WHS incident statements – a blessing or a curse?

Two regulatory powers of compulsion to answer questions contained within the Work Health & Safety Act, were discussed at the SIA Sydney Safety Conference, namely, Sections 171 and 172 of the model Work Health & Safety Act. Section 172 provides that an inspector who enters a workplace, may require a person to produce documents or answer any questions put by the inspector, and Section 172, provides that the person is not excused from answering a question or providing information or a document.

Section 172(2) has the effect that none of those answers or documents are admissible in evidence in Civil or Criminal Proceedings against the person making them, however, the information can be used as evidence in prosecuting other workers and the business.