What are two responsibilities of a worker?

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How do you know what's reasonably practicable?
Who's an employer?
Duties of a PCBU
Officer duties
Worker duties
Other people at the workplace
Supporting information

For your employees, you must provide and maintain a working environment that is safe and free of risks to health, so far as is reasonably practicable. As part of this you must, so far as is reasonably practicable:

Provide and maintain safe plant (machinery and equipment).
Provide and maintain safe systems of work - for example, controlling entry to high-risk areas and providing systems to prevent falls from heights.
Ensure the safe use, handling, storage or transport of plant or substances.
Keep workplaces that you manage and control in a safe condition, free of risks to health (for example, ensure fire exits aren’t blocked, and the worksite is generally tidy).
Provide suitable facilities for welfare at any workplace you manage and control.
Give your employees the necessary information, instruction, training or supervision to enable them to do their work in a way that is safe and without risks to health.

How do you know what's reasonably practicable?

The law requires employers to eliminate risks so far as is reasonably practicable. To decide what is reasonably practicable, you must consider:

the likelihood of the hazard or risk occurring
the harm that would result from the hazard or risk
what a person knows (or should know) about the hazard or risk, and ways to eliminate or reduce it
availability and suitability of ways to eliminate or reduce the hazard or risk
cost of eliminating or reducing the hazard or risk

Report to WorkSafe all notifiable incidents that happen in a workplace under your management and control.

Monitor your employees’ health (for example, provide hearing tests if they are exposed to high noise levels).
Monitor conditions at the workplace under your management and control.
Give your employees information about workplace health and safety in appropriate languages.
Keep information and records relating to health and safety of your employees.
Employ or engage people suitably qualified in OHS to advise you on employees’ health and safety.
Consult employees on matters that may directly affect their health, safety and welfare.
Ensure that the conduct of your business does not endanger other people (including visitors, the public and other workers).

You have additional specific obligations if your business involves:

manufacture, importation, transportation, supply, storage, handling or use of dangerous goods
design, manufacture, importation, supply, erection or installation of plant
manufacture, importation or supply of substances

You also may have obligations to meet particular licensing, registration and certification requirements.

Who's an employer?

If you have one or more employees, you are an employer. An employer can be a:

person
company
partnership, unincorporated association, franchising operation, or not-for-profit organisation

Take reasonable care for your health and safety in the workplace. You must also take reasonable care for the health and safety of others who may be affected by what you do or don’t do.
Cooperate with your employer about any action they take to comply with the OHS Act or Regulations. For example, use equipment properly, follow safe work policies and procedures and attend training.
Don’t intentionally or recklessly interfere with or misuse anything at the workplace to support health, safety and welfare.

You are an employee if you have a contract of employment or contract of training. Volunteers are not employees. Independent contractors may be employees.

You have duties under WHS laws to keep people in the workplace safe if you’re:

a person conducting a business or undertaking (PCBU), such as an employer
an officer, such as a business owner or CEO
worker or other person in the workplace.

A person can have more than one duty under the model WHS laws. For example, a self-employed person may be simultaneously a PCBU and a worker. A person is not a PCBU where they are engaged solely as a worker or officer of the business or undertaking.

Duties of a PCBU

A PCBU has a primary duty to ensure the health and safety of workers while they are at work in the business or undertaking and others who may be affected by the carrying out of work.

Whether a person conducts a business or undertaking is a fact to be determined in each case. Usually:

a business is conducted with a view to make profit and will have some organisation, system and continuity. 
an undertaking will have some organisation, systems, and possible continuity, but are usually not profit-making or commercial.

Examples of a business or undertaking include:

retailer
wholesale business
manufacturing business
importer that is on-selling the imported goods
owner-driver of their own transport or courier business
fast food franchisor and the operator of the fast-food outlet (the franchisee)
self-employed person operating their own business
government department or government agency
local council
school
A volunteer association is a business or undertaking if it employs one or more paid workers to carry out work.

See the Guide to Work Health and Safety for Volunteer Organisations for more information. 

For information about who may be a PCBU and their duties see:

What is a person conducting a business or undertaking
Duties of a PCBU

Officer duties

Officers have specific duties under WHS laws.

An officer is someone who:

makes, or participates in making, significant decisions that affect the whole, or a substantial part, of the business, or
has the capacity to significantly affect the business’ financial standing.

For small businesses, officers are usually the owners or operators of the business.

An officer of a PCBU has a duty to exercise due diligence to ensure a business or undertaking complies with their duties under the model WHS laws.

An officer can be prosecuted for failing to exercise due diligence.

For more information about the officers’ duty, including the meaning of due diligence, see the Officer duties page. 

Worker duties

A worker is a person who carries out work for a small business or undertaking, including work as an employee or:

contractor
subcontractor
self-employed person
outworker
apprentice or trainee
work experience student
employee of a labour hire company placed with a ‘host employer’
volunteers.

The term ‘work’ is not defined in the model WHS laws and has its ordinary meaning.

While at work, workers must take reasonable care for their own health and safety, and that of others who may be affected by the worker’s acts or omissions.

A worker must also:

comply, so far as they are reasonably able, with any reasonably instruction that is given by the PCBU to comply with the model WHS Act and
cooperate with any reasonable policy or procedure of the PCBU relating to health or safety at the workplace that has been notified to workers.

A worker can be prosecuted for failing to comply with their duties.

Other people at the workplace

Any person at a workplace, including customers and visitors must take reasonable care of their own health and safety and that of others who may be affected by their actions or omissions.

The person must also comply with, so far as they are reasonably able, any reasonable instruction that is given by the PCBU to comply with the model WHS laws.

A person at a workplace can be prosecuted for failing to comply with their duties. 