Master Electricians welcomes changes to Qld WHS laws

Changes to Queensland’s workplace health and safety laws will ensure genuine safety concerns are given the highest priority without being abused for industrial purposes, Master Electricians Australia (MEA) says.

The new laws will mean:

• At least 24 hours’ notice is required before WHS entry permit holders can enter a workplace to inquire into a suspected contravention. This will align with other entry notification periods in the WHS Act and the Fair Work Act 2009.
• Increased penalties for non-compliance with WHS entry permit conditions and introduce penalties for failure to comply with the entry notification requirements.
• Health and safety representatives will no longer be able to arbitrarily call a halt to work.
• Codes of safe work practice in Queensland can be approved or changed without requiring national consultation as currently required by the WHS Act.

The new laws also increase the maximum penalties for breaches of the Electrical Safety Regulation.

MEA Chief Executive Malcolm Richards says the new laws represent a practical, commonsense approach to workplace safety and will create safer, more productive work sites in Queensland.

“There’s no doubt we need a strong workplace safety regime, to ensure every worker on every Queensland building site goes home to his or her family at the end of the day,” Richards said.

“However, this very important safety regime has been hijacked in recent years as a tool for union bullying and industrial point scoring. Building unions have used obscure parts of the previous law to cause significant delays to major projects, and as the basis for spurious right-of-entry claims.

“This approach not only threatens productivity and job creation in the industry, but it creates complacency around safety issues. We commend the Queensland Government for moving to adopt a practical and balanced stance.”