Introduction
Progress towards Western Australian safety law reform continues
apace, with the opening of two important public consultation
periods, although the co-ordination between the program for general
industry and resources safety remains unclear.
On 23 October 2014, WA's long-awaited Work Health and
Safety Bill (WHS Bill) was tabled in State
Parliament and made available as a 'green bill' for public
comment until 30 January 2015. The content of the WHS Bill
predominantly follows that of the Model Work Health and Safety
Bill (Model Bill), which has formed the basis
for harmonised legislation enacted across the nation at
Commonwealth, State and Territory level, in all jurisdictions
except Victoria. WA has not yet finally committed to following the
model set out in the WHS Bill which would, if enacted, involve
substantial changes to the existing regime under the
Occupational Safety and Health Act 1984 (WA) (OSH
Act).
