Health and safety obligations
People who conduct a business or undertaking
People in control of a workplace
Principal contractors
People in control of relevant workplace areas
People in control of fixtures, fittings or plant in relevant workplace areas
Designers of plant
Manufacturers of plant
Hirers, importers or suppliers of plant
Owners of plant
Erectors and installers of plant
Manufacturers of substances
Suppliers and importers of substances
Designers of structures
Workers
Visitors to a workplace
Volunteers
People who conduct a business or undertaking
A person who conducts a business or undertaking is considered a relevant person and can include:
- employers
- self-employed people
- volunteer organisations.
A relevant person has an obligation to ensure the workplace health and safety of:
- all workers carrying out work for the business or undertaking
- volunteers who perform work activities for the business or undertaking
- all other people including customers, visitors to the workplace, passers by and neighbours
- themselves.
Meeting your workplace health and safety obligations involves:
- providing and maintaining a safe and healthy work environment
- providing and maintaining safe plant
- ensuring the safe use, handling, storage and transport of substances
- ensuring safe systems of work
- providing information, instruction, training and supervision to ensure health and safety.
For more details on your workplace health and safety obligations, refer to part 3 of the Workplace Health and Safety Act 1995 (PDF, 766 KB).
People in control of a workplace
The person in control of a workplace is usually the owner unless a lease or contract arrangement puts the effective control of the area in someone else's hands.
You must ensure:
- the workplace is safe and without risk of injury or illness to anyone coming to your workplace to work
- the workplace is safe and without risk of illness or injury from any plant or substance used properly in the course of work
- appropriate safe access to and from the workplace.
For more details on your workplace health and safety obligations, refer to part 3 of the Workplace Health and Safety Act 1995 (PDF, 766 KB).
Principal contractors
Principal contractors at a construction workplace must:
- assist employers and/or self-employed people at the workplace to discharge their workplace health and safety obligations
- protect people at the workplace from exposure to risks arising from something provided for general use at the workplace and hazards for which no one else owes a workplace health and safety obligation
- protect members of the public from injury or illness caused by work activities at or near the workplace
- provide safeguards and take safety measures under a regulation made for principal contractors
- ensure people at the workplace comply with their workplace health and safety obligations.
For more details on your workplace health and safety obligations, refer to part 3 of the Workplace Health and Safety Act 1995 (PDF, 766 KB).
People in control of relevant workplace areas
The person in control, of a relevant workplace area, is either the owner or person who has been given control over the area, for example through a contractual arrangement with the owner.
You must ensure the relevant workplace area is safe and without risk to health.
This obligation does not apply to workplace areas which are also domestic premises of the person in control.
For more details on your workplace health and safety obligations, refer to part 3 of the Workplace Health and Safety Act 1995 (PDF, 766 KB).
People in control of fixtures, fittings or plant in relevant workplace areas
The person in control of fixtures, fittings or plant is usually the owner unless a lease or contract arrangement puts the effective control in someone else’s hands.
For example:
A business leases a building from a building owner, but installs its own plumbing and lighting. The business owner is then considered to be in control of the fixtures and fittings at that workplace.
You must ensure that the fixtures, fitting or plant are safe and without risk to health.
For more details on your workplace health and safety obligations, refer to part 3 of the Workplace Health and Safety Act 1995 (PDF, 766 KB).
Designers of plant
You must ensure that the plant for use at a workplace is:
- designed to be safe and without risk to health when used properly
- accompanied by information about how it is to be used to ensure health and safety.
For more details on your workplace health and safety obligations, refer to part 3 of the Workplace Health and Safety Act 1995 (PDF, 766 KB).
Manufacturers of plant
You must ensure that the plant for use at a workplace is:
- manufactured to be safe and without risk to health when used properly
- upon manufacture, is tested and examined to ensure it has been manufactured to be safe and without risk to health when used properly
- accompanied by information on how it is to be used to ensure health and safety.
For more details on your workplace health and safety obligations, refer to part 3 of the
Workplace Health and Safety Act 1995 (PDF, 766 KB).
Hirers, importers and suppliers of plant
Importers and suppliers of plant for use at a workplace have the same obligations, and a hirer of plant must have information about the safe use of the plant available at the point of hire.
If you supply new plant, you must:
- examine and test the plant to ensure it is safe and without risk to health when used properly
- ensure the manufacturer has given an assurance that the plant is safe and without risk to health when used properly.
If you supply used plant, you must:
- take all reasonable steps to ensure that the plant is safe and without risk to health when used properly. For example, you might test the plant yourself to establish it is safe and without risk to health
- ensure information accompanies the plant on how to use it safely if the information is available.
For more details on your workplace health and safety obligations, refer to part 3 of the Workplace Health and Safety Act 1995 (PDF, 766 KB).
Owners of plant
Owners of plant must ensure the plant is maintained in a condition that ensures it is safe and without risk to health when used properly.
For more details on your workplace health and safety obligations, refer to part 3 of the Workplace Health and Safety Act 1995 (PDF, 766 KB).
Erectors and installers of plant
If you erect or install plant at a workplace, you must ensure:
- that plant is erected or installed in a way that is safe and without risk to health
- nothing about the plant’s installation or erection makes it unsafe or a risk to health when used properly.
For more details on your workplace health and safety obligations, refer to part 3 of the Workplace Health and Safety Act 1995 (PDF, 766 KB).
Manufacturers of substances
You must ensure that the substance is:
- safe and without risk to health when used properly
- tested and examined to ensure it is safe when used properly
- accompanied by relevant information about its use when supplied to another person.
For more details on your workplace health and safety obligations, refer to part 3 of the Workplace Health and Safety Act 1995 (PDF, 766 KB).
Suppliers and importers of substances
You must ensure that:
- all reasonable steps are taken to guarantee the substance is safe and without risk to health when properly used
- the substance is accompanied by relevant information about its use.
For more details on your workplace health and safety obligations, refer to part 3 of the Workplace Health and Safety Act 1995 (PDF, 766 KB).
Designers of structures
You must ensure that the buildings and other structures you design as workplaces can be used, repaired and maintained in a safe way for relevant persons when used as a workplace and for the purpose for which it was designed.
You need to take particular note of:
- adequate ventilation
- adequate lighting in plant rooms
- availability of anchorage points for window cleaners
- ease of access to the building for maintenance purposes
- provision for maintenance and servicing of air-conditioning units.
The building designer’s obligation is restricted to the design of the building; it does not extend to the building’s subsequent use or alteration.
The obligations don’t apply to residential premises or to building designs initiated before 1 June 2004.
For more details on your workplace health and safety obligations, refer to part 3 of the Workplace Health and Safety Act 1995 (PDF, 766 KB).
Workers
You have a workplace health and safety obligation to yourself and to others.
You must:
- comply with instructions given for workplace health and safety
- use personal protective equipment if the employer provides it and if you’re properly instructed in its use
- not wilfully or recklessly interfere with or misuse anything provided for workplace health and safety at the workplace
- not wilfully place others at risk
- not wilfully injure yourself.
For more details on your workplace health and safety obligations, refer to part 3 of the Workplace Health and Safety Act 1995 (PDF, 766 KB).
Visitors to a workplace
You have responsibilities regarding your own health and safety when visiting a workplace, and an obligation to others at that workplace.
You must:
- follow directions given by an employer to maintain workplace health and safety
- do what a principal contractor tells you, if at a construction workplace
- not wilfully misuse or recklessly interfere with anything provided for workplace health and safety
- not wilfully place the safety and well-being of others at risk
- not wilfully injure yourself.
For more details on your workplace health and safety obligations, refer to part 3 of the Workplace Health and Safety Act 1995 (PDF, 766 KB).
Volunteers
Both volunteers and volunteer organisations have obligations under the Workplace Health and Safety Act 1995.
For example:
A surf lifesaving club provides a service to the community. The surf lifesavers are usually volunteers who perform work activities for the club. The club has an obligation to the surf lifesavers to ensure the workplace health and safety of all who perform work for the club – whether they are paid or not.
Volunteers have the same workplace health and safety obligations as a worker and must:
- comply with instructions given for workplace health and safety by the employer
- not wilfully or recklessly interfere or misuse anything provided for workplace health and safety
- not place anyone else at risk of injury or illness at the workplace
- not wilfully injure yourself.
For more details on your workplace health and safety obligations, refer to part 3 of the Workplace Health and Safety Act 1995 (PDF, 766 KB).
Last updated January 24, 2006
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