Under this act there are significant responsibilities for executive officers. In this short film Vince O'Rourke (Chair of Workplace Health and Safety Board), Colin Isaacs (Managing Director, BOC Limited) and David Foote (CEO, Australian Country Choice), along with WHSQ Safety Ambassador Mal Meninga discuss some of the key changes for executive officers.
Mal Meninga: Hi I'm Mal Meninga. As safety ambassador for Workplace Health and Safety Queensland, I'm here to tell you about changes to work health and safety laws.
These new laws have responsibilities for everyone, but there are significant new responsibilities for company executives, managers and business owners.
It's your responsibility to make sure a high level of health and safety is maintained in your organisation.
These responsibilities can't be delegated to someone else and there are big penalties if you don't comply - personal fines of up to $600,000 and imprisonment up to five years. Your business can face fines of up to $3 million dollars.
In this short film we've invited three business leaders to discuss what the laws mean for them.
TITLE PAGE:
Executive officers: Know your responsibilities under the new laws
Vince O'Rourke: I have a view here that CEOs and directors of boards have a fundamental responsibility to make these changes not only in terms of making sure they comply with the law, but they also need to think about the welfare of their people.
Colin Isaac: .. any migration to a national law or act must be positive for an organisation like ours that operates across many of the states. I think it removes some of the confusion.
David Foote: …I guess it makes you sit up and listen and you will practices in place….
On Screen - Chapter Heading: Responsibilities and penalties
Mal Meninga: It's important to place individual responsibility on senior staff- it means the decision makers are motivated to ensure health and safety considerations become part of normal business planning.
David Foote: …you as an individual are now far more responsible for the safety practices or activities in your company than you were prior to January one 2012.
Vince O'Rourke: There's some quite serious implications in that it really says that you as a chief executive or chairman of the board need to take greater responsibility in ensuring that your company has a safe working environment. And if you don't comply with some of these obligations there's quite significant, very serious penalties, and you have some personal liabilities.
Colin Isaac: Under the new law an officer can be convicted of an offence irrespective of whether the company in fact is found and convicted of an offence.
David Foote: How confident am I that I'm going to comply? I actually don't have a choice. It's as simple as that.
Colin Isaac: Under the new law the penalties are severe; anything up to six hundred thousand dollars and or five years imprisonment.
David Foote: You just can't give people responsibility though without giving them the tools to understand what that responsibility is or to manage that responsibility.
On Screen - Chapter Heading: Safety systems, resources and communication
Mal Meninga: You have a responsibility to make sure your workers are following health and safety procedures and you must have ways of proving that the resources and the processes being used are making a difference.
Vince O'Rourke: Here we're talking about a well documented risk management and safety management system and most good organisations would have that.
You will see a much greater focus on safety within these organisations, stronger focus on safety committees and safety officers and the ability for the organisation to really get this right down to the worker.
Colin Isaac: As the new law is enacted there needs to be a very clear strategy in terms of how one approaches and addresses safety in the workplace. It's critical that safety strategy is communicated well and effectively across the organisation.
It's important that there's a good governance structure in place, that the senior officers spend a significant amount of their time in assessment of safety issues, tracking the progress of the safety agenda, It's going to be important that we engage fully with the workers to understand better the hazards in the workplace and the risks that present themselves.
David Foote:Because health and safety has a priority, it will certainly receive all the resources it needs to deliver both for our workers and also for management.
On Screen - Chapter Heading: The bottom line…
Colin Isaac: It's important for companies to understand the content of the law and to double check that their activities, their strategies and their plans in respect of managing safety in their organisation comply with the requirements of the law.
Vince O'Rourke: Good safety management is good business. If you can improve the welfare and productivity of your people you'll improve your bottom line, your business will be more successful.
David Foote: Safety comes with a value component. Unsafe practices cost money. Safe practices will reduce your cost through downtime, absenteeism and in fact your workers' compensation premium. So there is a payoff.
Vince O'Rourke: At the end of the day, we're dealing with a serious issue here in Queensland there's a hundred people die in workplaces each year and many thousands are injured. And I think that's just an unsustainable position.
Mal Meninga: Visit the Workplace Health and Safety Queensland website to make sure you're playing your part in making Queensland workplaces safer and healthier.
On Screen - Contact details and credits
Work safe. Home safe.
www.worksafe.qld.gov.au
1300 369 915
Thanks to:
David Foote - CEO, Australian Country Choice
Colin Isaac - Managing Director, BOC Limited
Mal Meninga - Safety Ambassador, Workplace Health and Safety Queensland
Vince O' Rourke - Chair, Workplace Health and Safety Board
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