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Western Australian guide to work health and safety
In Western Australia, WHS in the workplace is now regulated by the Work Health and Safety Act 2020 (WA) and the Work Health and Safety (General) Regulations 2022 (WA) (WA WHS laws).
There are different laws in other states and territories so your organisation will need to check these if it operates outside of Western Australia.
The WA WHS laws are regulated and enforced by a Western Australian government authority called WorkSafe WA (WorkSafe), which is a division of the Department of Mines, Industry Regulation and Safety. WorkSafe may prosecute organisations that breach (do not comply with) their WHS law duties.
Note
The new Work Health and Safety Act 2020 (WA) came into force on 31 March 2022. This means Western Australia has also harmonised their legislation with the rest of the states and territories, with the exception of Victoria. We have updated our Western Australian guide to include the new WHS laws that have replaced the previous occupational health and safety laws.
WorkSafe WA has also published material, including an overview of the new act, to help organisations adjust to the new laws.
Our guide to WA WHS laws includes information on:
- how WA WHS laws apply to not-for-profit community organisations
- specific duties under WA WHS laws
- who may be legally responsible under WA WHS laws and what liability can flow from breaches
- steps to comply with WA WHS laws and other employee safety obligations
- what to do if there is a workplace incident - initial response and notification requirements, and
- powers of WorkSafe WA
The content on this webpage was last updated in April 2022 and is not legal advice. See full disclaimer and copyright notice.