Western Australian Current Acts

WORK HEALTH AND SAFETY ACT 2020 - SECT 4

4 .         Definitions

                In this Act —

        approved code of practice means a code of practice approved under Part 14;

        authorised , in Part 4 — see section 40;

        Category 1 offence — see section 31;

        Category 2 offence — see section 32;

        Category 3 offence — see section 33;

        chief executive , in relation to a Crown agency, means the person who is responsible for the day-to-day administration of the Crown agency;

        Chief Inspector of Mines — see Schedule 1 Division 2;

        Chief Inspector Petroleum Safety — see Schedule 1 Division 2;

        compliance powers means the functions and powers conferred on an inspector under this Act;

        condition includes limitation and restriction;

        construct includes assemble, erect, reconstruct, reassemble and re-erect;

        corresponding regulator means the holder of a public office, or a public authority, of the Commonwealth, or of another State or a Territory, who or which is responsible for administering a corresponding WHS law;

        corresponding WHS law means a law, or a part of a law, of the Commonwealth, or of another State or a Territory, that is prescribed as a corresponding WHS law;

        covert operation means the performance of a function, or the exercise of a power, of a police officer in circumstances where —

            (a)         a covert operation is undertaken by WA Police for the purpose of obtaining information about criminal activity; and

            (b)         the performance of the function, or the exercise of the power, is not reasonably practicable without exposing a police officer to a serious risk to the police officer’s health or safety emanating from an immediate or imminent exposure to a hazard; and

            (c)         unless the performance of the function, or the exercise of the power, is secret or confidential, it would be likely that —

                  (i)         the effectiveness of the performance of the function, or the exercise of the power, is reduced; or

                  (ii)         a person is exposed to the danger of physical harm arising from the actions of another person;

        Crown agency means —

            (a)         a department of the Public Service; or

            (b)         WA Police; or

            (c)         any other agency of the Crown that is not a body corporate;

        dangerous incident , in Part 3 — see section 37;

        dangerous operation means the performance of a function, or the exercise of a power, of a police officer in circumstances where the performance of that function, or the exercise of that power —

            (a)         is reasonably necessary; and

            (b)         is not reasonably practicable without exposing a police officer to a serious risk to the police officer’s health or safety emanating from an immediate or imminent exposure to a hazard;

        demolition includes deconstruction;

        design , in relation to plant, a substance or a structure, includes —

            (a)         design of part of the plant, substance or structure; and

            (b)         redesign or modify a design;

        disclose , in relation to information, includes divulge or communicate to any person or publish;

        discriminatory conduct , in Part 6 — see section 105;

        document includes anything that falls within 1 or more of the following paragraphs —

            (a)         a record of information, irrespective of how the information is recorded or stored or able to be recovered;

            (b)         a thing on which there is writing;

            (c)         a map, plan, graph, drawing or photograph;

            (d)         a thing on which there are marks, figures, symbols or perforations that have a meaning for persons qualified to interpret them;

            (e)         a thing from which images, sounds or writings can be reproduced with or without the aid of anything else;

            (f)         a thing on which information is recorded or stored, whether electronically, magnetically, mechanically or by some other means;

        eligible person , in Part 12 — see section 223;

        employer organisation means an association or organisation of employers;

        handling includes transport;

        health means physical and psychological health;

        health and safety duty — see section 30;

        health and safety representative , in relation to a worker, means the health and safety representative elected under Part 5 for the work group of which the worker is a member;

        import means to bring into the State, whether from outside Australia or otherwise;

        industrial manslaughter — see section 30A;

        inspector means an inspector appointed under Part 9;

        internal reviewer means —

            (a)         the regulator; or

            (b)         a person appointed by the regulator under section 225;

        IR entry authority means —

            (a)         an authority issued under the Industrial Relations Act 1979 Part II Division 2G; or

            (b)         a permit issued under the Fair Work Act 2009 (Commonwealth) section 512;

        local government member means —

            (a)         a member of the council of a local government, or of the council of a regional local government, acting in that capacity; or

            (b)         a member of the governing body of a regional subsidiary acting in that capacity, if the member was appointed to the governing body in their capacity as a member of the council of a local government involved in the formation of the regional subsidiary;

        notifiable incident — see section 35;

        officer — see section 4A;

        person conducting a business or undertaking — see section 5;

        plant includes —

            (a)         any machinery, equipment, appliance, container, implement and tool; and

            (b)         any component of any of those things; and

            (c)         anything fitted or connected to any of those things;

        prohibited reason , in Part 6 — see section 106;

        provide , in relation to a document, includes produce;

        public corporation means —

            (a)         a local government, regional local government or regional subsidiary; or

            (b)         any other body corporate established or continued for a public purpose under a written law;

        reasonably practicable , in relation to a duty to ensure health and safety — see section 18;

        regulator means the WorkSafe Commissioner — see Schedule 1 Division 1;

        remuneration has the meaning given in the Salaries and Allowances Act 1975 section 4(1);

        representative , in relation to a worker, means —

            (a)         the health and safety representative for the worker; or

            (b)         a union representing the worker; or

            (c)         any other person the worker authorises to represent the worker;

        reviewable decision , in Part 12 — see section 223;

        serious injury or illness , in Part 3 — see section 36;

        structure means anything that is constructed, whether fixed or moveable, temporary or permanent, and includes —

            (a)         buildings, masts, towers, framework, pipelines, transport infrastructure and underground works (shafts or tunnels); and

            (b)         any component of a structure; and

            (c)         part of a structure;

        substance means any natural or artificial substance, whether in the form of a solid, liquid, gas or vapour;

        supply — see section 6;

        Tribunal means the Work Health and Safety Tribunal — see Schedule 1 Division 5;

        union means —

            (a)         an employee organisation that is registered, or taken to be registered, under the Fair Work (Registered Organisations) Act 2009 (Commonwealth); or

            (b)         an organisation of employees, or an association of employees, registered under the Industrial Relations Act 1979 ;

        volunteer means a person who is acting on a voluntary basis (irrespective of whether the person receives out-of-pocket expenses);

        WA Police means the Police Force of Western Australia provided for by the Police Act 1892 ;

        WHS authority means any of the following —

            (a)         the Minister;

            (b)         the WHS department or a person working in the WHS department;

            (c)         an inspector or a person assisting an inspector under section 166, 167B(7) or 167D;

            (d)         the holder, or a person acting as the holder, of an office under Schedule 1 Division 1 or 2;

            (e)         a body established or appointed under Schedule 1 Division 3 or 4;

            (f)         a member, or a person acting as a member, of a body established or appointed under Schedule 1 Division 3 or 4;

            (g)         any other person engaged in the administration of this Act;

        WHS department means the department of the Public Service principally assisting in the administration of this Act;

        WHS undertaking means an undertaking given under section 216(1);

        worker — see section 7;

        work group means a work group determined under Part 5;

        Work Health and Safety Commission — see Schedule 1 Division 3;

        workplace — see section 8.