On 9 November 2011, the Minister for Education, Employment and Workplace Relations announced that model Work Health and Safety (WHS) Regulations and Codes of Practice have been approved by the majority of Australian jurisdictions by way of the Workplace Relations Ministers’ Council. The model WHS Regulations support the model WHS Act. Codes of Practice are practical guides to achieving the standards of health and safety required under the WHS Act and WHS Regulations. The model WHS Act, WHS Regulations and Codes of Practice achieve nationally harmonised work health and safety standards. With the exception of Victoria and Western Australia, jurisdictions have committed to implement the new regime from 1 January 2012. Achieving uniform occupational health and safety laws is one of the 27 deregulation priority reforms currently being delivered under the National Partnership Agreement to Deliver a Seamless National Economy. The Regulation Impact Statement (RIS) notes that nationally harmonised occupational health and safety standards are expected to deliver lower compliance costs, especially for businesses that operate across multiple jurisdictions. There will be one-off implementation costs for many businesses and additional costs of compliance with new regulations for some businesses in some jurisdictions, including small business. However, the RIS concludes that these costs are expected to be outweighed by aggregate economy-wide benefits in terms of lower administrative requirements, reduced regulatory duplication, improved efficiency and improved work health and safety outcomes. The RIS was prepared by Safe Work Australia and assessed as adequate by the Office of Best Practice Regulation.
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