The Honourable Grace Grace MP, Minister for Industrial Relations, announced an independent review of the Work Health and Safety Act 2011 (WHS Act).
The review was led by Mr Craig Allen, former Deputy Director General of the Office of Industrial Relations; Mr Charles Massy, a barrister specialising in Industrial Relations and Employment; and Ms Deirdre Swan, former Deputy President of the Queensland Industrial Relations Commission.
The review considered the overall effectiveness of the key components of the WHS Act in achieving its objectives, including:
- Considering and reporting on any need for amendments to ensure:
- provisions relating to health and safety representatives are effective and operating as intended
- workers are appropriately represented and assisted in the workplace for the purpose of health and safety matters
- the effectiveness of the legislative framework for review and stay provisions with enforcement notices under the WHS Act
- provisions relating to the issue and dispute resolution are effective and operating as intended.
- Any other matters relating to the WHS Act's overall effectiveness and performance in ensuring a balanced framework to secure health and safety of workers and workplaces and consider whether any legislative or administrative amendments are required.
View the review Terms of reference (PDF, 105 KB).
The Review Report
The Review of the Work Health and Safety Act 2011 - Final Report (PDF, 4.4 MB) made 31 recommendations.
Government response
The Queensland Government’s response (PDF, 850 KB) is now available. The Queensland Government has accepted 31 recommendations outlined in the Review Report.
The Queensland Government has given effect to the first tranche of legislative recommendations. The remaining recommendations are being progressed through legislative changes, implemented administratively, or are subject to national review processes and further consultation.
Review to examine the scope and application of the industrial manslaughter provisions in the WHS Act
The Review Report recommended that the scope and application of the industrial manslaughter provisions be reviewed to determine if any amendments are warranted (Recommendation 31). The independent Work Health and Safety Prosecutor was tasked with this important review. The Review to examine the scope and application of the industrial manslaughter provisions in the WHS Act (PDF, 2.4 MB) (Industrial Manslaughter Review).
The Electrical Safety and Other Legislation Amendment Bill 2024 gives effect to the three recommendations from the Industrial Manslaughter Review.
Work Health and Safety and Other Legislation Amendment Act 2024
The Work Health and Safety and Other Legislation Amendment Act 2024 (the WHSOLA Act) implements legislative change from the 2022 Review of Queensland's Work Health and Safety Act 2011, as well as recommendations from the national 2018 Review of the Model Work Health and Safety Laws (Boland Review).
The WHSOLA Act gives effect to 33 sub-recommendations from the Review Report, including:
- strengthening and promoting the role of health and safety representatives, including clarifying powers they can exercise and functions they can perform
- promoting consultation about WHS with workers and their representatives
- clarifying rights of entry permit holders that can be exercised at the workplace to assist workers in relation to a suspected contravention of the WHS Act
- clarifying that relevant unions whose rules entitle them to represent the workers’ interests may assist workers and act as their representatives in relation to WHS issues. Associations of employees or independent contractors that represent or purport to represent the industrial interests of workers but are not registered unions are excluded from assisting workers and acting as their representatives on WHS issues, and
- streamlining the dispute resolution process and moving certain proceedings from the Magistrates Court to the Queensland Industrial Relations Commission.
In addition, the WHSOLA Act also gives effect to eight recommendations from the national 2018 Review of the Model Work Health and Safety Laws (also known as the Boland Review) including:
- clarifying that health and safety representatives are entitled to choose their training provider, meeting an election commitment of the Government (GEC 1533)
- prohibiting a person from providing, entering into, or benefiting from a contract of insurance to cover liability for monetary penalties imposed under the WHS Act, and
- clarifying information sharing with other regulators.
View the WHSOLA Act 2024 as made
Commencement of provisions
Learn more about the commencement of WHSOLA Act 2024 provisions.
Electrical Safety and Other Legislation Amendment Bill 2024
On 22 May 2024, the Electrical Safety and Other Legislation Amendment Bill 2024 (ESOLA Bill) was introduced into Queensland Parliament by the Honourable Grace Grace MP, Minister for State Development and Infrastructure, Minister for Industrial Relations and Minister for Racing.
The ESOLA Bill gives effect to three recommendations from the WHS Act Review Report, recommendations from the Industrial Manslaughter Review, and recommendation 23a from the Boland Review.
The ESOLA Bill seeks to:
- include negligence as a fault element of the Category 1 offence in the WHS Act and the Safety in Recreational Water Activities Act 2011 (SRWA Act);
- expand the scope of the industrial manslaughter offence to capture negligent conduct leading to the death of individuals (e.g., bystanders/other persons) to whom a health and safety duty is owed;
- clarify that multiple parties in a contractual chain can be charged with the crime of industrial manslaughter;
- provide for alternative verdicts for industrial manslaughter and Category 1 offences;
- allow HSRs and EPHs to take photos, videos, measurements, and to conduct tests at the workplace.
The ESOLA Bill is being considered as part of the Committee process. Learn more about the Committee process and the Bill.
You will be able to view and download a copy of the Bill from the Queensland Parliament website. You can also read the Ministerial statement.