Section 271A of the WHS Act enables the Regulator (Executive Director, SafeWork SA) or a person authorised by the Regulator to disclose information relating to a work health and safety incident to certain persons.

The new provisions operate as an exemption to confidentiality provisions under section 271 of the WHS Act, but does not create a right to access information.

Disclosure of information will only be considered where the disclosure will not prejudice the integrity of an investigation conducted under the WHS Act.

The Policy determines how the Regulator, or a person authorised by the Regulator will deal with requests for the disclosure of information relating to an incident as prescribed by Section 271A of the Work Health and Safety Act 2012.

A primary objective of the policy is to support persons affected by workplace incidents to be informed about activities and actions taken by SafeWork SA in response to an incident.

Please ensure you read the Policy before making a request for the disclosure of information.

Section 271A - Additional ways the Regulator may Disclose Information Policy

Commencement date

Requests for the disclosure of information will only be considered where an incident occurs after 1 September 2024.

A family member of a person who is deceased as a result of an incident may request information relating to the incident that occurred prior to 1 September 2024.

Eligible persons

You must be an eligible person to request the disclosure of information.

An eligible persons is:

• a person injured in an incident, or their representative;
• a family member of a person who is deceased as a result of an incident who is seeking to understand the circumstances of the death of the person; or
• a family member or other person who is empowered to make decisions on behalf of a person who is incapacitated due to serious injury as a result of an incident who is seeking to understand the circumstances of the serious injury of the person; or
• an interested party who has a direct connection to an incident to which the information relates, if the regulator reasonably believes that disclosing the information would assist in the administration or enforcement of the WHS Act.

An interested party in relation to an incident means the following:

• the person conducting the business or undertaking or their representative;
• the worker or workers affected by the incident or their representative;
• if the worker or workers affected by the incident are in a work group, the health and safety representative for the work group;
• the person bringing the incident to the attention of the Regulator.

How to make a request for disclosure

You may make a request for the disclosure of information using the below form.

SafeWork SA Information Disclosure Request

If you have a contact person at SafeWork SA in relation to an active matter, in the Investigation Team, the Contact Liaison Service or Inspector, you may make a request through them. Please contact them directly to discuss.

Timeframes

There is no legislated timeframe for requests to be considered, however SafeWork SA will consider all requests in a timely manner.

Once you have made an application, you will be contacted by SafeWork SA to discuss your application and potential timeframes for a response to be provided