Workplace Duty Holder OHS/WHS Prosecution

Solve Safety is a Triple ISO Certified Professional Services organisation (Safety, Quality andEnvironmental) that offers specialised support secure your workplace safety compliance by providing occupational health and safety advice for workplace operational task and activities management (workplace safety compliance made easy) to create the safest and most efficient environments possible, by protecting both lives and livelihoods.

Workplaces can be dangerous places due to the many hazards that have the potential to kill, injure or cause ill health or disease, so discover safer workplaces and stress-free assessments by seeking subject matter expert safety advice, prior to any of these serious safety incidents which will impact both a range of internal and external factors, additionally effecting several stakeholders, making it this an imperative Duty Holder strategy to mitigate the potential likelihood of an occupational health and safety (OHS/WHS) prosecution situation, for noncompliant organisational operational activities and tasks.

Typically, OHS/WHS laws are designed to manage specific workplace safety requirements that covers employees, contractors, customers and visitors, these are automatically “opt in” legislative compliance requirements to all the relevant Safety Acts and Regulations that come with Duty Holder Jail able and Finable penalties if not fully complied with.

Duty Holders are automatically “opt in” obliged to implement all compulsory legislated health and safety practices to meet compliance requirements, from the very commencement and or inception of the organisations operational activities and tasks.

Each State, Territory and Federal Governments have their own version of OHS/WHS health and safety laws and specific types of regulators (WorkSafe prosecutors) corrective process and enforcement options, which generally are a combination of provisional improvement notices or on the spot finds for non- legislative compliant organisational activities and tasks.

Generally, defendants (Duty Holders) will ultimately plead guilty to their charges brought against them, then through further negotiations with the prosecutor (WorkSafe) their case will proceed through the court process as a plea hearing taking into consideration the following typical factors, relevant to their specific case:

• The complete circumstances that surround the incident.

• The extent of the risk

• The Duty Holders foreseeability of the risk.

• The role of the Duty Holder (offender)

• The nature of the safety breaches of the Act/Regulations.

• The serious of the breach of the OHS/WHS obligations.

• The extent of the harm suffered by the victim(s)

• The record of any previous convictions.

• The extent of post incident root cause analysis and corrective actions already taken.

• The demonstration of genuine remorse and contrition in relation to the incident and breach, etc.

It is good recommended practice that if you have been charged with an OHS/WHS offence to seek confidential professional legal advice (counsel) from those who are experienced in defending safety breach cases in either the Magistrates and County Courts etc, and that have had extensive experience in dealing specifically with OHS/WHS legislative breaches, which will allow them to put forward the strongest legal case based on your specific circumstances. Always consider those legal counsels that regularly deal with the complete range of OHS/WHS cases from both not severe to those with very serious offences can provide you the complete range of specialist advise, with the best strategic outcomes for you in mind.