DRAFT MODEL WORK HEALTH & SAFETY REGULATIONS FROM SAFE WORK AUSTRALIA

BRUCE MCCLURE, CMPA General Manager reports on the draft Model Work Health and Safety Regulations to Safe Work Australia.

IN September this year the CMPA made a submission to Safe Work Australia on the proposed draft model work health and safety regulations and code of practice – mining. Our submission was quite detailed and made a number of pertinent points that showed quite conclusively the impact on our members.

At the outset it’s important to make the point that the CMPA considers work place health and safety is of fundamental importance to extractive operations. The fact that many of our members operate family owned businesses means that safety of all people working in their quarries is of particular importance. The safety record of our industry in Victoria is very good and improving.

However, any injury is one too many and regarded as a failure by the industry.

The comments in this response aim to provide Safe Work Australia with information about one of the industries that the proposed Model Regulations will apply to and impact on – the extractive industry in Victoria. The response will also provide a brief outline of the industry specific regulation of our industry, a discussion about harmonisation and the RIS process and finally it will provide comments about specific regulations contained in the draft Model.

In the CMPA submission the following specific points were stated:

1. The structure of the extractive industry in Victoria is characterised by a large number of small, family-owned and operated businesses, a large number of medium sized businesses and a very small number of large businesses;
2. The extractive industry in Victoria, like extractive operations in other States, is subject to specific industry legislation.
3. No new regulatory imposts should be introduced unless it can be demonstrably shown that workplace safety is deteriorating. Supporting this position, it is recommended that any harmonisation be undertaken on the principle that it will not impose any additional regulatory requirements on businesses.
4. It is of considerable concern that the draft Model Regulations have been given in principle endorsement by the Ministerial Council without assessment of the costs and benefits and impacts for industry. This is blind policy development and has no regard for the drivers of the economy.
5. The proposed Model Regulations apply a one-size-fits-all approach to mining and extractive sectors resulting in management systems not being proportional to the risks in the workplace. The regulation of these two industries should be separate.
6. The draft Model Regulations lack coherence and duplicate existing industry-specific regulations over the extractive industry in Victoria. For these controls the industry should therefore be exempt from the Model Regulations.
7. Many of the new requirements, such as the WHS management system, the Principal Mining Hazard Management Plan, emergency management and mine survey, may impose unwarranted cost impositions for small and medium extractive businesses for no apparent benefit.
8. It should be noted that in Victoria the extractive industry sits within the Construction and Utilities Program WorkSafe Victoria whereas the mining industry sits within the Hazard Management Program WorkSafe Victoria.
9. Harmonisation is a useful initiative for the Australian economy but the benefits accrue mainly to businesses that operate across State borders not for most small to medium sized extractive operations.
10. The planned introduction of the Model Regulations 1 January 2012 is unworkable. Introduction should be undertaken with Federally-funded education of the new arrangements, a Code of Practice for small quarries, along with funding for the costs of compliance with any new requirements. The CMPA is prepared to assist with the development of the education system, the Code and assessing the compliance costs.
11. A major flaw in the proposals for introduction of the Model Regulations is the lack of any assessment of the cost implications for the industry, the enforcement regime and funding model anticipated and the associated costs for Governments.

At this stage the CMPA has had no feedback from Safe Work Australia regarding our submission but we are aware that they did receive it. The association will keep members up to date on the latest Safe Work Australia harmonisation details as soon as we become aware of them.

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