Part 6General duty

Part 6—General duty 56—General duty (1) A person must take all reasonable steps to prevent or minimise any harm to public health caused by, or likely to be caused by, anything done or omitted to be done by the person. (2) In determining what is reasonable for the purposes of subsection (1), regard must be had, amongst other things, to the objects of this Act, and to— (a) the potential impact of a failure to comply with the duty; and (b) any environmental, social, economic or practicable implications; and (c) any degrees of risk that may be involved; and (d) the nature, extent and duration of any harm; and (e) any relevant policy under Part 5; and (f) any relevant code of practice under Part 8; and (g) any matter prescribed by the regulations. (3) A person will be taken not to be in breach of subsection (1) if the person is acting— (a) in a manner or in circumstances that accord with generally accepted practices taking into account community expectations and prevailing environmental, social and economic practices and standards; or (b) in accordance with a policy or code of practice published by the Minister in connection with the operation of this Part; or (c) in circumstances prescribed by the regulations. (4) Subject to subsections (5) and (6), a person who breaches subsection (1) is not, on account of the breach alone, liable to any civil or criminal action. (5) If a person breaches subsection (1), compliance with the subsection may be enforced by the issuing of a notice under Part 12. (6) Subsection (4) does not limit or derogate from any other provision of this Act.