Work Health and Safety Legislation Review

Legislation Review

• Legislation reviewed is crucial to meet statutory requirements
• Key pieces of legislation include: Work Health and Safety Act 2011, Work Health and Safety Regulation 2017, Work Health and Safety (Mines and Petroleum Sites) Act 2013, Work Health and Safety (Mines and Petroleum Sites) Regulation 2022, Explosives Act 2003, and Explosives Regulation 2013.

Maintenance of Competency WHS Act and Regs

• A person conducting a business or undertaking must ensure, so far as is reasonably practicable, the following: provision and maintenance of a work environment without risks; provision and maintenance of safe plant and structures; provision and maintenance of safe systems of work; the safe use, handling, and storage of plant, structures, and substances; provision of adequate facilities for worker welfare; provision of information, training, instruction, or supervision to protect persons from risks; and monitoring the health of workers and workplace conditions to prevent illness or injury.

Meaning of "Reasonably Practicable"

• Reasonably practicable means what is or was reasonably able to be done in relation to ensuring health and safety, taking into account the following: likelihood of the hazard or risk occurring; degree of harm that might result; the person's knowledge or what they should reasonably know about the hazard or risk and ways to eliminate or minimise the risk; the availability and suitability of ways to eliminate or minimise the risk; and the cost associated with eliminating or minimising the risk, considering if it is disproportionate to the risk.

Duties of Workers

• Workers must take reasonable care for their own health and safety.
• Workers must take reasonable care that their acts or omissions do not adversely affect the health and safety of others.
• Workers must comply with any reasonable instructions given by the person conducting the business or undertaking to allow them to comply with the WHS Act.
• Workers must cooperate with any reasonable policy or procedure relating to health or safety at the workplace.

Consultation Under Division 2 of Part 5

• Relevant information about the matter is shared with workers
• Workers are given a reasonable opportunity to express their views, raise issues relating to the matter, and contribute to decision-making
• The views of workers are taken into account by the person conducting the business or undertaking
• Workers consulted are advised of the outcome of the consultation in a timely manner
• If workers are represented by a health and safety representative, consultation involves that representative

When Is Consultation Required at the Mine Site?

• Consultation is required when identifying hazards and assessing risks; making decisions about ways to eliminate or minimise those risks; making decisions about facilities for worker welfare; proposing changes affecting worker health or safety; making decisions about procedures relating to consulting with workers, resolving health and safety issues; monitoring worker health or workplace conditions; providing information and training; and when carrying out other activities required by regulations.

Requirements to Identify Hazards

• Duty holders must identify reasonably foreseeable hazards that could give rise to risks to health and safety.

Requirements to Manage Risks to Health and Safety

• Duty holders must eliminate risks to health and safety and if not reasonably eliminate them, minimise them so far as is reasonably practicable.

Minimising Risks (Hierarchy of Control Measures)

• Duty holders must minimise risks by substitution (using a lesser risk); isolation of hazard; implementing engineering controls.
• If a risk remains, the duty holder must minimise the remaining risk by implementing administrative controls.
• If a risk maintains, the duty holder must implement administrative controls. If a risk persists the duty holder must ensure the provision and use of suitable personal protective equipment.

Maintaining Control Measures

• Duty holders must ensure that control measures are fit for purpose and suitable for the nature and duration of the work, and that they are installed, set up and used correctly.

Reviewing Control Measures

• Duty holders must review and as necessary revise control measures to maintain a work environment without risks to health or safety

• Review is required if the control measure does not sufficiently control risk; if changes at the workplace are likely to result in a new risk; if a new risk is identified; if consultation results indicate a need for review; if a health and safety representative requests review

• A change at the workplace includes change to the workplace environment, or to a work process or procedure.

Information, Training, and Instruction

• Provide suitable and adequate information, training, and instruction.
• Consider the nature of the work and associated risks.
• Ensure control measures are implemented appropriately and that the information, training, and instruction are readily understandable.

First Aid

• Provide first aid equipment for the workplace and ensure each worker has access.
• Ensure access to facilities for administering first aid.
• Provide an adequate number of workers trained to administer first aid.

Notifiable Incidents

• Notifiable incidents include death; serious injury or illness of a person prescribed by regulations; and dangerous incidents prescribed by regulations.
• Duty holders must ensure that a notifiable incident site is not disturbed until an inspector arrives or a government official directs it.

Principal Mining Hazard

• A principal hazard is any activity, process, procedure, plant, structure, substance, situation or other circumstance relating to mining operations that reasonably can result in multiple deaths in a single incident, or a series of incidents.

Managing Risks to Health and Safety

• A person conducting a business undertaking must manage risks to health and safety.
• Risk assessment must be conducted by a competent person, considering the nature, likelihood and severity of potential health and safety consequences of hazards

Control Plans (Open Cut Operations)

• Key control plans for open cut operations include: Health Control Plan, Mechanical Engineering Control Plan, Electrical Engineering Control Plan, Explosives Control Plan, and Emergency Plan.

Communication Between Shifts

• Supervisors of outgoing shifts must provide a written report to incoming supervisors, including details about workings, plant status, and health and safety matters.
• Outgoing supervisors must provide written acknowledgment verifying the accuracy of the report and sign or electronically sign the acknowledgment.
• Incoming supervisors must communicate the content of the report to workers.
• Incoming supervisors must provide written acknowledgment indicating the report content has been communicated to workers and sign/electronically sign it.

Inspections (Open Cut Operations)

• Mine operators must develop an inspection plan and conduct inspections in accordance with the plan.
• Mine sites are divided into inspection areas.
• Production areas are identified for each inspection area.
• Inspect all safely accessable parts of each area at least once a shift.
• Inspections may be required more frequently than specified if risks are present.
• Designated persons (mining supervisor or competent person) must undertake inspections.

Reporting Requirements

• Operators must take reasonable steps to notify the regulator of any incident not resulting in a notifiable event after becoming aware of an incident, especially if the incident results in illness or injury requiring medical treatment.
• Provide written notification, use the approved form, for incident-related consequences and details as specified in Schedule 8.

High Potential Incidents

• High potential incidents include events that are dangerous, burial of machinery, misfires, major evacuation, injuries (7 days), illnesses(7+ days of continuous unfitness), airborne dust/diesel particulates, carbon dioxide, silica, equipment failure, uncontrolled fire.

Dangerous Incidents

• Dangerous incidents result in serious risk to health and safety emanating from immediate/imminent exposure.
• Examples: uncontrolled escapes; spills/leakages; explosions/fires; gas/steam releases; falls from significant heights, plant failures, collapse of structures, inrushes of water/mud/gas, equipment malfunctions, collisions.
• List of dangerous incidents that could affect Open Cut Operations
• Uncontrolled escapes, spillage or leakage of substances; uncontrolled implosions, explosions or fires; uncontrolled escape of gas or steam; release from a height (plant, substances, things); collapse/malfunction/damage of authorised plant; structure collapse; inrush; loss of control of machinery; collisions; and damage to plant/structures

Explosive Handling Rules

• Natural persons need a security clearance to handle explosives (except under supervision or if acting under authorization by a licence holder).
• Reporting requirement is needed if a licence holder has explosives or explosive precursors that are lost, stolen, or are the subject of attempted theft or suspicious incidents.
• A licence holder must immediately notify each relevant authority if any explosive or explosive precursor in their possession, custody, or control is lost, stolen, or is the subject of an attempted theft or suspicious incident. A licence holder must give the regulatory authority notice of any serious incident.

Explosive Ignition Source Rules

• Taking substances or articles into/within 10 meters of an explosive area is prohibited.
• Smoke or activities generating ignition sources within 10 meters of explosives areas is prohibited.