If you are a director or board member

On this page:

Who is an officer?

You are likely an officer if you:

  • are a director or company secretary
  • are a person who makes or participates in making decisions that affect the whole or a substantial part of the business
  • are a person who can significantly affect the corporation’s financial standing
  • are a person whose instructions or wishes the directors act on (excluding proper professional advice)
  • have a specified insolvency or restructuring role, such as a receiver, administrator or liquidator. Certain restructuring practitioners such as a trustee administering a compromise or arrangement can also be an officer.

NSW specific clarifications

In addition to the above, there are specific clarifications for officers in NSW:

  • A partner in a partnership is not an officer for WHS purposes.
  • An elected local councillor is not an officer when acting in that capacity.
  • In the public sector, a person who makes or participates in decisions affecting the whole or a substantial part of the Crown’s or a public authority’s undertaking is an officer. Ministers are excluded in that capacity.

Your WHS obligation as an officer

You must exercise due diligence to ensure the person conducting a business or undertaking (PCBU) complies with its WHS duties (see s27).

'Due diligence’ includes reasonable steps to:

  • keep your WHS knowledge current
  • understand operational risks
  • ensure resources and processes exist and are used
  • ensure incident/hazard information is received and acted upon promptly
  • ensure WHS duties are complied with, and verify all of the above.

Learn more about the duty of an officer

Read our full guide about The work health and safety duty of an officer (NSW).

Under work health and safety laws, if you don’t take all reasonable and practical steps to fulfil your health and safety obligations, you may be liable if an incident occurs in your workplace.

Find everything you need to make your business compliant in the safety starts here section and in the easy to do WHS kit.

The legal obligations section provides comprehensive information about NSW health and safety legislation.

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