Margaret Diamond, General Counsel; Sophie Redmond, Executive Counsel; Greg Robertson, General Counsel, Harmers Workplace Lawyers

It is important to encourage all persons to be engaged in work health and safety activities and to properly exercise roles, powers and functions provided for in the Model Work Health and Safety Act (Model Act).

To this end the Model Act, in Pt 6 (ss 104 to 115), addresses inappropriate conduct that could deter people from being involved in safety activities or deter them from exercising their roles, powers and functions under the Act.

Part 6 of the Model Act sets up a scheme that prohibits discriminatory, coercive and misleading conduct in relation to work health and safety matters. The prohibition is aimed at allowing workers, prospective workers and others to perform legitimate safety-related functions or activities and to raise health and safety issues or concerns under the Model Act without fear of reprisal. These provisions send a strong signal that discrimination and other forms of coercion that may deter people from being involved in and committed to work health and safety issues are unlawful and will not be tolerated. Penalties and other remedies are provided. Machinery provisions deal with how criminal and civil proceedings will operate and how the interaction between the two forms of action will be managed.

See Introduction to discriminatory, coercive and misleading conduct.

See Discriminatory conduct for prohibited reasons.

See Coercion and misleading conduct.

See Criminal and civil proceedings for discriminatory or coercive conduct.