Safe Work Bill passes both houses

The Safe Work Australia Bill 2008 [No. 2] passed through the Parliament on 7 September 2009.

The Bill was withdrawn late last year after the Senate refused to pass it without changes that would have allowed greater representation of industry and workers. The Minister for Employment and Workplace Relations, Julia Gillard, reintroduced the Bill in May this year.

The main role of the Bill was to create a new major occupational health and safety (OHS) body called Safe Work Australia (SWA). However SWA was created in February by the Workplace Relations Ministers' Council, using its executive powers.

The reintroduced Bill and explanatory memorandum are identical to the Bill that was withdrawn, but the Government says it needed to pass the Bill to 'normalise the operational arrangements for Safe Work Australia and to establish these arrangements under statute'.

Safe Work Australia will be the new regulator for the national occupational health and safety system that the Government plans to introduce. Model laws are in draft form at the moment and we will update members when the draft is available for comment.