Queensland Consolidated Acts

WORK HEALTH AND SAFETY ACT 2011 - SECT 27

27 Duty of officers

(1) If a person conducting a business or undertaking has a duty or obligation under this Act, an officer of the person conducting the business or undertaking must exercise due diligence to ensure that the person conducting the business or undertaking complies with that duty or obligation.

(2) Subject to subsection (3) , the maximum penalty applicable under division 5 for an offence relating to the duty of an officer under this section is the maximum penalty fixed for an officer of a person conducting a business or undertaking for that offence.

(3) Despite anything to the contrary in section 33 , if the duty or obligation of a person conducting a business or undertaking was imposed under a provision other than a provision of division 2 or 3 or this division, the maximum penalty under section 33 for an offence by an officer under section 33 in relation to the duty or obligation is the maximum penalty fixed under the provision creating the duty or obligation for an individual who fails to comply with the duty or obligation.

(4) An officer of a person conducting a business or undertaking may be convicted or found guilty of an offence under this Act relating to a duty under this section whether or not the person conducting the business or undertaking has been convicted or found guilty of an offence under this Act relating to the duty or obligation.

(5) In this section,
"due diligence" includes taking reasonable steps—

(a) to acquire and keep up-to-date knowledge of work health and safety matters; and

(b) to gain an understanding of the nature of the operations of the business or undertaking of the person conducting the business or undertaking and generally of the hazards and risks associated with those operations; and

(c) to ensure that the person conducting the business or undertaking has available for use, and uses, appropriate resources and processes to eliminate or minimise risks to health and safety from work carried out as part of the conduct of the business or undertaking; and

(d) to ensure that the person conducting the business or undertaking has appropriate processes for receiving and considering information regarding incidents, hazards and risks and responding in a timely way to that information; and

(e) to ensure that the person conducting the business or undertaking has, and implements, processes for complying with any duty or obligation of the person conducting the business or undertaking under this Act; and

Example—

For paragraph (e) , the duties or obligations under this Act of a person conducting a business or undertaking may include—

• reporting notifiable incidents

• consulting with workers

• ensuring compliance with notices issued under this Act

• ensuring the provision of training and instruction to workers about work health and safety

• ensuring that health and safety representatives receive their entitlements to training.

(f) to verify the provision and use of the resources and processes mentioned in paragraphs (c) to (e) .