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Commonwealth act
This Act creates Safe Work Australia — a national body whose job is to make workplaces safer and improve compensation (financial support) for workers injured on the job, across all of Australia.
It's a committee-style organisation made up of:
This mix of government, worker, and employer voices is called a "tripartite" structure — meaning three sides have a seat at the table.
Safe Work Australia does NOT enforce safety laws — that's done by state and territory regulators. Instead, its job is to:
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Direct links to the current provisions in Safe Work Australia Act 2008.
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View on official registerSourced from the Federal Register of Legislation (legislation.gov.au), CC BY 4.0.
The WHS Ministers — that's the relevant minister from every state, territory, and the Commonwealth — collectively must approve key documents like the national model safety laws and the organisation's plans. This means all governments have a say before anything becomes official.
Decisions generally require a two-thirds majority of voting members present. But for decisions about the model safety laws, there's an extra requirement: a majority of the government representatives (Commonwealth, state, and territory members) must also agree. This gives governments extra power over the most important decisions.
Through a special government account, funded by contributions from the Commonwealth, states, and territories under a formal agreement between governments (called an Intergovernmental Agreement).