The Government has introduced the Work Health and Safety Bill 2011 and Work Health and Safety (Transitional and Consequential Provisions) Bill 2011 into Parliament.

The Senate has referred the Bills to the Senate Education, Employment and Workplace Relations Committees for inquiry and report.

The Work Health and Safety Bill 2011 would implement the Model Work Health and Safety Bill (the model Bill) within the Commonwealth jurisdiction and would form part of a system of nationally harmonised occupational health and safety (OHS) laws. The Bill would apply to businesses and undertakings conducted by the Commonwealth, public authorities, and, for a transitional period, non-Commonwealth licensees.

In particular the Bill prescribes a primary duty of care requiring persons conducting a business or undertaking to ensure, so far as is reasonably practicable, the health and safety of workers and others who may be affected by the carrying out of work .

The Commonwealth and each of the States and Territories have signed the Intergovernmental Agreement for Regulatory and Operational Reform in OHS which commits jurisdictions to implement the model laws by December 2011.

The model Bill is intended to be ‘mirrored’ in all jurisdictions. Separate Bills would be introduced into each jurisdiction’s parliament to give effect to the model Bill. So far only Queensland and New South Wales have passed the complementary legislation.