Officers, including company directors, are individuals who have high level obligations for work health and safety.
These obligations are important as health and safety commitment and leadership from the top levels of the business or undertaking is critical to health and safety outcomes.
Therefore, officers must ensure the person conducting a business or undertaking (PCBU - the new term that includes employers) has arrangements in place to comply with its legal obligations.
It is an officers duty to exercise due diligence to ensure their business or undertaking fulfils its health and safety obligations under the Work Health and Safety Act 2011.
The essential elements of due diligence for an officer are interrelated and cumulative in nature. These elements require an officer:
- 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
- to ensure appropriate resources and processes are provided to enable hazards to be identified and risks to be eliminated or minimised
- to ensure information regarding incidents, hazards and risks is received and the information is responded to in a timely way
- to ensure the PCBU has, and implements, processes for complying with any legal duty or obligation
- to ensure processes are verified, monitored and reviewed.
Though not exhaustive, these elements form part of a unified system for ensuring organisational compliance.
The WHS PCBUs, workers and officers fact sheet has more information for directors and officers or call 13 10 50.