Western Australian Current Acts

WORK HEALTH AND SAFETY ACT 2020 - SECT 70

70 .         General obligations of person conducting business or undertaking

        (1)         The person conducting a business or undertaking must —

            (a)         consult, so far as is reasonably practicable, on work health and safety matters with any health and safety representative for a work group of workers carrying out work for the business or undertaking; and

            (b)         confer with a health and safety representative for a work group, whenever reasonably requested by the representative, for the purpose of ensuring the health and safety of the workers in the work group; and

            (c)         allow any health and safety representative for the work group to have access to information that the person has relating to —

                  (i)         hazards (including associated risks) at the workplace affecting workers in the work group; and

                  (ii)         the health and safety of the workers in the work group;

                and

            (d)         with the consent of a worker that the health and safety representative represents, allow the health and safety representative to be present at an interview concerning work health and safety between the worker and —

                  (i)         an inspector; or

                  (ii)         the person conducting the business or undertaking at that workplace or the person’s representative;

                and

            (e)         with the consent of 1 or more workers that the health and safety representative represents, allow the health and safety representative to be present at an interview concerning work health and safety between a group of workers, which includes the workers who gave the consent, and —

                  (i)         an inspector; or

                  (ii)         the person conducting the business or undertaking at that workplace or the person’s representative;

                and

            (f)         provide any resources, facilities and assistance to a health and safety representative for the work group that are reasonably necessary or prescribed by the regulations to enable the representative to exercise the representative’s powers and perform the representative’s functions under this Act; and

            (g)         allow a person assisting a health and safety representative for the work group to have access to the workplace if that is necessary to enable the assistance to be provided; and

            (h)         permit a health and safety representative for the work group to accompany an inspector during an inspection of any part of the workplace where a worker in the work group works; and

                  (i)         provide any other assistance to the health and safety representative for the work group that may be required by the regulations.

        Penalty for this subsection:

            (a)         for an individual, a fine of $12 500;

            (b)         for a body corporate, a fine of $55 000.

        (2)         The person conducting a business or undertaking must allow a health and safety representative to spend such time as is reasonably necessary to exercise the representative’s powers and perform the representative’s functions under this Act.

        Penalty for this subsection:

            (a)         for an individual, a fine of $12 500;

            (b)         for a body corporate, a fine of $55 000.

        (3)         Any time that a health and safety representative spends for the purposes of exercising the representative’s powers or performing the representative’s functions under this Act must be with the pay that the representative would otherwise be entitled to receive for performing the representative’s normal duties during that period.