• What law applies
• Designers of plant, machinery and equipment
  • Definition of a designer, and a designer's obligations
  • Meeting the obligations of a designer
• Manufacturers of plant, machinery and equipment
  • A manufacturer's obligations
  • Meeting the obligations of a manufacturer
• Suppliers of plant, machinery and equipment
  • Definition of a supplier and a supplier's obligations
  • Meeting the obligations of a supplier
• Erectors and installers of plant, machinery and equipment
• Modifying plant, machinery and equipment

• Plant Code of Practice 2005

• Plant registration
• Plant design registration
• Risk management

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What law applies

General health and safety rights and obligations
What you must do
Specific legislation for plant design, manufacture, supply installation and modification
Specific codes of practice for plant, machinery and equipment

General health and safety obligations

To understand your obligations and safety requirements you must be familiar with the:

• Workplace Health and Safety Act 1995 (PDF, 766 kB), which imposes obligations on people at workplaces to ensure workplace health and safety.
• The Workplace Health and Safety Regulation 2008 (PDF, 1.6 MB) describes what must be done to prevent or control certain hazards which cause injury, illness or death.
• Codes of practice, which are designed to give practical advice about ways to manage exposure to risks common to industry.

Every Queensland employer must have workers' compensation insurance. Most employers insure with WorkCover Queensland, while a small number of large organisations have their own insurance. This insurance coverage ensures that employees injured at work receive financial support.

What you must do

It is a requirement of the Workplace Health and Safety Act 1995 that risks must be assessed and control measures then implemented and reviewed to prevent or minimise exposure to the risks.

If the regulation describes how to prevent or minimise a risk at your workplace you must do what the regulation says. If there is a code of practice that describes how to prevent or minimise a risk at your workplace you must do what the code says or adopt and follow another way that gives the same level of protection against the risk.

If there is no regulation or code of practice about a risk at your workplace you must choose an appropriate way to manage exposure to the risk. People must, where there is no regulation or code of practice about a risk, take reasonable precautions and exercise proper diligence against the risk.

See the Risk Management Code of Practice 2007 for further information.

Specific legislation for plant design, manufacture, supply, installation, modification and ownership

Designers, manufacturers, suppliers, installers, erectors, modifiers and owners of plant (including specified high risk plant) must be aware of their obligations as described:

• under Section 32, 32A, 32B, 33 and 35 of the Workplace Health and Safety Act 1995 (PDF, 766 kB) relating to plant that is safe and without risk to health when used properly
• under Part 2 and 5 of the Workplace Health and Safety Regulation 2008 relating to the registration of certain plant and plant design as defined within Schedules 3 and 4.

These obligations, and practical advice on how they can be met, are further detailed through the Plant Code of Practice 2005.

Specific codes of practice for plant, machinery and equipment

Plant Code of Practice 2005
Rural Plant Industry Code of Practice 2004

Plant Code of Practice 2005

The Plant Code of Practice 2005 gives practical advice on ways to manage exposure to risks related to the use of plant, including its safe design, manufacture and installation.

It outlines the obligations of persons involved with plant and provides information on risks and their control.

• Obligations of designers of plant
• Obligations of manufacturers of plant
• Obligations of suppliers of plant
• Obligations of erectors and installers of plant
• Obligations of persons conducting a business or undertaking
• Obligations of persons in control of workplaces and relevant workplace areas
• Obligations of persons in control of fixtures, fittings, or plant included in relevant workplace areas
• Obligations of principal contractors
• Obligations of workers and others at a workplace
• Obligations of owners of specified high-risk plant

Rural Plant Industry Code of Practice 2004

The Rural Plant Industry Code of Practice 2004 gives practical advice about ways to manage exposure to risks identified as typical when using rural plant.