9

Duties of a PCBU

A person conducting a business or undertaking (PCBU) has a primary duty of care to ensure the health and safety of workers while they are at work in the business or undertaking and others who may be affected by the carrying out of work, such as visitors.

9

The workplace environment

Your duty to provide and maintain a safe working environment includes the workplace layout, lighting, work areas, floors and surfaces, entries and exits, fixtures and fittings and ventilation.

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Providing adequate facilities

You must give workers access to clean and safe facilities and maintain them. Facilities include toilets, drinking water, washing and eating facilities, first aid equipment and facilities.

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Instruction, training, and supervision

A PCBU must also provide adequate training, information and instruction to ensure that each worker is safe from injury and risks to health ensure the provision of first aid equipment and facilities and prepare, maintain, and implement emergency plans, manage risks associated with remote or isolated work (including working from home), airborne contaminants, hazardous atmospheres, storage of flammable or combustible substances and falling objects, and comply with requirements regarding the use of personal protective equipment.

9

Consulting with workers and representatives

You must consult with workers who carry out work for the business or undertaking and who are, or are likely to be, directly affected by a health and safety matter. A PCBU must take into account the views of workers consulted and advise those workers of the outcome of the consultation. If the workers are represented by a health and safety representative, the consultation must involve that representative.

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Health and Safety Representatives

A worker may ask for a Health and Safety Representative (HSR) to represent them on work health and safety matters. If workers have an HSR, you must involve them in any consultation on work health and safety matters.

9

Duties relating to plant, substances or structures used in workplaces

A PCBU who designs, manufacture, imports or supplies plants, substances or structures used or to be used in a workplace must ensure, so far as is reasonably practicable, that their products are without?risks?to health and safety when used at a workplace – throughout their entire lifecycle.

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Managing risks to health and safety

As a PCBU, you have a duty to ensure the health and safety of workers’ and other persons in the workplace. A PCBU must seek to eliminate risks to health and safety so far as reasonably practicable. If a PCBU cannot eliminate a risk, they must minimise the risks so far as is reasonably practicable. You must identify, assess, and control hazards and risks.

9

Managing Specific Workplace Risks

The model WHS Regulations sets out specific requirements that PCBUs must comply with when managing risks that arise from certain hazards or hazardous work. This includes construction work, hazardous atmospheres or chemicals, asbestos, confined spaces, plant, falls or falling objects, hazardous manual tasks, and diving work.

What is reasonably practicable? 
Law and Legislation

The term ‘reasonably practicable’ means that which is or was reasonably able to be done at a particular time to ensure health and safety measures are in place, taking into account relevant matters including:

  • the likelihood of the hazard or risk occurring
  • the degree of harm that might result from the hazard or risk
  • knowledge about the hazard or risk, and ways of minimising or eliminating the risk
  • the availability and suitability of ways to eliminate or minimise the risk, and
  • after assessing the extent of the risk and the available ways of eliminating or minimising the risk, the cost associated with available ways of eliminating or minimising the risk, including whether the cost is grossly disproportionate to the risk.

Applying a risk management process helps to determine what is reasonably practicable.?

Risk management involves a systematic process to:

PCBU - What is reasonably practicable? - Law and Legislation
About PCBU

The primary duty of care requires PCBUs to ensure so far as is reasonably practicable the:

  • provision and maintenance of a safe work environment
  • provision and maintenance of safe plant and structures
  • provision and maintenance of safe systems of work
  • safe use, handling and storage of plant, structures, and substances
  • provision of accessible and adequate facilities (for example access to washrooms, lockers, and dining areas)
  • provision of any instruction, training, information, and supervision
  • monitoring of workers health and conditions at the workplace and
  • maintenance of any accommodation owned or under their management and control to ensure the health and safety of workers occupying the premises.

A PCBU must also:

  • provide adequate training, information and instruction to ensure that each worker is safe from injury and risks to health
  • ensure the provision of first aid equipment and facilities and prepare, maintain, and implement emergency plans
  • manage risks associated with remote or isolated work (including working from home), airborne contaminants, hazardous atmospheres, storage of flammable or combustible substances and falling objects, and
  • comply with requirements regarding the use of personal protective equipment.

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