Earlier this year the Government publicly released the independent review of SafeWork SA, conducted by former WorkSafe Victoria executive director Mr John Merritt. That review made several recommendations for amendments to the Work Health and Safety Act 2012 (WHS Act).

The Government accepted a number of recommendations in its preliminary response, including that confidentiality provisions in section 271 of the WHS Act should be amended to enable SafeWork SA to share more information about investigations with victims of workplace incidents and their families.

The Government committed to further consultation on other law reform recommendations from the independent review, in particular the following:

Recommendation 19: The WHS Act should be amended to provide for disputes under section 82 (concerning health and safety disputes) and section 89 (concerning the right to cease unsafe work) to be capable of being referred to the South Australian Employment Tribunal if the dispute remains unresolved 48 hours after a SafeWork SA inspector is requested to assist with resolving the dispute.

Recommendation 21: The WHS Act should be amended to align the right of entry regime with the model work health and safety laws, by removing current requirements under section 117 for a WHS entry permit holder to notify SafeWork SA about proposed entries to workplaces and to furnish reports after entry.

Recommendation 23: The WHS Act should be amended to allow WHS entry permit holders to take photographs, video, voice recordings, measurements and tests relevant to their investigations in terms similar to section 89(ba) of the Occupational Health and Safety Act 2004 (Victoria).

Recommendation 35: The WHS Act should be amended to allow SafeWork SA to seek an extension of time from a court to bring a prosecution for a criminal offence in limited circumstances.

Recommendation 39: The WHS Act should be amended to extend the existing civil penalty provisions to cover the primary duty of care in section 19 and related criminal offences, and standing for bringing civil penalty applications should be extended to workers, families of injured workers, and employee associations.

In relation to recommendation 39, the Government has prepared a consultation paper outlining a potential civil dispute resolution model. This model incorporates civil penalty provisions within a structured alternative dispute resolution framework for both health and safety disputes and right of entry disputes under the WHS Act.

Please find a link to this consultation paper below.

The Government will carefully consider all feedback received from stakeholders, with a view to preparing a draft bill to amend the WHS Act for further consultation.

If you wish to provide feedback in relation to these matters, this can be provided via email to AttorneyGeneral@sa.gov.au by no later than close of business on Friday 10 November 2023.

Further links:

• Independent Review into SafeWork SA
• Consultation Paper - Civil dispute resolution for breaches of WHS duties