Released 31/07/2018
Improvements to work health and safety legislation for construction workers will come into effect from 1 January 2019. The Assembly today passed legislation to ensure employers take responsibility for establishing and training health and safety representatives and committees.
The changes to the Work Health and Safety Act 2011 will improve consultation on workplace safety matters between employers and workers in the construction industry.
The amendments follow research into the ACT construction industry’s safety culture, which identified inconsistent practices across the industry with many workers reporting that consultation was a one-way communication channel from their employers.
We want to make sure that all workers, no matter which level they are or job they hold, feel they have the support in place to speak up when they see a hazard or a risk so that everyone is safer at work.
The changes include mandatory measures such as:
- consultation with workers and unions when establishing work groups,
- election and training of Health and Safety Representatives, and
- election of Health and Safety Committees and training for members.
The ACT Government knows that a workplace where workers are supported by union representatives is a safer workplace, and will continue to support initiatives that strengthen unions’ critical role in workplace health and safety.
These changes are just one part of a multi-faceted approach to improve worker safety in the ACT construction industry, including the independent review into work health and safety oversight and the development of a construction safety strategy by the tripartite work safety council.
The ACT Government remains committed to improving the safety of construction workers in the Territory.
- Statement ends -
Rachel Stephen-Smith, MLA | Media Releases