Commonwealth Numbered Regulations - Explanatory Statements

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OCCUPATIONAL HEALTH AND SAFETY (COMMONWEALTH EMPLOYMENT) (NATIONALSTANDARDS) REGULATIONS (AMENDMENT) 1997 NO. 227

Statutory Rules 1997 No. 227

Issued by the Authority of the Minister for Workplace Relations and Small Business

Occupational Health and Safety (Commonwealth Employment) Act 1991

Occupational Health and Safety (Commonwealth Employment) (National Standards) Regulations (Amendment)

Subsection 82(1) of the Occupational Health and Safety (Commonwealth Employment) Act 1991 (the Act) provides in part that the Governor-General may make regulations required or permitted to be made under the Act.

The Act provides for the health and safety of Commonwealth employees and others at work and establishes a framework within which Commonwealth employers, employees and involved unions may co-operate to address health and safety issues.

Subsection 23(1) of the Act provides that:

"Subject to this Act, the regulations may make provisions relating to any matter affecting, or likely to affect, the occupational health and safety of:

(c)       employees or contractors; or

(d)       other persons at or near a workplace.".

Part 4 of the Regulations are based on a national standard adopted by the National Occupational Health and Safety Commission (the Commission). Subsection 38(1) of the National Occupational Health and Safety Commission Act 1985 (the NOHSC Act) provides that the Commission may declare national standard relating to occupational health and safety matters.

National standards declared under subsection 38(1) of the NOHSC Act are given legislative force by adoption in the Commonwealth, the States and the Territories by relevant occupational health and safety legislation.

Part 4 of the Occupational Health and Safety (Commonwealth Employment) (National Standards) Regulations (the Regulations) implement, for the federal public sector, the national standards prepared by the Commission for 'plant'.

Section 5 of the Act in part defines 'plant' to include any machinery, equipment or tool, and any component of these.

An object of Part 4 of the Regulations is to protect the health and safety of persons at work from hazards arising from plant and systems of work associated with plant.

Regulation 4.02 of the Regulations provides for the application of Part 4 to plant and a number of processes associated with plant. Subregulation 4.02(7) of the Regulations had provided that, unless there is a contrary intention, the Part applies to the use, repair or disposal of plant and hazard identification, risk assessment and the control of risk in relation to plant. Some questions had arisen as to whether or not the breadth of application of the subregulation is the same as that for earlier parts of regulation 4.02, because it does not contain reference to when the plant in question was manufactured as do the other parts of regulation 4.02.

Amending regulation 2 makes dear that Part 4 applies to the use, repair, disposal, risk assessment and control, and hazard identification of the full range of plant, by including a sentence confirming that the subregulation applies, whether the plant was manufactured before or after the commencement of the regulation.

Subparagraph 4.40(1)(b)(i) of the Regulations required an employer to obtain a license to operate plant, where the plant is of a design which is required to be registered under the Part, before that plant is to be used.

The provision went further than the relevant Commission national standard and, for that reason, it was considered necessary to delete it from the Regulations.

Regulation 3 has removed subparagraph 4.40(1)(b)(i) from the Regulations.

A consequential amendment was needed to regulation 4.43, to omit paragraph 4.43(3) (a) which was no longer needed.

Subregulation 4.2 has omitted paragraph 4.43(3)(a) from the Regulations.

The phrase 'item of plant' was used in regulation 4.41 and regulation 4.45, whereas regulation 4.43 referred to 'types of plant´. The Commission national standard refers to the former phrase and it was necessary to amend regulation 4.43 to make it consistent with the national standard.

Subregulation 4.1 has amended subparagraph 4.43(1)(a)(i) to change the phrase 'types of plant´ to 'items of plant.

Part 2 of Schedule 6 to the Regulations sets out the categories of plant which require a licence to be granted under Part 4 of the Regulations.

Regulation 5 has amended two typographical errors in Part 2 of Schedule 6 to the Regulations.