Legislation Overview
WHS Act 2011 (Qld)
Queensland's harmonised workplace health and safety legislation. Establishes duties for PCBUs, officers, and workers with industrial manslaughter provisions since 2017.
WHS Regulation 2011 (Qld)
Detailed regulations covering hazardous chemicals, noise, manual tasks, confined spaces, construction, diving work, and general workplace management.
Mining & Electrical Safety Acts
Coal Mining Safety and Health Act 1999, Mining and Quarrying Safety and Health Act 1999, and Electrical Safety Act 2002 provide separate regulatory frameworks.
Queensland-Specific Provisions
Industrial Manslaughter
Queensland introduced industrial manslaughter as a specific offence in 2017. A senior officer of a PCBU who negligently causes a worker's death faces up to 20 years imprisonment.
Mining legislation
Mining operations are regulated under separate legislation: Coal Mining Safety and Health Act 1999 and Mining and Quarrying Safety and Health Act 1999, with dedicated inspectorates.
Electrical Safety Act 2002
Queensland has separate electrical safety legislation covering electrical work, electrical equipment, and cathodic protection systems.
Office of Industrial Relations
WHSQ operates within the Office of Industrial Relations (OIR) under Queensland Treasury. It is the principal regulator for WHS in Queensland.
Penalty Structure
| Offence Category | Body Corporate | Individual / Officer |
|---|---|---|
| Category 1 — Reckless conduct | $11,150,183 | $2,318,844 and/or 10 years imprisonment |
| Category 2 — Failure to comply (risk of death/serious injury) | $1,500,000 | $300,000 |
| Category 3 — Failure to comply (general) | $500,000 | $100,000 |
| Industrial Manslaughter | $10,000,000 | 20 years imprisonment |
Key Compliance Requirements
A PCBU must ensure, so far as is reasonably practicable, the health and safety of workers and that other persons are not put at risk.
Officers must exercise due diligence to ensure the PCBU complies with its duties and obligations under the WHS Act.
Workers must take reasonable care for their own health and safety, comply with reasonable instructions, and cooperate with policies.
Managing risks from hazardous chemicals — registers, SDS, labelling, health monitoring, and placarding.
Preventing hearing loss from noise exposure. Exposure standard: LAeq,8h of 85 dB(A) and peak of 140 dB(C).
Entry permits, atmospheric testing, risk assessment, standby persons, and emergency rescue for confined space entry.
How EHS Atlas Maps to Queensland Requirements
Chemical register & SDS management
Chemical Vault
Centralised SDS library with auto-expiry alerts and GHS classification for Queensland compliance.
Risk assessments (s.19 duty)
Risk Matrix Engine
Configurable risk matrices with hierarchy of controls aligned to Queensland WHS requirements.
Officer due diligence (s.27)
Executive Dashboard
Real-time compliance scorecards giving officers visibility into PCBU compliance status.
Confined space permits
Permit-to-Work
Digital confined space entry permits with atmospheric monitoring and standby person tracking.
Incident notification
Incident Register
WHSQ notifiable incident workflows with automated notification report generation.
Training & competency records
Training Matrix
Track WHS inductions, high-risk work licences, and mining competencies with expiry alerts.
Stay compliant in Queensland
EHS Atlas maps every WHSQ requirement to a module you can action today.
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