A Reference Guide to WHS Terminology

A worker elected by their colleagues to represent them on WHS matters. HSRs have specific legal powers, including the ability to direct that unsafe work stop, and serve a fixed 3-year term.

A person who makes, or takes part in making, decisions that affect a whole or substantial part of a business — company directors, for instance. Officers carry a personal, positive duty of "due diligence" under WHS law, separate from the PCBU's duty.

The person or entity that has the primary duty of care under WHS law, whether they're an employer, a sole trader, a company, or a partnership. It's broader than "employer" — a PCBU includes businesses with no employees at all, like many sole traders and contractors.

The national policy body that develops model WHS laws and codes of practice for adoption by the states and territories. It does not enforce WHS law directly — that's the job of each state and territory regulator.

The government body responsible for enforcing WHS law in a given state or territory (for example, SafeWork NSW or WorkSafe Victoria). Each jurisdiction has its own regulator; there is no single national enforcement body.

Anyone who carries out work for a PCBU, including employees, contractors, subcontractors, apprentices, work experience students, and volunteers. It's a much wider definition than "employee."

The ongoing legal duty to talk to workers about WHS matters that affect them, and to genuinely take their input into account. It's not a once-a-year meeting — it's required whenever a decision, hazard, or change to the work could affect them.

The specific, personal set of duties an officer must exercise to make sure the PCBU meets its WHS obligations — things like keeping up to date with WHS matters, understanding the business's hazards, and verifying resources and processes are actually in place.

A hazard is anything with the potential to cause harm (a wet floor, a chemical, a task done at height). A risk is the likelihood that the hazard will actually cause harm, and how severe that harm could be. You identify hazards; you assess and control risks.

The ranked order in which risk controls should be considered, from most to least effective: elimination, substitution, isolation, engineering controls, administrative controls, and PPE last. PPE is the least reliable control, not the first line of defence.

A death, a serious injury or illness, or a dangerous incident that must be reported to the WHS regulator immediately. Not every workplace incident is notifiable — the threshold is specific and defined in the Act.

The legal standard used throughout WHS law: what could reasonably be done to eliminate or minimise a risk, weighing the likelihood and severity of harm against the cost, difficulty, and availability of ways to fix it. It's not "do everything possible" — it's "do everything that's reasonable given the circumstances."

Practical guidance, approved under WHS law, on how to meet the legal duties set out in the Act and Regulations for a specific industry or hazard type. Codes of Practice are admissible in court as evidence of what's reasonably practicable.

A licence required to operate certain plant or perform certain work classified as high risk — cranes, forklifts, scaffolding, rigging, and dogging among them. Valid for 5 years from issue, consistent across every state and territory.

The nationally consistent WHS Act, Regulations, and Codes of Practice adopted (with minor local variations) by most Australian states and territories. Victoria is the only jurisdiction that has not adopted the model laws, running its own separate Occupational Health and Safety Act 2004 instead.

A documented process of identifying a hazard, working out how likely it is to cause harm and how serious that harm could be, and deciding on appropriate controls. Verbal awareness of a risk is not a risk assessment.

A documented, legally required statement for high-risk construction work, setting out the hazards, risks, and control measures for that specific task before work begins.

A person who has acquired, through training, qualification, or experience, the knowledge and skills to carry out a specific task correctly — often referenced in WHS regulations as the person authorised to conduct particular inspections or assessments.

On a construction project, the entity engaged by the client to manage or control the whole of the workplace (or a defined part of it), carrying specific additional WHS duties beyond those of an ordinary PCBU.

A hazard that arises from the way work is designed, organised, or managed, and that could cause psychological or physical harm — things like excessive workload, bullying, harassment, poor role clarity, or lack of support. Psychosocial hazards must be identified, assessed, and controlled the same as any physical hazard.