WHS Roles and Responsibilities
Guide
All guides are intended to give further details to information contained in a particular piece of legislation, policy,
code, agreement or procedure and must therefore be read in conjunction with them.
INTRODUCTION
To meet the requirements of the Workplace Health & Safety (National Uniform Legislation) Act 2011 and
Regulations and the University’s Work Health & Safety (WHS) Policy, WHS Unit has produced this Guide on
WHS Roles and Responsibilities.
PURPOSE
The purpose of this document is to assist the University community to familiarise themselves with WHS
responsibilities as specified under the Act and the University’s WHS Policy. Failure to fulfil these duties can
lead to severe fines or prosecution under the Work Health and Safety Act, and will also be dealt with under
the University’s Code of Conduct.
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Relevant Definitions ........................................................................................................................ 2
2
Work Health and Safety Responsibilities ........................................................................................ 3
2.1
PCBUs ...................................................................................................................................... 3
2.2
Officers and Directors of PCBUs.............................................................................................. 3
2.3
Workers ................................................................................................................................... 4
2.4
Others ..................................................................................................................................... 4
3
Failing to meet Duties - Penalty Structure ...................................................................................... 5
4
Essential Supporting Information .................................................................................................... 5
1
Relevant Definitions
In the context of this document:
Due diligence means to gain an understanding of the hazards and risks associated with the operations of the
business and to ensure that the business has and uses appropriate resources and processes to eliminate or
minimise risks to health and safety;
Officer means a person who makes or participates in making decisions that affect the whole or a substantial part
of the business or undertaking;
Others mean people who are at the workplace but do not carry out work for PCBUs. This includes, but is not
limited to, students, authorised visitors, customers and clients.
PCBU (Person Conducting a Business or Undertaking) is the legal entity operating a business or undertaking. A
PCBU may be an individual person or an organisation conducting a business or undertaking. It is not an
individual, unless they are conducting the business in their own name as a sole trader or partner. Persons
engaged solely as a worker or officer of the business or undertaking are excluded from the definition of PCBU;
Senior Executive means a staff member holding the position of Vice-Chancellor, Deputy Vice-Chancellor, Chief
Operating Officer, Pro Vice-Chancellor, Chief Financial Officer, Deputy Chief Operating Officer of the University;
Senior Manager means a staff member holding the position of Director or Head of School of the University;
Student means a person enrolled at the University and undertaking a unit and/or course of study leading to a
University recognised award. This also includes attendance at workshops held on campus;
Supervisor means the immediate day to day manager of an individual or group of workers, students in classes
and/or on field trips;
University community means all University’s workers, students, authorised visitors, and external appointees of
Council, boards and committees of the University;
WHS Management System means that part of the overall management system which includes organisational
structure, planning activities, responsibilities, practices, procedures, processes and resources for developing,
implementing, achieving, reviewing and maintaining the WHS Policy, and so managing the risks associated with
the business or undertaking of the University;
Worker means any person who carries out work in any capacity for the University, including but not limited to,
University’s staff member, contractor, subcontractor and their employee, apprentice or trainee, student gaining
work experience, and volunteer;
Workplace means a place where work is carried out for the University and includes any place where a worker
goes, or is likely to be, while at work. This may include, but is not limited to, laboratories, workshops, training
rooms, on-site recreational facilities, vehicles or vessels, on field trips, in teaching facilities, in offices, in rural
environments and any area of industry operations.
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Work Health and Safety Responsibilities
WHS responsibilities for different roles are legislated in the Work Health and Safety Act 2011. The Act specifies
duties for PCBU, officers, workers and others as well as suppliers and manufacturers.
The following principles apply to all duties:
 Duties are not transferrable–they cannot be delegated to another person
 A person can have more than one duty e.g. a PCBU manufacturing plant has duties as a manufacturer,
and duties as a PCBU to their own workers.
 More than one person can have the same duty. Where this happens, each person is required to carry out
their duty to the extent they have the capacity to influence and control the matter.
 Where a person has a duty to ensure health and safety, this means they are required to:
o Eliminate risks to health and safety as far as reasonably practicable;
o Or, if this is not possible: minimise the risks to health and safety, so far as is reasonably
practicable.
2.1
PCBUs
Under the WHS Act, a PCBU has a primary duty of care to ensure workplace health and safety. A PCBU must
meet its obligations, so far as is reasonably practicable, to provide a safe and healthy workplace for workers or
other persons by ensuring:
 safe systems of work
 a safe work environment
 accommodation for workers, if provided, is appropriate
 safe use of plant, structures and substances
 facilities for the welfare of workers are adequate
 notification and recording of workplace incidents
 adequate information, training, instruction and supervision is given
 compliance with the requirements under the work health and safety regulation
 effective systems are in place for monitoring the health of workers and workplace conditions.
A PCBU must also have meaningful and open consultation about work health and safety with its workers,
health and safety representatives and health and safety committees.
A PCBU must consult, cooperate and coordinate with other PCBUs with whom they share duties.
A PCBU has further obligations if involved in specific kinds of activities such as:
 the management and control of workplaces, or fixtures, fittings or plant at workplaces
 the design, manufacture, import or supply of plant, substances or structures
 installation, construction or commissioning of plant or structures.
Charles Darwin University is a PCBU and has a primary duty of care to its workers and others at
workplaces. Other PCBUs that have shared duties include, but not limited to, companies/ organisations or
affiliates that provide products/ services to the University community or use/ share the University’s facilities.
2.2
Officers and Directors of PCBUs
Officers, including company directors, are individuals who have high level obligations for work health and
safety. Under the WHS Act, officers are defined as a person who makes decisions, or participates in making
decisions, which affect the whole, or a substantial part, of a business or undertaking; or has the capacity to
significantly affect the financial standing of the business or undertaking. If a person is responsible only for
implementing those decisions, they are not considered an officer.
At Charles Darwin University, officers include, but are not limited to:
 Members of the University Council
 Senior Executives
 Senior Managers
 Staff members who participate in making decisions that affects the whole or a substantial part of the
University.
It is an officer’s duty to exercise due diligence to ensure their business or undertaking fulfils its health and
safety obligations under the Act. The essential elements of due diligence for an officer are interrelated and
cumulative in nature. These elements require an officer to:
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to acquire and keep up to date knowledge of work health and safety matters
to gain an understanding of the operations of the business and the hazards and risks involved
ensure appropriate resources and processes are provided to enable hazards to be identified and
risks to be eliminated or minimised
ensure information regarding incidents, hazards and risks is received and the information is
responded to in a timely way
ensure the PCBU has, and implements, processes for complying with any legal duty or obligation
ensure processes are verified, monitored and reviewed.
2.3
Workers
Under the Act, the term 'worker' includes any person who works for the University as an:
 employee
 trainee
 volunteer
 outworker
 apprentice
 work experience student
 contractor or subcontractor
 employees of a contractor or sub-contractor
 employee of a labour hire company assigned to work for the University.
Duties of workers at the workplace are specified under the Act. Workers must undertake the following while
at the University:
 take reasonable care for their own health and safety
 take reasonable care for the health and safety of others
 comply with any reasonable instruction from the University
 cooperate with any reasonable policies and procedures of the University.
 not interfere with anything provided for health, safety and welfare.
 ensure that notifications and licences are adhered to prior to undertaking any work.
 complete any training required to perform their job safely.
 comply with all risk control measures
 report any WHS hazards, incidents, accidents.
 take part in WHS consultative arrangements.
 follow emergency and evacuation procedures.
2.4
Others
Duties of other persons at the workplace are specified under the Act. A person at a workplace must:
 take reasonable care for his or her own health and safety
 take reasonable care that his or her acts or omissions do not adversely affect the health and safety
of other persons
 comply, so far as the person is reasonably able, with any reasonable instruction that is given by the
University.
 report hazards and incidents
 not interfere with any safety equipment or equipment provided for emergency use.
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Failing to meet Duties - Penalty Structure
The penalties for offences under the Act are divided into 3 categories:
Category
Category 1
Reckless Conduct
Maximum penalty
• Corporations: $3m
• Individuals as a PCBU or
Officers of a PCBU: $600k /
5 years jail
• Other Individuals : $300k / 5
years jail
•
•
Category 2
Breach High Risk
•
•
•
Category 3
Duty Breach
•
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Corporations: $1.5m
Individuals as a PCBU or
Officers of a PCBU: $300k
Other Individuals : $150k
Corporations: $500k
Individuals as a PCBU or
Officers of a PCBU: $100k
Other Individuals : $50k
Description
A person commits a Category 1 offence if:
a) the person has a health and safety duty,
and
b) the person, without reasonable excuse,
engages in conduct that exposes an
individual to whom that duty is owed to a
risk of death or serious injury or illness,
and
c) the person is reckless as to the risk to an
individual of death or serious injury or
illness.
A person commits a Category 2 offence if:
a) the person has a health and safety duty,
and
b) the person fails to comply with that duty,
and
c) the failure exposes an individual to a risk
of death or serious injury or illness.
A person commits a Category 3 offence if:
a) the person has a health and safety duty,
and
b) the person fails to comply with that duty.
Essential Supporting Information
Internal
Work Health and Safety Policy
WHS Roles, Responsibilities, Consultation and Committees Procedure
External
Work Health and Safety (National Uniform Legislation) Act 2011
Work Health and Safety (National Uniform Legislation) Regulations
Safe Work Australia, Code of Practice: Work health and safety consultation, cooperation and coordination
Document History and Version Control
Version
Date Approved
Approved by
Brief Description
1
23/07/2014
HR Director
Created document
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