Tasmanian Government well placed to update WHS laws

The Tasmanian Government has an opportunity show leadership to mainland states by amending its Workplace Health and Safety Act to more accurately reflect current labour market practices.

By doing so, the well-being and welfare of more workers will be greatly improved, afforded greater protection and will reduce the incidence of accidents and injuries in the workplace.

ìThe non-traditional worker is here to stay and it is imperative that the legislation facilitates the most effective and efficient relationship between multiple general duty holders within 21st century workplaces,î said Julie Mills, CEO of the Recruitment and Consulting Services Association.

In its submission to the Tasmanian Governmentís review of the Workplace Health and Safety Act, the RCSA states that it is both unreasonable and potentially unsafe to place the same obligations on on-hired employee service (OES) providers to ensure the prevention of risk as that of their clients.

ìThe RCSA strongly supports the position that a person who has management or control of the place of work should have the primary duty to identify and eliminate hazards within the workplace.

ìManagement and control as considerations need to be clarified in the context of on-hired employment given that there are many degrees of control ranging from notional control to effective control,î said Ms Mills.

An OES providerís state of knowledge of existing, ongoing and potential workplace risk is deficient when compared to that of host organisations.

Hosts organisation are best placed to identify hazards, assess risk, implement sustainable risk control measures and monitor the effectiveness and maintenance of such measures in most circumstances.

ìThe RCSA is delighted to see that the governmentís Discussion Paper released in June specifically addresses issues relating to modern forms of employment and engagement as well as the terminology associated with such forms of work.

ìMoreover, it is a pleasure to see a focus on principles such as control within this review and the focus on the ëhowí to fulfil duties over and above the ëwhat and whoí debate.

ìWe aim to assist the Tasmanian Government to establish an WHS regulatory system where employer, client, employee and workplace colleagues work in cooperation to ensure an optimal use of risk management resources at a time when the working model is moving away from the relative simplicity of the traditional two party relationship between employer and employee,î said Ms Mills.

Unless obligations are clear and promote efficient resource allocation between host organisations and the OES providers there is the potential for confusion, wasted resources and the abrogation of responsibility.

The ultimate objective is to prevent persons from being exposed to risk to their health or safety through clear and justifiable assignment of responsibility in multi-party employment arrangements.

ìWhile overlapping and duplicated obligations may on the face of it appear to be the most effective way of ensuring effective risk management, in practice they are clearly not,î said Ms Mills.