The New National OHS framework
On 4 April 2008, the Minister for Employment and Workplace Relations, the Hon Julia Gillard MP, announced a National Review into Occupational Health and Safety Laws.
The work of the Review will subsume the work on the framework as outlined below. For more information go to www.nationalohsreview.gov.au
Achieving national consistency in the regulation of occupational health and safety: developing the National OHS Framework
Why national consistency in OHS regulation is an important issue
In February 2006, the Council of Australian Governments (COAG) agreed to a new National Competition Policy reform agenda in response to a report from the National Competition Policy Review Working Group. The new reform agenda contains a number of decisions for action aimed at reducing regulatory burdens on industry. The report identified a number of regulatory “hot spots” for action, including OHS regulation.
View the COAG Background Paper: COAG National Competition Policy Review (RTF)
In relation to OHS, COAG made the following decision:
Decision 5.6
COAG will request:
- the Australian Safety and Compensation Council (ASCC), as an immediate priority, to develop strategies to improve the development and uptake of national occupational health and safety (OHS) standards, with particular emphasis on the following:-
- reducing the time taken to develop national OHS standards,
- undertaking State/Territory consultation with local stakeholders in parallel with national consultation to inform the development of the national standard and ensure agreement to nationally-consistent arrangements, and
- agreeing specific time frames for implementation so that each jurisdiction will implement the standard or code within an agreed time frame;
- the Workplace Relations Ministerial Council to identify priority areas in principal OHS Acts in each State and Territory that should be harmonised;
- the Workplace Relations Ministerial Council to report back to COAG by end 2006 on recommended strategies for implementing the reforms outlined in (a) and (b) above, and thereafter provide six-monthly progress reports to COAG; and
- (that there be no reduction or compromise in standards for legitimate safety concerns in current OHS standards.
Decision 5.6 is part of Attachment B National Competition Review (PDF)of the COAG Meeting (February 2006) minutes.
In April 2006, the Australia Government released a report, Rethinking Regulation, prepared by Gary Banks (Chairman of the Productivity Commission) on reducing regulatory burdens on business. Banks wrote that OHS laws are significant because they are an area of regulation which affects every workplace in Australia — including all employees, employers and anyone visiting the workplace. He also identified problems created for business by the cross-jurisdictional regulatory environment and the lack of a coherent national approach.
Further information about the report, Rethinking Regulation, is available at www.regulationtaskforce.gov.au
In response to the above reports, the ASCC developed a strategy to revise the national OHS framework to achieve greater national consistency across OHS jurisdictions’ regulatory frameworks. The report was endorsed by all members of the Workplace Relations Ministers’ Council, except New South Wales, and was considered by COAG at its meeting in April 2007.
View the WRMC Report to COAG (PDF)
COAG endorsed a timetable for achieving national occupational health and safety standards and harmonising elements in principal OHS Acts. COAG also reinforced its earlier decision that there be no reduction or compromise in standards for legitimate safety concerns in current OHS standards.
View the COAG decision on OHS, April 2007 (page 4 and Appendix B) (PDF)
COAG noted that New South Wales could not agree that duty holders and the scope of their obligations are areas for prioritisation, as issues relating to these were subject to consideration of an independent review being conducted by the Hon Paul Stein QC.
In order to address its concerns in relation to the slow take-up of national standards, COAG agreed that the national OHS standards framework be recast (as is set out in the following section).
COAG further agreed that the priority areas for harmonisation of principal OHS Acts will be, in the first instance, those matters essential for the consistent development, uptake and implementation of national standards into jurisdictions’ regulation, and that the Australian Safety and Compensation Council may also identify and agree other priority areas for harmonisation that are considered necessary to improve safety outcomes.
The new National OHS Framework
The new National OHS Framework will consist of the following documents:
- National standards declared by the ASCC that will be the basis for jurisdictional regulations. National standards will be focussed on safety and health requirements and will be specified as safety outcomes where possible.
- National codes of practice declared by the ASCC that will be the basis for jurisdictional approved codes of practice. The codes will provide more focussed practical guidance on how to meet a safety outcome.
- A ‘core elements’ document that will provide the foundation for the consistent development of jurisdictional Acts and regulations by specifying the objects, principles and common general duties of care of a harmonised legislative system. It will guide those who draft, administer or are subject to OHS legislation to understand the intent of a nationally consistent OHS regulatory framework.
- A handbook that will document the agreed approach of the ASCC to the ‘governance’ of the National Framework. It will describe the key components and the processes for their development, implementation and review.
- Guidance material.
- Regulatory interpretation documents.
The elements of the framework are intended to link with the OHS jurisdictions’ legislative and regulatory arrangements in the following way:
The Core Elements Document
At its meeting of 22 August 2007, the Australian Safety and Compensation Council endorsed, on an interim basis, a document that sets out the ‘common elements’ of general duties of care for OHS for the purpose of progressing work on national standards and codes under the new framework.
This agreement will enable the ASCC to progress its standard-setting responsibilities while more work is undertaken to develop the core elements that will make up an agreed approach to a more harmonised system of general duties.
View the ASCC Interim Common Elements Document (PDF)
It is intended that the core elements document will be a ‘living’ document — recognising that reform and further development of a national approach must be guided by the need to:
- address the wide variety of arrangements under which work is performed
- comprehend new and emerging risks in workplaces
- reduce duplication and confusion created by inconsistent and potentially conflicting OHS regulatory frameworks, and
- create greater certainty and a better understanding of OHS requirements.
The Handbook
The Handbook and its supporting documents will be particularly important for the preparation of standards, codes and other documents such as guidance material. It will set out the approach to matters such as the roles of the ASCC, the Office of the ASCC, the WRMC and other parties, decision making principles and processes, project planning, regulatory impact assessment requirements, and consultation.
Other key issues in implementing the National OHS Framework
Other key issues in implementing the framework include the following:
- streamlining development of national standards and codes
- aligning the national and jurisdictional stakeholder consultation processes that take place whenever a new standard or code or code of practice is developed or when an existing standard or code of practice is reviewed
- aligning jurisdictional timetables for implementation of national standards and codes of practice in jurisdictional legislation (as regulations or approved codes of practice), and
- promoting consistent uptake of national standards and codes of practice in all jurisdictions.
Page last updated: 04/04/2008