Health and safety basics for Australian employers
Reviewed by Mellow Editorial Team, HR & payroll content team
Every Australian employer has a legal duty to eliminate or minimise risks to the health, safety and welfare of workers, so far as is reasonably practicable. That duty applies from the first day you engage someone, whether they are an employee, contractor or labour-hire worker.
The legal framework
Work health and safety in Australia is governed primarily by the model Work Health and Safety (WHS) Act, which has been adopted — with minor variations — by most states and territories. Western Australia operates its own legislation but has substantially harmonised with the national model. Victoria also maintains its own framework under the Occupational Health and Safety Act 2004.
The primary duty-holder is the "person conducting a business or undertaking" (PCBU). That is almost certainly your business. The PCBU duty is non-delegable: you cannot contract out of it by telling a worker to manage their own safety. Directors and senior officers also carry personal due-diligence obligations, which means they can be individually prosecuted for failures even if the company itself is also penalised.
What "reasonably practicable" actually means
"Reasonably practicable" is not a vague standard. The legislation defines it by reference to:
- the likelihood that a hazard will cause harm
- the severity of that harm, including how many people could be affected
- what is known, or reasonably ought to be known, about the hazard and how to eliminate or control it
- the availability and suitability of controls
- the cost of those controls — but cost can only justify lower action after the other factors have been weighed
In practice this means you start by trying to eliminate the hazard entirely. If you cannot, you work down a hierarchy of controls: substitution, isolation, engineering controls, administrative controls, and finally personal protective equipment. PPE sits at the bottom because it relies on human behaviour and therefore offers the weakest protection.
Core obligations you need to have in place
Risk management. You must identify hazards in the workplace, assess the risks they create, and implement controls. This is an ongoing process, not a one-time document exercise.
Consultation. Workers must be consulted on matters that affect their health and safety. For businesses above a certain size, this typically means establishing a health and safety committee or designating a health and safety representative (HSR). HSRs have enforceable rights, including the power to direct a work stoppage for an immediate serious risk.
Incident notification. Serious incidents — defined as "notifiable incidents" — must be reported to your state or territory WHS regulator immediately (without undue delay). Notifiable incidents include deaths, serious injuries or illnesses, and dangerous incidents such as an unplanned explosion or the collapse of a structure. You must preserve the site of a serious incident until an inspector authorises disturbance.
Training and supervision. Workers must have the information, training, instruction and supervision necessary for them to work safely. This is particularly important for new starters, workers changing roles, and young workers.
Workers compensation insurance. Every state and territory requires employers to hold workers compensation insurance for their workers. The schemes differ by jurisdiction — premium rates, return-to-work obligations and claims management are all handled differently. Not holding a policy when you are required to is a serious offence.
Remote and hybrid work
Your WHS duty extends to a worker's home or any other location they perform work. That does not mean conducting home inspections for every employee. It does mean you should:
- provide guidance on setting up a safe home workstation
- include remote workers in your hazard identification and consultation processes
- have a clear process for workers to report home-based incidents or hazards
Psychosocial hazards — things like excessive workload, poor workplace relationships, lack of role clarity and remote isolation — sit firmly within your WHS obligations. Regulators across jurisdictions have been progressively strengthening enforcement in this area, and the model WHS regulations now include specific provisions on managing psychosocial risks.
Payroll intersection
WHS and payroll connect in a few places worth knowing. Workers compensation premiums are partly calculated on your declared wages, so accurate payroll records matter for insurance purposes. If a worker is injured and moves to reduced hours or modified duties, you will need to adjust their pay accordingly, which flows through your PAYG withholding and Single Touch Payroll reporting at each pay event. Keeping clean payroll records also supports any return-to-work plan, because it gives you and the insurer a clear baseline of the worker's ordinary hours and earnings.
Where to get authoritative guidance
Safe Work Australia publishes the model codes of practice, which, while not law themselves, are admissible as evidence of what is reasonably practicable. Your state or territory regulator — WorkSafe Victoria, SafeWork NSW, WorkSafe Queensland and equivalents elsewhere — is the body with actual enforcement power. Their websites publish jurisdiction-specific guidance, approved codes, and notification forms. If you are managing a workforce across multiple states, you need to check each relevant regulator, because obligations on detail — such as HSR election processes and incident notification timeframes — can vary.
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