Work Health and Safety Regulations 2011

In force

Administered by

Department of Employment and Workplace Relations

This item is authorised by the following titles:

Work Health and Safety Act 2011
Work Health and Safety (Transitional and Consequential Provisions) Act 2011

Superseded version

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F2023C00146 (C18)

04 January 2023 - 31 March 2023

The following codes of practice contained in this instrument are revoked by the Work Health and Safety Codes of Practice 2012 with effect from 19 December 2012: Part 2 (First Aid), Part 21 (Spray Painting), Part 22 (Abrasive Blasting) and Part 24 (Falls in Construction).

Table of contents

Chapter 1—Preliminary
- Part 1.1—Introductory matters
- 1 Name of Regulations
- 3 Authorising provisions
- 5 Definitions
- 6 Determination of safety management system
- 6A Meaning of corresponding WHS law
- 6B Meaning of court
- 6C Meaning of public authority
- 7 Meaning of person conducting a business or undertaking—persons excluded
- 8 Meaning of supply
- 9 Provisions linked to health and safety duties in Act
- Part 1.2—Application
- 11 Application of these Regulations
- 11A Application outside Australia
- 12 Assessment of risk in relation to a class of hazards, tasks, circumstances or things
- 12A Application of Act—ending of transitional period for non Commonwealth licensees
- Part 1.3—Incorporated documents
- 13 Documents incorporated as in force when incorporated
- 14 Inconsistencies between provisions
- 15 References to standards
Chapter 2—Representation and participation
- Part 2.1—Representation
- Part 2.2—Issue Resolution
- 22 Agreed procedure—minimum requirements
- 23 Default procedure
- Part 2.3—Cessation of Unsafe Work
- 24 Continuity of engagement of worker
- Part 2.4—Workplace Entry by WHS Entry Permit Holders
- 25 Training requirements for WHS entry permits
- 26 Form of WHS entry permit
- 27 Notice of entry—general
- 28 Additional requirements—entry under Division 2 of Part 7
- 29 Additional requirements—entry under section 120
- 30 Additional requirements—entry under section 121
- 31 Register of WHS entry permit holders
Chapter 3—General risk and workplace management
- Part 3.1—Managing risks to health and safety
- Part 3.2—General Workplace Management
Chapter 4—Hazardous work
- Part 4.1—Noise
  - 56 Meaning of exposure standard for noise
  - 57 Managing risk of hearing loss from noise
  - 58 Audiometric testing
  - 59 Duties of designers, manufacturers, importers and suppliers of plant
- Part 4.2—Hazardous Manual Tasks
  - 60 Managing risks to health and safety
  - 61 Duties of designers, manufacturers, importers and suppliers of plant or structures
- Part 4.3—Confined Spaces
  - Division 1—Preliminary
    - 62 Confined spaces to which this Part applies
    - 63 Application to emergency service workers
  - Division 2—Duties of designer, manufacturer, importer, supplier, installer and constructor of plant or structure
    - 64 Duty to eliminate or minimise risk
  - Division 3—Duties of person conducting business or undertaking
- Part 4.4—Falls
  - 78 Management of risk of fall
  - 79 Specific requirements to minimise risk of fall
  - 80 Emergency and rescue procedures
- Part 4.5—High Risk Work
  - Division 1—Licensing of high risk work
- Part 4.6—Demolition work
- 142 Notice of demolition work
- Part 4.7—General Electrical Safety in Workplaces and Energised Electrical Work
- Division 1—Preliminary
  - 144 Meaning of electrical equipment
  - 145 Meaning of electrical installation
  - 146 Meaning of electrical work
- Division 2—General risk management
  - 147 Risk management
- Division 3—Electrical equipment and electrical installations
  - 148 Electrical equipment and electrical installations to which this Division applies
  - 149 Unsafe electrical equipment
  - 150 Inspection and testing of electrical equipment
  - 151 Untested electrical equipment not to be used
- Division 4—Electrical work on energised electrical equipment
  - 152 Application of Division 4
  - 153 Persons conducting a business or undertaking to which this Division applies
  - 154 Electrical work on energised electrical equipment—prohibited
  - 155 Duty to determine whether equipment is energised
  - 156 De energised equipment must not be inadvertently re energised
  - 157 Electrical work on energised electrical equipment—when permitted
  - 158 Preliminary steps
  - 159 Unauthorised access to equipment being worked on
  - 160 Contact with equipment being worked on
  - 161 How the work is to be carried out
  - 162 Record keeping
- Division 5—Electrical equipment and installations and construction work—additional duties
  - 163 Duty of person conducting business or undertaking
- Division 6—Residual current devices
  - 164 Use of socket outlets in hostile operating environment
  - 165 Testing of residual current devices
- Division 7—Overhead and underground electric lines
  - 166 Duty of person conducting a business or undertaking
- Part 4.8—Diving Work
- Division 1—Preliminary
  - 167 Purpose of Part 4.8
- Division 2—General diving work—Fitness and competence of worker
  - 168 Person conducting business or undertaking must ensure fitness of workers
  - 169 Certificate of medical fitness
  - 170 Duty to keep certificate of medical fitness
  - 171 Competence of worker—general diving work—general qualifications
  - 171A Competence of worker—general diving work—additional knowledge and skill
  - 172 Competence of worker—incidental diving work
  - 173 Competence of worker—limited scientific diving work
  - 174 Competence of competent person supervising general diving work
  - 175 Evidence of competence—duty of person conducting business or undertaking
- Division 3—Managing risks—general diving work
  - 176 Management of risks to health and safety
  - 177 Appointment of competent person to supervise diving work
  - 178 Additional control—dive plan
  - 179 Dive plan must be complied with
  - 180 Additional control—dive safety log to be kept
  - 181 Use of dive safety log
  - 182 Record keeping
- Division 4—High risk diving work
  - 183 Duties of person conducting business or undertaking
  - 184 Duty of worker—competence
Chapter 5—Plant and structures
- Part 5.1—General duties for plant and structures
- Part 5.2—Additional duties relating to registered plant and plant designs
- Part 5.3—Registration of plant designs and items of plant
Chapter 6—Construction work
- Part 6.1—Preliminary
- Part 6.2—Duties of designer of structure and person who commissions construction work
- Part 6.3—Duties of person conducting business or undertaking
- Part 6.4—Additional duties of principal contractor
- Part 6.5—General construction induction training
Chapter 7—Hazardous chemicals
- Part 7.1—Hazardous chemicals
- Part 7.2—Lead
Chapter 8—Asbestos
- Part 8.1—Prohibitions and authorised conduct
  - 419 Work involving asbestos or ACM—prohibitions and exceptions
- Part 8.2—General duty
  - 420 Exposure to airborne asbestos at workplace
- Part 8.3—Management of asbestos and associated risks
- Part 8.4—Management of naturally occurring asbestos
- Part 8.5—Asbestos at the workplace
- Part 8.6—Demolition and refurbishment
- Part 8.7—Asbestos removal work
- Part 8.8—Asbestos removal requiring Class A licence
- Part 8.9—Asbestos related work
- Part 8.10—Licensing of asbestos removalists and asbestos assessors
Chapter 9—Major hazard facilities
- Part 9.1—Preliminary
  - Division 1—Application and interpretation
  - Division 2—Requirement to be licensed
    - 535 A major hazard facility must be licensed
- Part 9.2—Determinations about Major Hazard Facilities
- Part 9.3—Duties of Operators of Determined Major Hazard Facilities
- Part 9.4—Licensed major hazard facilities—risk management
- Part 9.5—Consultation and Workers’ Safety role
  - 574 Safety role for workers
  - 575 Operator of major hazard facility must consult with workers
- Part 9.6—Duties of Workers at Licensed Major Hazard Facilities
  - 576 Duties
- Part 9.7—Licensing of major hazard facilities
Chapter 10—Mines
Chapter 11—General
- Part 11.1—Review of Decisions under these Regulations
- Part 11.2—Exemptions
- Part 11.3—Miscellaneous
Chapter 12—Transitional and saving provisions
- Part 4—Hazardous work
  - Division 4.1—Noise
  - Division 4.2—Hazardous manual tasks
- Part 5—Plant and structures
- Part 9—Major hazard facilities
  - Division 9.7—Licensing of major hazard facilities
    - 756 Existing major hazard facility
    - 757 Existing licensed major hazard facility
- Part 12—Other transitional matters
  - Division 1—Globally Harmonised System of Classification and Labelling of Chemicals
    - 759 Introductory period for GHS
  - Division 3—Codes of practice
    - 761 Preserved codes of practice
Schedule 1—Revocation of regulations
Schedule 2—Fees
- 1 Purpose of this Schedule
Schedule 3—High risk work licences and classes of high risk work
- 1 Boom type elevating work platform
Schedule 4—High risk work licences—competency requirements
- 1 Purpose of this Schedule
Schedule 5—Registration of plant and plant designs
- Part 1—Plant requiring registration of design
  - 1 Items of plant requiring registration of design
  - 2 Exceptions
- Part 2—Items of plant requiring registration
  - 3 Items of plant requiring registration
  - 4 Exceptions
Schedule 6—Classification of mixtures
- 1 Purpose of this Schedule
- 2 Classification of mixtures
Schedule 7—Safety data sheets
- 1 Safety data sheets—content
- 2 Safety data sheets—research chemical, waste product or sample for analysis
Schedule 8—Disclosure of ingredients in safety data sheet
- 1 Purpose of this Schedule
- 2 Identity of ingredients to be disclosed
- 3 Generic names used to disclose identity of ingredients
- 4 Disclosing proportions of ingredients
Schedule 9—Classification, packaging and labelling requirements
- Part 1—Correct classification
  - 1 Correct classification of a substance, mixture or article
- Part 2—Correct packing
  - 2 Correctly packing hazardous chemicals
- Part 3—Correct labelling
Schedule 10—Prohibited carcinogens, restricted carcinogens and restricted hazardous chemicals
Schedule 11—Placard and manifest quantities
- 1 Determination of classification of flammable liquids
Schedule 12—Manifest requirements
- 1 Manifest—general information
- 2 Manifest—bulk storage and containers
- 3 Manifest—identification of hazardous chemical
- 4 Manifest—storage area for packaged hazardous chemicals
- 5 Manifest—hazardous chemicals being manufactured
- 6 Manifest—hazardous chemicals in transit
- 7 Manifest—plan of workplace
Schedule 13—Placard requirements
- 1 Displaying placards
- 2 Maintaining placards
- 3 Outer warning placards—requirements
- 4 Placards for particular hazardous chemicals stored in bulk
- 5 Placards for unstable explosives, organic peroxides type A or self reactive substances type A stored in bulk
- 6 Placards for packaged Schedule 11 hazardous chemicals (other than flammable liquids category 4) and IBCs
- 7 Placards for flammable liquids category 4 packaged or in bulk
Schedule 14—Requirements for health monitoring
Schedule 15—Hazardous chemicals at major hazard facilities (and their threshold quantity)
- 1 Definitions
- 2 Relevant hazardous chemicals
- 3 Threshold quantity of one hazardous chemical
- 4 Threshold quantity of more than one hazardous chemical
- 5 How table 15.1 must be used
- 6 How table 15.2 must be used
Schedule 16—Matters to be included in emergency plan for major hazard facility
- 1 Site and hazard detail
- 2 Command structure and site personnel
- 3 Notifications
- 4 Resources and equipment
- 5 Procedures
Schedule 17—Additional matters to be included in safety management system of major hazard facility
- 1 Safety policy and safety objectives
- 2 Organisation and personnel
- 3 Operational controls
- 4 Duties of operators
- 5 Management of change
- 6 Principles and standards
- 7 Performance monitoring
- 8 Audit
Schedule 18—Additional matters to be included in safety case for a major hazard facility
- Part 1—Facility description
  - 1 The facility
  - 2 The surrounding area
- Part 2—Safety information
- Endnotes

Work Health and Safety Regulations 2011

Legislation text