Work Health and Safety Regulations 2011

The Work Health and Safety Regulations 2011 are a legislative instrument made under the Work Health and Safety Act 2011 and the Work Health and Safety (Transitional and Consequential Provisions) Act 2011. The current official compilation identifies Compilation No. 28 and shows the law as amended and in force on 25 March 2025.

For business owners, the practical point is simple. The Act sets the broad WHS duties. The Regulations then provide the more detailed operating rules. They deal with how risks are identified and controlled, what workplace systems must be in place, when specific activities trigger extra requirements, and what records or documents need to be kept.

The table of contents alone shows how wide the coverage is. It includes representation and participation, issue resolution, cessation of unsafe work, general risk management, workplace facilities, first aid, emergency plans, PPE, remote or isolated work, airborne contaminants, hazardous atmospheres, flammable substances, falling objects, psychosocial risks, hazardous work, plant and structures, and construction work.

The Regulations use the WHS concept of a person conducting a business or undertaking, usually called a PCBU. The preliminary chapter includes definitions, application provisions, a section dealing with persons excluded from the meaning of PCBU, and provisions about application outside Australia and assessment of risk in relation to a class of hazards, tasks, circumstances or things.

In practical terms, a business should assume the Regulations are relevant if it directs work, controls a workplace, engages workers, uses contractors, manages plant, or is involved in designing, manufacturing, importing, supplying, installing or commissioning plant or structures. The Regulations are not limited to traditional employers. They also reach other participants in the work chain where the text creates duties for them.

The official text also refers to corresponding WHS laws. That matters because many businesses operate under a state or territory WHS regime rather than the Commonwealth regime. when checking the current position, confirm which law applies to your operations, sites and workers.

Many businesses first encounter these Regulations when they move beyond low-risk office work. Common trigger points include opening a workshop or warehouse, buying machinery, sending workers into the field, requiring PPE, storing flammable materials, carrying out electrical tasks, doing work at height, or taking on construction-related jobs.

The Regulations are structured so that general duties apply broadly, then more specific parts apply when certain hazards or activities are present. Chapter 3 contains the general framework for managing risks to health and safety. Chapter 4 then deals with hazardous work such as noise, hazardous manual tasks, confined spaces, falls, high risk work, demolition, electrical safety and diving work. Chapter 5 deals with plant and structures. Chapter 6 deals with construction work.

That structure matters because a business can be compliant at a general level but still miss a specific obligation triggered by the actual work being done. For example, a business may have a general safety policy but still need a confined space entry permit, evidence of a high risk work licence, records for energised electrical work, or a safe work method statement for high risk construction work.

Part 3.1 is the backbone of the Regulations for most businesses. It includes the application of the part, a statement that specific requirements must be complied with, the duty to identify hazards, the duty to manage risks to health and safety, the hierarchy of control measures, maintenance of control measures and review of control measures.

In practice, this means WHS compliance starts with identifying what could cause harm in your actual operations. Once hazards are identified, the business must manage the risks and consider the hierarchy of control measures. The Regulations also make clear that controls must be maintained and reviewed. Controls are not meant to sit in a folder untouched after the first risk assessment.

For a small business, this often means moving beyond informal habits. A workshop may need guarding, isolation and maintenance systems. A warehouse may need traffic management and falling object controls. A field service business may need electrical testing, remote work arrangements and emergency planning. An office-based business may still need to address psychosocial risks, first aid and emergency procedures.

Part 3.2 contains baseline workplace management duties that many businesses will need regardless of industry. The official text lists information, training and instruction, general workplace facilities, first aid, emergency plans, PPE, remote or isolated work, airborne contaminants, hazardous atmospheres, storage of flammable or combustible substances, falling objects and psychosocial risks.

These are practical operating requirements. If workers need information, training and instruction, the business must provide it. If there is a risk of emergency, an emergency plan must be prepared, maintained and implemented. If PPE is required, the Regulations deal with provision and use. If workers are remote or isolated, that risk must be addressed. If psychosocial hazards are present, they are part of WHS risk management under the Regulations, not something to leave only to general HR processes.

The psychosocial risk provisions are now expressly listed in Chapter 3, with definitions of psychosocial hazard and psychosocial risk, followed by provisions on managing psychosocial risks and control measures. Businesses should not assume WHS is limited to physical hazards.

Chapter 4 contains more prescriptive rules for hazardous work. The official text identifies parts dealing with noise, hazardous manual tasks, confined spaces, falls, high risk work, demolition work, general electrical safety in workplaces and energised electrical work, and diving work.

Confined spaces are a good example of how detailed the Regulations can become. The text lists duties about entry, risk management, entry permits, signage, communication and safety monitoring, connected plant and services, atmosphere, flammable gases and vapours, fire and explosion, emergency procedures, PPE in emergencies, training and record keeping. If your business enters tanks, pits, shafts, ducts or similar spaces, you should expect more than a generic risk assessment.

Falls are also specifically regulated, with provisions on management of risk, specific requirements to minimise risk, and emergency and rescue procedures. High risk work has a licensing regime, including the requirement to be licensed, recognition of licences in other jurisdictions, direct supervision in some cases, and evidence of licence. Demolition work includes a notice requirement. Electrical safety provisions cover unsafe electrical equipment, inspection and testing, untested equipment, restrictions on energised electrical work, de-energising, access control, how work is carried out and record keeping.

These parts are where businesses often need job-specific procedures rather than broad safety statements. If your work falls into one of these categories, read the relevant part directly rather than relying only on a general WHS manual.

Chapter 5 is especially important for businesses that buy, use, modify, import or supply equipment. It creates duties for PCBUs that design plant, manufacture plant, import plant, supply plant, and install, construct or commission plant or structures. It also creates general duties for PCBUs involving the management or control of plant.

The text specifically refers to guarding, operational controls, emergency stop controls, warning devices, maintenance and inspection, powered mobile plant, industrial lift trucks, plant that lifts or suspends loads, scaffolds and records for plant with a presence sensing safeguarding system. This means plant compliance is not only about buying equipment from a reputable supplier. The business using or controlling the plant still has its own obligations.

The Regulations also contain additional duties relating to registered plant and plant designs, and a registration regime for some plant designs and items of plant. The official text includes provisions on records and information, standards or engineering principles used, major inspection of some cranes, records of plant, and the registration process for plant designs and items of plant. If your business imports machinery, modifies equipment, commissions plant on site, or acquires second-hand plant, registration and record issues should be checked early.

Chapter 6 deals with construction work. The official text includes definitions of construction work, structure, high risk construction work, construction project and principal contractor. It also includes duties for designers of structures, persons who commission construction work, and PCBUs carrying out construction work.

One of the most practical parts for many businesses is the safe work method statement regime for high risk construction work. The text states that a safe work method statement is required for high risk construction work, that there must be compliance with the statement, that a copy may need to be given to the principal contractor, that the statement must be reviewed, and that it must be kept.

This matters well beyond builders. Electricians, plumbers, HVAC installers, fit-out contractors, demolition contractors and other trades can be caught if the work meets the construction definitions and falls into high risk construction work. A business should not assume it is outside Chapter 6 just because construction is not its main line of business.

The Regulations repeatedly connect compliance to documents, records and evidence of what was actually done. The official text refers to emergency plans, confined space entry permits, retained risk assessments, licence documents, records for energised electrical work, certificates of medical fitness for diving work, records and information for plant designs, registration documents, log books and safe work method statements.

For a business, this means WHS compliance is often tested through paperwork plus conduct. It is not enough to have a template if the work on site does not match it. It is also not enough to rely on verbal checks where the Regulations require a permit, a licence document, a registration document or a retained record.

The review obligations are also important. Part 3.1 includes review of control measures, and Chapter 6 includes review of safe work method statements. In practice, businesses should revisit WHS controls and documents when there is a new site, new plant, a changed process, an incident, a near miss, a worker concern or evidence that a control is not working as intended.

The Regulations were made as Select Legislative Instrument No. 262, 2011. The Register metadata shows the instrument was registered on 14 December 2011. The current official compilation is Compilation No. 28, dated 25 March 2025, and states that it shows the text of the law as amended and in force on that date.

The official compilation also includes important status notes. It says uncommenced amendments are not shown in the text of the compiled law and that details of those amendments can be accessed on the Register. It also notes that if the operation of a provision is affected by application, saving or transitional provisions not included in the compilation, details are included in the endnotes. In addition, the Register page states that certain codes of practice formerly contained in the instrument were revoked with effect from 19 December 2012.

Before relying on this page, businesses should check the latest Register version, any endnotes and any later amendments. They should also confirm whether they are under the Commonwealth WHS regime or a corresponding state or territory regime.