New WHS legislation - WA
Work Health Professionals help organisations understand and meet their WHS legislation and required compliance, in line with the:
- Workers’ Compensation Injury Management Act 1981 and the
- new WA Work and Safety Act 2020 and regulations that came into effect on 31 March 2022 (see below)
The WHP team have 20+ years’ experience in providing high quality, cost effective work health services across all industry groups in Perth and regional WA. Onsite work health services are our specialty.
As a business owner, manager in a larger organisation, PCBU or WHS/HSE representative, it is essential that you understand your "Duty of Care" and the work health safety (WHS) and OHS legislation that effects you and your industry.
The new WA Work Health & Safety Regulations 2022
The new nationally harmonized Work Health & Safety Act 2020 and Regulations came into effect from 31st March 2022 in WA. These are governed by Worksafe WA. With these regulations come some significant changes for noise and audiometric testing.
For WA businesses that have noisy workplaces
Under the new WA Regulations there is now a requirement for 2 yearly audiometric testing.
2 yearly hearing tests
For any worksite where hearing protection is required to be worn due to hazardous noise levels (>LAeq85dB), the employer or PCBU must provide a 2 yearly audiometric testing program for exposed employees. This is essentially to monitor for noise induced hearing loss.
These new WHS regulations are additional to the 1991 Workers Compensation & Rehabilitation Regulations that require employees exposed to a prescribed (noisy environment i.e. >LAeq90dB) to have a hearing test conducted and the result registered with WorkCover WA as a “Baseline” measure for future comparison.
The new WHS regulations place a duty on the person running a business to provide audiometric testing for workers who use personal hearing protection:
(a) within 3 months of the worker commencing the work; and
(b) in any event, at least every 2 years
There is now a penalty for this subregulation:
(a) for an individual, a fine of $7 000;
(b) for a body corporate, a fine of $35 000.
Department of Mines and Petroleum
Workers Compensation and Injury Management Act 1981
Find out more about your obligations as an employer