Model WHS Act
Model WHS Act is Safe Work Australia's 2011 template adopted by NSW, QLD, WA, SA, TAS, NT, ACT. Victoria stayed on its OHS Act 2004. The distinction matters.
Ask Chalkline about this →The Model WHS Act is Safe Work Australia’s 2011 template legislation for workplace health and safety, adopted in substantially identical form by NSW, QLD, WA, SA, TAS, NT, and ACT to create harmonised national WHS law. Victoria did not adopt the Model Act and continues under its own Occupational Health and Safety Act 2004; the concepts overlap but section numbers, duties, and some terminology differ.
Who’s in vs out
- NSW, QLD, WA, SA, TAS, NT, ACT, Commonwealth: Model Act, PCBU duty framework, common penalty structure (Category 1/2/3).
- Victoria: OHS Act 2004, “employer” and “self-employed” duties (not PCBU), different penalties, WorkSafe Victoria.
What’s harmonised
- PCBU duty of care “so far as is reasonably practicable”.
- Officer s 27 due-diligence on company officers personally.
- Worker duty to take reasonable care.
- Three offence categories with escalating penalties.
- Notifiable-incident obligations (death, serious injury, dangerous incident) reportable to the regulator.
What’s NOT harmonised
- Regulations and Codes of Practice sit under each state’s Act with state-specific timing; check the state’s current Regulation.
- Industrial manslaughter offences vary by state. QLD, NT, ACT, WA, SA, NSW have them; TAS does not.
- Asbestos, silica, and high-risk work licences vary in detail.
For a builder
- Confirm the state-level Act before relying on any WHS document. Section numbers come from the state Act.
- Victoria builders work to a different framework. A NSW Model-Act SWMS is not automatically OHS Act 2004 compliant.
- Officer duty is personal. Directors and significant-decision-makers carry s 27 themselves; it does not transfer to the company.
Category: WHS / legislation.
Related
See also
Last updated: 2026-05-29. Verified: 2026-05-29. Quarterly review for currency.