Legislation Overview
WHS Act 2020 (WA)
Western Australia's harmonised WHS legislation, effective 31 March 2022. Replaced the Occupational Safety and Health Act 1984 and brought WA into the national harmonised framework.
WHS (General) Regulations 2022
Detailed regulations covering hazardous chemicals, noise, manual tasks, confined spaces, construction, high-risk work, asbestos, and workplace facilities.
Mines Safety and Inspection Act 1994
Separate mining safety legislation covering mining operations, mineral exploration, and associated activities regulated by DMIRS Mining Safety division.
Western Australia-Specific Provisions
Last state to harmonise
Western Australia adopted the harmonised WHS laws on 31 March 2022, making it the last Australian jurisdiction to adopt the model WHS framework. This replaced the Occupational Safety and Health Act 1984.
Industrial manslaughter
WA includes industrial manslaughter as an offence with maximum penalties of 20 years imprisonment for individuals and $10,000,000 for body corporates.
Highest corporate penalties
WA has the highest Category 1 corporate penalty in Australia at $3,500,000, reflecting the high-risk nature of the state's mining and resources sector.
Mining legislation
The mining sector continues to be regulated under the Mines Safety and Inspection Act 1994 and associated regulations, with DMIRS as the regulator for both general WHS and mining safety.
Penalty Structure
| Offence Category | Body Corporate | Individual / Officer |
|---|---|---|
| Category 1 — Reckless conduct | $3,500,000 | $700,000 and/or 5 years imprisonment |
| Category 2 — Failure to comply (risk of death/serious injury) | $1,750,000 | $350,000 |
| Category 3 — Failure to comply (general) | $700,000 | $140,000 |
| 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 from work carried out.
Officers must exercise due diligence to ensure the PCBU complies with its duties, including acquiring and maintaining WHS knowledge.
Workers must take reasonable care for their own health and safety and cooperate with reasonable policies and procedures.
Managing risks from hazardous chemicals including SDS registers, health monitoring, atmospheric monitoring, and placarding.
Preventing hearing loss from noise at work. Exposure standard: LAeq,8h of 85 dB(A) and LC,peak of 140 dB(C).
Confined space entry permits, atmospheric testing, standby persons, and emergency rescue procedures.
How EHS Atlas Maps to WA Requirements
Chemical register & SDS management
Chemical Vault
Centralised SDS library with auto-expiry alerts and GHS classification for WA compliance.
Risk assessments (s.19 duty)
Risk Matrix Engine
Configurable risk matrices with hierarchy of controls aligned to WA WHS requirements.
Officer due diligence (s.27)
Executive Dashboard
Real-time compliance scorecards giving officers visibility across WA operations.
Confined space permits
Permit-to-Work
Digital confined space entry permits with atmospheric monitoring and rescue planning.
Incident notification
Incident Register
WorkSafe WA notifiable incident workflows with automated report generation.
Training & competency records
Training Matrix
Track WHS inductions, high-risk work licences, and mining competencies with expiry alerts.
Stay compliant in Western Australia
EHS Atlas maps every WorkSafe WA requirement to a module you can action today.
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