The O’Farrell government is taking aim at workplace safety in NSW with two key pieces of legislation. The Work Health and Safety Bill and the Occupational Health and Safety Bill are nominally part of the federal harmonisation process.
However, they take the extra steps of stripping the jurisdiction of the Industrial Relations Court and removing union rights prosecute at least eight months ahead of schedule.
The Industrial Court has over 100 years experience in workplace safety, and the removal of its jurisdiction will be a real blow to workplace safety. This also signals the first step in a Coalition attack on the Industrial Relations Commission.
By removing the union right to prosecute and reversing onus of proof, two key planks of NSW’s Occupational Health and Safety laws are being lost. This will reduce unions’ ability to hold employers accountable and make workplaces safer.
These three elements helped make NSW a world leader in workplace safety regulations, and rather than raising the OHS standards of the rest of the country, the laws in NSW are being watered down to meet a new national standard.
SMH on the Industrial Relations Court | Adjournment speech on the union right to prosecute
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