offer of an Enforceable Undertaking (EU) from a person who has allegedly committed an offence against the NSW Work Health and Safety Act 2011 (the Act).
Chapters
- Introduction
- Scope
- What is an EU?
- Why an EU and not a prosecution?
- Who can accept or reject an EU?
- When can I approach SafeWork NSW about an EU?
- When will an EU not be accepted?
- What determines whether an EU will be accepted?
- Injured worker and/or family of deceased worker’s view
- Stage 1 - Considerations applicable to ‘eligibility’
- Stage 2 - Considerations applicable to ‘evaluation’
- Worker EUs
- Preparing an EU
- The EU evaluation decision by SafeWork NSW
- Breaches of accepted EUs
- What you can expect from us
- What we will not do
- How you can help us help you
- Timeframes
- Footnotes
1. Introduction
An alleged contravention of the NSW Work Health and Safety Act 2011 (the Act) or Work Health and Safety Regulation 2017 (the Regulation) is serious.
Failing to protect workers and others who may be affected by work carried out is a criminal offence which in some instances may warrant prosecution in a court of law. A prosecution is one enforcement option. An enforceable undertaking (EU) is an alternative enforcement option to a prosecution. An EU provides an opportunity for significant work health and safety reform to be undertaken1.
SafeWork NSW is the state’s work health and safety regulator. We work with NSW workplaces to reduce work related fatalities, serious injuries and illnesses and make it easier to do business safely.
At SafeWork NSW, we aim to make sure our regulatory approaches promote a competitive, confident and protected NSW. In realising this objective, the work health and safety laws provide SafeWork NSW with a range of functions including monitoring and enforcing compliance with the law.
SafeWork NSW secures compliance with work health and safety legislation by way of sanctions, including prosecutions, enforceable undertakings, infringement notices, issuing improvement and prohibition notices, and providing information, education and advice. SafeWork NSW considers the seriousness of the risk and/or offence and the potential for harm in the workplace when determining compliance actions2.