• Legislation
  • Workplace Health and Safety Act 1995
  • Workplace Health and Safety Regulation 2008
  • The Dangerous Goods Safety Management Act 2001 and Regulation 2011
  • Ministerial notices
  • Codes of practice
  • Boards of inquiry
  • Workplace consultation
  • Provisional improvement notice (PIN)
  • Regulation of the storage and handling of dangerous goods
  • Regulatory jurisdictions
  • Prescribed infringement notice
• Codes of practice
• Queensland's new work health and safety laws
• Prosecutions
• Enforceable undertakings
  • Enforceable undertakings list
  • Enforceable undertakings process
• Compliance and enforcement
  • Who enforces the law?
  • Compliance and enforcement policy
  • Memoranda of understanding
  • 2011 workplace interventions
  • Workplace intervention reports
• Penalties
  • What is a breach?
  • What is the maximum penalty?
  • Revoking of licences and registrations
• Inspections
  • WHSQ inspectors
  • Workplace inspections
  • Inspectors' powers
  • Inspector conduct
  • Enforcement options
  • Complaints about WHSQ inspectors
  • Investigations

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What is a breach?

A breach occurs when the law is not upheld.

Either an action is taken that places a person at risk of injury, illness or death; or steps are not taken to avoid a risky situation from occurring; or there is a failure to comply with regulatory requirements. Examples of breaches of the law include:

• exposing workers to the risk of excessive noise
• working at heights where the risk of falling is not controlled
• allowing unlicensed operators to use specified equipment such as forklifts
• not ensuring that plant is appropriately guarded to eliminate or minimise exposure of workers to moving parts
• failing to have in place construction work method statements for demolition work
• not notifying the Department of Justice and Attorney-General when a serious bodily injury occurs at your workplace.

If you do not fulfil your obligations under the Workplace Health and Safety Act 1995 (PDF, 766 kB) you are in breach of the legislation and can be prosecuted.