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This instrument is the Work Health and Safety (Operation Sovereign Borders) Declaration 2024.
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Commonwealth legislation
This declaration, made under s12D(2) of the Work Health and Safety Act 2011, says that specified WHS duties (paras 28(a),(b); 29(a),(b); s39) do not apply to certain Operation Sovereign Borders (OSB) maritime activities: intercepting, boarding, controlling or moving vessels or people suspected of being illegal maritime arrivals when deciding or moving them to a place outside Australia. Transfers to offshore regional processing centres are expressly excluded from that non‑application. It also repeals the 2013 declaration. It therefore changes which WHS duties apply to OSB maritime operations and who bears those legal duties.
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Direct links to the current provisions in Work Health and Safety (Operation Sovereign Borders) Declaration 2024.
This instrument is the Work Health and Safety (Operation Sovereign Borders) Declaration 2024.
This instrument commences on the day after the instrument is registered.
This instrument is made under subsection 12D(2) of the Work Health and Safety Act 2011.
In this instrument:
Act means the Work Health and Safety Act 2011.
illegal maritime arrival means:
(a) an unauthorised maritime arrival; or
(b) a person who would be an unauthorised maritime arrival if the person enters Australia.
unauthorised maritime arrival has the same meaning as in the Migration Act 1958.
(1) For subsection 12D(2) of the Act, the following provisions of the Act do not apply in relation to an activity mentioned in subsection (2) or (3): (a) paragraphs 28(a) and (b); (b) paragraphs 29(a) and (b); (c) section 39. (2) An activity is the interception, boarding, control or movement, under Operation Sovereign Borders, of a vessel suspected of carrying an illegal maritime arrival as part of: (a) deciding whether to move the vessel to a place outside Australia; or (b) moving the vessel to a place outside Australia. (3) An activity is the control or movement at sea, under Operation Sovereign Borders, of a person suspected of being an illegal maritime arrival as part of: (a) deciding whether to move the person to a place outside Australia; or (b) moving the person to a place outside Australia; or (c) moving the person to or from a vessel in the course of paragraph (a) or (b). (4) However, the transfer or movement of a person suspected of being an illegal maritime arrival to an offshore regional processing centre is not part of an activity described in subsection (2) or (3).
Schedule 1—Repeals
Work Health and Safety (Operation Sovereign Borders) Declaration 2013
1 The whole of the instrument
Repeal the instrument
Sourced from the Federal Register of Legislation (legislation.gov.au), CC BY 4.0.
This instrument is the Work Health and Safety (Operation Sovereign Borders) Declaration 2024.
This instrument commences on the day after the instrument is registered.
This instrument is made under subsection 12D(2) of the Work Health and Safety Act 2011.
In this instrument:
Act means the Work Health and Safety Act 2011.
illegal maritime arrival means:
(a) an unauthorised maritime arrival; or
(b) a person who would be an unauthorised maritime arrival if the person enters Australia.
unauthorised maritime arrival has the same meaning as in the Migration Act 1958.
(1) For subsection 12D(2) of the Act, the following provisions of the Act do not apply in relation to an activity mentioned in subsection (2) or (3): (a) paragraphs 28(a) and (b); (b) paragraphs 29(a) and (b); (c) section 39. (2) An activity is the interception, boarding, control or movement, under Operation Sovereign Borders, of a vessel suspected of carrying an illegal maritime arrival as part of: (a) deciding whether to move the vessel to a place outside Australia; or (b) moving the vessel to a place outside Australia. (3) An activity is the control or movement at sea, under Operation Sovereign Borders, of a person suspected of being an illegal maritime arrival as part of: (a) deciding whether to move the person to a place outside Australia; or (b) moving the person to a place outside Australia; or (c) moving the person to or from a vessel in the course of paragraph (a) or (b). (4) However, the transfer or movement of a person suspected of being an illegal maritime arrival to an offshore regional processing centre is not part of an activity described in subsection (2) or (3).
Schedule 1—Repeals
Work Health and Safety (Operation Sovereign Borders) Declaration 2013
1 The whole of the instrument
Repeal the instrument