For jurisdictions such as NSW and Queensland the concept of
"reasonably practicable" is a foreign one in work health
and safety laws. Introduced as part of the
"harmonisation" of WHS across Australia, Safe Work
Australia has recently released guidelines on how to interpret and
put into place the concept of "reasonably practicable" in
the workplace (Guide).
Although varying standards of compliance exist under WHS laws,
for example officers' due diligence, persons conducting a
business or undertaking (PCBU, which includes employers) have
health and safety duties subject to the concept of "so far as
is reasonably practicable".
This concept is set out in the new WHS legislation (for example,
the Work Health and Safety Act 2011 (NSW) (WHS
Act)) as essentially comprising 5 main elements, including
likelihood of hazards/risks occurring, degree of harm, knowledge,
how to eliminate or minimise and finally costs. These set of
criteria are not an exhaustive list, as
