Second reading speech - OHS and SRC Amendment Bill 2006
Second Reading
Speech
Senator SANDY MACDONALD (New South Wales—Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister for Defence) (4.43 p.m.)—I table a revised explanatory memorandum relating to the OHS and SRC Legislation Amendment Bill 2006 and move:
That these bills be now read a second time.
I seek leave to have the second reading speeches incorporated in Hansard.
Leave granted.
Date
09 May, 2006
Database
Senate Hansard
Speaker
Macdonald, Sen Sandy (Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister for Defence, NATS, New South Wales
OHS AND SRC LEGISLATION AMENDMENT BILL 2006
This bill implements the Government’s response to a recommendation of the Productivity Commission in its report—National Workers ‘ Compensation and Occupational Health and Safety Frameworks of June 2004. In that report, the Productivity Commission recommended extending coverage under the Occupational Health and Safety (Commonwealth Employment) Act 1991 (the OHS(CE) Act) to eligible corporations which are licensed under the Safety, Rehabilitation and Compensation Act 1988 (the SRC Act).
The SRC Act establishes a premium-based workers’ compensation scheme for Commonwealth employees but also enables former Commonwealth authorities and eligible private sector corporations to obtain a licence to self insure under the scheme. The OHS(CE) Act provides the legal basis for the protection of the health and safety of Commonwealth employees. It does not, however, apply to former Commonwealth authorities and private sector corporations that become licensed self insurers.
At present, therefore, former Commonwealth authorities and licensed private sector corporations operate under the Commonwealth workers’ compensation regime but are covered by State and Territory occupational health and safety legislation in the jurisdictions in which they operate. This makes it unnecessarily difficult for many firms to develop a national approach to occupational health and safety and may result in the requirement that they comply with eight separate and quite distinct OHS jurisdictions.
The bill includes an amendment to section 4 of the OHS(CE) Act. This amendment will exempt employers and employees under the Commonwealth Act from the operation of state and territory occupational health and safety laws unless these are specifically prescribed in regulations under the Commonwealth Act. This amendment is necessary to clarify the legislative requirements for employers and employees covered by the Commonwealth Act. The amendment is supported by licensees, as it will reduce duplication of occupational health and safety laws which apply to them. Without the amendment, those employers and employees can be subject to both Commonwealth and state and territory laws on the same subject matter.
When this Act was first made, section 4, as currently drafted, had a role to play. The Commonwealth Act, like all other Australian occupational health and safety laws, adopted the Robens approach of imposing general duties of care on employers, employees and others. Prescriptive provisions on particular issues were to be dealt with by regulations. As the Commonwealth had not at that stage drafted regulations on specific occupational health and safety issues, section 4 enabled state and territory regulations to address relevant issues for employment covered by the Commonwealth act in a more detailed manner. Since that time, however, the Commonwealth has implemented its own comprehensive regulations on a range of occupational health and safety issues. This has led to a situation where both Commonwealth and state and territory laws on the same issue can apply to employers and employees covered by the Commonwealth Act. This is clearly unsatisfactory, as it causes unnecessary complexity and confusion.
The Commonwealth will continue to develop new regulations on specific occupational health and safety issues where this is necessary. The amendment will in no way diminish occupational health and safety protection for employees covered by the Commonwealth Act. The Government remains committed to the promotion of injury prevention, and best occupational health and safety practice is a key priority for the Australian Government.
The amendments in this bill will provide all licensees under the SRC Act with the benefits of operating under one occupational health and safety scheme together with integrated prevention, compensation and rehabilitation arrangements. This will produce better health and safety outcomes all-round, including for the employees of the affected bodies. The amendments will enable greater coordination and feedback between the workers’ compensation and OHS arrangements.
The time and resources currently expended in addressing jurisdictional and boundary disputes caused by multiple compliance regimes can be redirected to achieve greater overall efficiencies. Importantly, savings can be devoted to further improving health and safety at the workplace.
The bill contains other amendments. The name of the Act is being changed to the Occupational Health and Safety Act 1991 to reflect its extended application beyond Commonwealth workplaces. Consequential amendments are being made to other Acts which contain references to the OHS(CE) Act to reflect the new name of the Act.
The remaining amendments are mainly technical in nature.
Some amendments correct a drafting oversight in amendments to the SRC Act and OHS(CE) Act in 2001 which rationalised scheme funding and placed the provisions for regulatory contributions for both Acts in the SRC Act. However, because of differences in the definitions of Commonwealth authority in both Acts, a regulatory contribution towards the cost of administering the OHS(CE) Act cannot currently be charged to some Commonwealth authorities covered by the OHS(CE) Act, but not the SRC Act.
The amendments will correct this oversight and validate payments already made for the year 2002-03.
The 2001 amendments also rationalised the licensing arrangements under the SRC Act and introduced one generic licence. Some licensees were charged, and paid, licence fees for the year 2002-03 under the wrong licence provisions. While the amounts were later recalculated under the correct provisions and reconciled, the amendments will also validate the licence fees as originally paid.