The regulations revolve around a small set of recurring transitional concepts and mechanisms. For practitioners these are the key concepts to map from the instrument to operational compliance:

• 2012 commencement day: the date on which the Work Health and Safety Regulations 2012 commenced, used as the reference point for transitional cut‑offs (regulation 3). Many transitional entitlements, exemptions or recognitions depend on whether activity was commenced before or completed by fixed anniversaries of that day.

• “New regulations” and cross‑reference rule: the instrument repeatedly limits or recognises the application of particular provisions in the Work Health and Safety Regulations 2022 by reference to their regulation numbers (regulations 4-9, 10, 12-15). It does not restate the substantive content of those new regulations; instead it operates by declaring that specific duties under identified regulation numbers do not apply in specified circumstances, or that legacy documents are taken to be documents under the new regulation numbering system (for example, a former design registration number is taken to be the registration number under regulation 260 of the new regulations) (regulation 13).

• Time windows and staged completion thresholds: the instrument sets different time thresholds depending on the category of participant and activity:

  • Designers: if design completed before the 2012 commencement day or commenced before that day and completed by the second anniversary, the duties under a list of specified new regulation numbers do not apply (regulation 4).
  • Importers: the exemption requires completion of importing before the 2012 commencement day or commencement before that day and completion by the first anniversary (regulation 5).
  • Suppliers: similar to importers, with the same first anniversary cut‑off (regulation 6).
  • Installers/constructors and PCBUs that install/construct/commission: wider second‑anniversary cut‑offs for completion when activity was commenced before 2012 commencement day (regulations 7 and 8).
  • Person commissioning construction work: exemption linked to designer’s completion timing with second‑anniversary threshold (regulation 9).
  • Manufacture date trigger for listed items of plant: if manufactured before 1 January 2014, certain registration and manufacturer/importer/supplier duties do not apply (regulation 14).

• Recognition or conversion of legacy credentials and records:

  • Construction induction cards issued by Workplace Standards Tasmania after 19 August 2009 are treated as evidence of completion of general construction induction training for Part 6.5 of the new regulations and taken to be cards issued under regulation 319 of the new regulations (regulation 10).
  • Plant designs registered under the former regulations (specifically regulation 99 of the former regulations) and which were in force immediately before the 2012 commencement day are taken to be registered under Division 3 of Part 5.3 of the new regulations, subject to the same conditions; the former design registration number is treated as the registration number under regulation 260, and certain administrative notices are treated as the registration document required by regulation 261 (regulation 13).
  • Health surveillance records kept under former regulation 22(6) are taken to be health monitoring reports under regulation 378 of the new regulations (regulation 15).

• Suspension pending codes of practice: regulation 221 of the new regulations (crane‑based tree lopping safety practices) is suspended until an approved code of practice detailing safety practices for crane‑based tree lopping takes effect (regulation 12). The instrument defines “approved code of practice” by reference to section 274 of the new Act (regulation 12(1)).

• Continuing obligations and penalties: the instrument preserves an active duty on the person conducting a business or undertaking to investigate and implement preventive measures for accidents or incidents that occurred before the 2012 commencement day where former regulation 63 had not been complied with (regulation 16). That duty carries a specified penalty ceiling of 20 penalty units.

• Prescribed legacy codes of practice: the instrument expressly prescribes four legacy codes of practice for the purposes of section 15 of the Act (regulation 17), thereby maintaining their relevance under the Act.

The instrument’s primary mechanism is to create legal continuity for particular pre‑commencement activities, by either suspending the application of specified new regulation duties, or by recognising prior credentials and registrations as satisfying new‑regulation requirements. Key legal triggers are the temporal tests and phrases such as “commenced any steps” and “completed the importing/supply/installation,” which allocate risk and evidentiary burdens to regulated entities.

The instrument identifies discrete groups and categories of persons whose regulatory obligations are altered or clarified during the transitional phase:

• Designers of plant or structures: regulation 4 exempts designers from selected duties under particular new regulation numbers where design activity began before the 2012 commencement day and was completed by the second anniversary, or where the design was completed before the 2012 commencement day. The specific duties excluded are those imposed under regulations 59, 61, 64, 187-192, 228-230 and 295 of the new regulations (regulation 4). The designer must therefore assess whether their design timeline fits the transitional windows to determine whether those new regulation duties apply.

• Importers of plant or structures: regulation 5 excludes certain duties under the new regulations (regs 59, 61, 64, 196 and 197) for importers who completed importation before the 2012 commencement day, or who began the importation process before that day and completed it by the first anniversary. Importers must establish when “steps constituting the importation” commenced and when importation was completed (regulation 5).

• Suppliers of plant or structures: regulation 6 excludes duties under the new regulations (regs 59, 61, 64, 198-200) for suppliers who completed supply before the 2012 commencement day, or who commenced processes associated with supply before that day and completed supply by the first anniversary. Suppliers will need to document process start dates and completion dates (regulation 6).

• Installers and constructors of plant or structures: regulation 7 defines “designated person” as an installer or constructor and exempts them from the duties under regulation 64 of the new regulations where installation or construction was completed before the 2012 commencement day, or where any process associated with installation or construction commenced before that day and completion occurred by the second anniversary. Thus installers and constructors active prior to the 2012 commencement day are potentially within the exemption if they meet the time criteria (regulation 7).

• Persons conducting businesses or undertakings that install, construct or commission plant or structures: regulation 8 applies the same structure of transitional exemption (for duties under regulations 201 and 202 of the new regulations) to PCBUs in the installation, construction or commissioning context, with second‑anniversary completion windows for activity that commenced before the 2012 commencement day (regulation 8).

• Persons commissioning construction work: regulation 9 exempts the person conducting the business or undertaking that commissions construction work from duties under regulation 294 of the new regulations in relation to a structure where the designer completed the design before the 2012 commencement day, or began before that day and completed by the second anniversary (regulation 9).

• Workers and prospective entrants to construction: persons who, immediately before the 2012 commencement day, held an occupational health and safety construction induction card issued by Workplace Standards Tasmania after 19 August 2009 are taken to have successfully completed general construction induction training under Part 6.5 of the new regulations and the card is taken to be a card issued under regulation 319 of the new regulations (regulation 10). This affects workers’ evidence of competency and employers’ checks when verifying induction status.

• Operators engaged in general diving work: workers who undertook harvesting or scientific diving during 2012 and completed at least 60 hours of such work between 1 January 2011 and 31 December 2012 are taken to have the qualification required by regulation 171 of the new regulations for general diving work (regulation 11). This affects licence/qualification assessments for those who meet these precise temporal and hours criteria.

• Manufacturers, importers and suppliers of certain plant items: regulation 14 excludes application of some new regulation duties (regulations 243, 231-233) in relation to items of plant specified in Part 1 of Schedule 5 of the new regulations, if those items were manufactured before 1 January 2014. This directly affects supply‑chain participants handling those particular items.

• Persons with pre‑existing plant design registrations: holders of plant design registrations under the former regulations that were in force immediately before the 2012 commencement day are treated as having registration under the new regulations, subject to the same conditions and with registration numbers converted (regulation 13). This affects manufacturers, designers and owners relying on such registrations.

• Employers/PCBUs who had required health surveillance records under the former regulations: health surveillance records required to be kept immediately before the 2012 commencement day are taken to be health monitoring reports under regulation 378 of the new regulations (regulation 15).

• PCBUs at workplaces where accidents or incidents occurred before the 2012 commencement day and former regulation 63 had not been complied with: these PCBUs must as soon as reasonably practicable investigate the incident and identify and implement measures to prevent recurrence, with a specified penalty for failure (regulation 16).

• All regulated parties who rely on the four specified codes of practice: the instrument prescribes four codes of practice as relevant for the purposes of section 15 of the Act (regulation 17), so those codes retain legal relevance.

In short, the instrument principally affects persons and entities who were engaged in design, importation, supply, manufacture, installation, construction, commissioning, induction training, diving or health surveillance work around the time of the 2012 commencement day and within defined early post‑commencement windows. The transitional rules allocate compliance relief or recognition to those groups when particular temporal and documentary conditions are satisfied.

The instrument does not create broad new duties under the new Act. Instead it modifies the field of duties for specific activities by excluding the operation of certain identified duties in the new regulations or by converting legacy documents or records into their new‑regulation equivalents. The duties and recognitions that practitioners must note are set out below with direct references to the transitional instrument.

Duties that continue or are expressly created by the transitional regulations

• Duty to investigate and prevent recurrence of pre‑2012 incidents: where an accident or incident occurred before the 2012 commencement day and, immediately before that day, regulation 63 of the former regulations had not been complied with, the person conducting the business or undertaking at the workplace must, as soon as reasonably practicable, investigate the accident or incident, identify causes and implement measures to prevent recurrence. The instrument prescribes a penalty for non‑compliance: a fine not exceeding 20 penalty units (regulation 16).

Duties suspended or excluded in transitional circumstances

• Designers: duties that would otherwise be imposed on a designer under regulations 59, 61, 64, 187-192, 228-230 and 295 of the new regulations do not apply where the designer completed the design before the 2012 commencement day, or commenced designing before that day and completed by the second anniversary (regulation 4). This gives designers temporal relief from applying those specific new regulation duties for designs sequenced as described.

• Importers: duties imposed on importers under regulations 59, 61, 64, 196 and 197 of the new regulations do not apply where the importer completed the importing before the 2012 commencement day, or commenced any steps constituting the importation before that day and completed the importation by the first anniversary (regulation 5).

• Suppliers: duties imposed on suppliers under regulations 59, 61, 64, 198-200 of the new regulations do not apply where the supplier completed the supply before the 2012 commencement day, or commenced any process associated with supply before that day and completed by the first anniversary (regulation 6).

• Installers/constructors: duties imposed on installers or constructors under regulation 64 of the new regulations do not apply where installation or construction was completed before the 2012 commencement day, or a process associated with installation/construction commenced before that day and completion occurred by the second anniversary (regulation 7).

• PCBUs that install/construct/commission: duties under regulations 201 and 202 of the new regulations do not apply to such PCBUs where the installation, construction or commissioning was completed before the 2012 commencement day, or commenced before that day and completed by the second anniversary (regulation 8).

• Persons commissioning construction work: duties under regulation 294 of the new regulations do not apply in relation to the construction of a structure if the designer completed the design before the 2012 commencement day, or commenced before that day and completed by the second anniversary (regulation 9).

Rights of recognition and conversion

• Construction induction cards issued by Workplace Standards Tasmania after 19 August 2009 and held immediately before the 2012 commencement day are taken to be evidence of successful completion of general construction induction training for Part 6.5 of the new regulations and are taken to be cards issued by the regulator under regulation 319 of the new regulations (regulation 10).

• Persons who undertook harvesting or scientific diving work during 2012 and completed at least 60 hours of such work between 1 January 2011 and 31 December 2012 are taken to have the qualification under regulation 171 of the new regulations for general diving work (regulation 11).

• Tree lopping regulation 221 of the new regulations does not apply until an approved code of practice for crane‑based tree lopping takes effect; the instrument defines “approved code of practice” as a code approved under section 274 of the new Act (regulation 12).

• Plant design registrations that were in force immediately before the 2012 commencement day under the former regulations are taken to be registered under Division 3 of Part 5.3 of the new regulations, subject to the same conditions. The former design registration number is taken to be the registration number issued under regulation 260 of the new regulations. Notices given by the Director under the former regulation granting registration are taken to be the registration document under regulation 261 (regulation 13).

• For items of plant specified in Part 1 of Schedule 5 of the new regulations and whose design was not required to be registered under the former regulations, regulation 243 of the new regulations does not apply if the plant was manufactured before 1 January 2014. Additionally regulations 231-233 of the new regulations do not apply to the manufacturer, importer or supplier of plant manufactured before 1 January 2014 (regulation 14).

• Health surveillance records required immediately before the 2012 commencement day under the former regulations are taken to be health monitoring reports under regulation 378 of the new regulations (regulation 15).

Other rights and administrative effects

• The instrument prescribes four legacy codes of practice as relevant under section 15 of the Act (regulation 17), ensuring those codes retain legal effect in the Tasmanian regulatory environment.

• The instrument rescinds earlier versions of the transitional regulations (Schedule 1) (regulation 18). This clarifies which transitional instrument is currently in force.

Collectively, the duties and recognitions reallocate regulatory burdens by timing and documentary evidence. The instrument’s rights are limited and specific: it confers recognition for defined records and time‑bounded activities, and it preserves a limited investigatory duty with an express penalty where former regulatory obligations remained outstanding at the 2012 commencement day.

The transitional instrument itself contains very limited penal machinery, but where it does include an enforcement mechanism the effect and placement in the enforcement landscape must be appreciated.

Express penalty in the instrument

• Regulation 16 places an express penalty for failure to investigate and implement recurrence‑prevention measures in respect of accidents or incidents that occurred before the 2012 commencement day where regulation 63 of the former regulations had not been complied with. The penalty is a fine not exceeding 20 penalty units (regulation 16(2)). The instrument does not set out the current monetary value of a penalty unit; that value is governed elsewhere. The instrument therefore creates a discrete, measurable criminal (or regulatory) exposure for PCBUs who fail to take the specific steps required by regulation 16.

Absence of other express penalties

• The instrument does not itself add penalty levels to the new regulations beyond regulation 16. Rather, it operates by excluding the application of specified duties in the new regulations (see regulations 4-9, 14). Where the instrument excludes a new regulation duty, the enforcement regime that would have attached to that duty under the new regulations is not invoked for the transitional period or activity specified. Conversely, for activity not within the transitional carve‑outs, the enforcement framework of the new regulations remains applicable.

Enforcement implications and evidentiary burden

• For the persons who claim transitional relief (designers, importers, suppliers, installers, PCBUs that commissioned/constructed/installed, etc.), enforcement hinge points will include documentary proof of timing, for instance proof that design commenced prior to the 2012 commencement day or that importation/supply was completed by the first or second anniversary as required (regulations 4-9). The instrument’s repeated use of temporal tests and of phrases such as “commenced any steps constituting the importation” (regulation 5) will likely make the existence and quality of contemporaneous records central in any enforcement or dispute scenario.

Regulatory discretion and interaction with the regulator

• The instrument converts certain legacy documents into new‑regulation equivalents (for example, design registration numbers and notices are treated as registration documents under the new regulations (regulation 13); old construction induction cards are taken to be cards issued under regulation 319 of the new regulations (regulation 10); health surveillance records are taken to be health monitoring reports (regulation 15)). That conversion reduces the immediate scope for enforcement challenges on those particular points, because the instrument specifies the conversion. However, where a regulator determines that converted records are deficient or that documentary criteria were not met, the regulator would rely on its investigative and enforcement powers under the Act and the new regulations for other compliance issues.

Scope for regulatory action beyond the instrument

• The instrument does not limit the regulator’s broader enforcement powers under the Act or the new regulations for conduct that falls outside the transitional relief. For example, if a plant design is outside the conditions of regulation 13 or a person’s conduct post‑transition breaches a duty, the regulator may take action in accordance with the Act and the new regulations. The instrument therefore narrows enforcement in defined transitional circumstances, but it does not provide general immunity for conduct that would otherwise contravene the Act or the new regulations.

Practical enforcement risk

• The presence of a standalone penalty in regulation 16 means regulated entities should treat the duty to investigate and prevent recurrence of pre‑2012 incidents as continuing and enforceable. Failure to comply invites enforcement under the penalty specified. For other transitional matters, the practical enforcement risk centres on the capacity of regulated entities to supply contemporaneous records proving they satisfy the temporal and other thresholds in the instrument.

In sum, the instrument introduces one explicit penalty (regulation 16) and otherwise affects enforcement indirectly by excluding or converting the operation of specified duties under the new regulations for narrowly defined pre‑commencement or early post‑commencement activities. Compliance records thus become the core tool for avoiding enforcement exposure under the transitional rules.

The instrument is deliberately framed as transitional and relational: it operates by reference to the new Act and the new regulations and by converting or suspending other regulatory obligations that would otherwise flow from them. The explicit interactions are set out in the text; the broader consequences and areas requiring attention are summarised below.

Primary interaction with the new Act and new regulations

• Definitions and terms are sourced from the new Act and the new regulations. For instance, regulation 3 defines “Act” as the Work Health and Safety (Transitional and Consequential Provisions) Act 2012, “new regulations” as the Work Health and Safety Regulations 2022, “person conducting a business or undertaking” and “regulator” as having the same meaning as in the new Act (regulation 3). The transitional rules therefore must be read in tandem with the new Act and the new regulations to determine the substantive obligations that are carved out, continued or converted.

• The instrument modifies how particular provisions of the new regulations apply to activities that straddle the 2012 commencement day. For example, it states that specified duties under identified regulation numbers in the new regulations do not apply in specified transitional circumstances (for instance, regulation 4 excludes certain duties for designers; regulation 5 excludes certain duties for importers) (regulations 4-9). This is an internal interaction: the transitional instrument changes the range of conduct to which the new regulation duties pertain.

Interaction with former regulations and legacy instruments

• The instrument expressly recognises and converts legacy regulatory outputs from the former regime into equivalents under the new regime. Examples include:
  • Construction induction cards issued by Workplace Standards Tasmania after 19 August 2009 are taken to be equivalent to cards issued under regulation 319 of the new regulations (regulation 10).
  • Plant design registrations in force immediately before the 2012 commencement day that were registered under the former regulations are taken to be registered under Division 3 of Part 5.3 of the new regulations, with the same conditions and with the former registration number treated as the registration number under regulation 260 (regulation 13).
  • Notices from the Director under the former regime granting registration are treated as the registration document under regulation 261 (regulation 13(4)).
  • Health surveillance records kept under the former regulations are converted to health monitoring reports under regulation 378 of the new regulations (regulation 15).

Interaction with codes of practice and the approved code approval process

• Regulation 12 suspends the application of regulation 221 of the new regulations in respect of crane‑based tree lopping until an approved code of practice takes effect. The instrument defines “approved code of practice” by reference to section 274 of the new Act; therefore the approval process under section 274 (which is part of the new Act’s machinery) determines when regulation 221 becomes effective for crane‑based tree lopping operations (regulation 12).

• The instrument prescribes four legacy codes of practice for the purposes of section 15 of the Act (regulation 17), integrating them into the statutory list of codes to which section 15 refers. That creates a direct legal link between these codes and the Act.

Temporal and boundary interactions with other statutory dates and thresholds

• One important temporal interaction is the manufacture date cut‑off in regulation 14(2)-(3): for items of plant specified in Part 1 of Schedule 5 of the new regulations, regulation 243 of the new regulations and regulations 231-233 are excluded for plant manufactured before 1 January 2014. This sets up an interface between the transitional instrument, the new regulations’ schedule references and an independent historic manufacture date that triggers different regulatory treatment.

Interaction with administrative documents and departmental responsibility

• The instrument is administered by the Department of Justice and was notified in the Gazette on 30 November 2022. Where design registrations, induction cards or notices are converted, the responsible regulator will be the party to whom queries or compliance checks are referred (regulation 13 and regulation 10). Practically, regulators will need to maintain records that reflect the conversions and retain administrative continuity for these legacy documents.

Limits of interaction

• The instrument does not amend the substantive new Act or the text of the new regulations; it operates by declaring non‑application or recognition in specific factual circumstances. Consequently, the substantive rules, duties and enforcement framework in the new Act and the new regulations apply outside the narrow transitional carve‑outs or to requirements not expressly converted.

In practice, the interaction map is: (a) read the new Act and the new regulations to identify the substantive duty or requirement; (b) consult the transitional regulations to determine whether an exemption, conversion or suspension applies for the activity in question; (c) where conversion applies, treat the legacy document as equivalent for the corresponding new regulation citation (regulations 10, 13, 15); (d) where suspension or exclusion applies, note the relevant time window and evidentiary burden to make that case (regulations 4-9, 14); and (e) be alert that the regulator retains enforcement powers under the Act and the new regulations outside the transitional relief.

The instrument itself is a transitional regulations instrument made in 2022 and contains a single explicit rescission clause. The text supplies the following concrete items relevant to amendment history and provenance:

• It rescinded prior transitional regulations instruments. Schedule 1 lists the instruments that are rescinded by regulation 18: Work Health and Safety (Transitional) Regulations 2012 (No. 144 of 2012); Work Health and Safety (Transitional) Amendment Regulations 2013 (No. 123 of 2013); and Work Health and Safety (Transitional) Amendment Regulations 2014 (No. 148 of 2014) (regulation 18 and Schedule 1). The instrument therefore replaces the earlier transitional instruments listed.

• Commencement timing: Regulation 2 provides that these regulations take effect on the day on which the Work Health and Safety Regulations 2022 commence. The instrument therefore shares its commencement with the new regulations, rather than having an independent commencement date. This ties the instrument’s operation to the substantive implementation of the new regulations.

• Gazette notification and administration: the instrument was notified in the Gazette on 30 November 2022 and is administered in the Department of Justice. These administrative facts are stated at the end of the instrument.

• No further amendments are recorded within the provided text. The instrument lists the rescinded instruments and sets out the transitional provisions; it does not itself record prior amendments to the 2022 transitional regulations beyond the rescissions in Schedule 1.

What the text does not provide

• The instrument, as supplied, does not include an amendment chronology beyond its rescission of specified earlier instruments. There is no table of amendments, no history of variations to this 2022 instrument shown in the supplied text, and no internal schedule of changes. Practitioners who need a superceded‑or‑amended history should consult the parliamentary register or the Tasmanian legislation database for any subsequent amending instruments after the one supplied here.

Practical implication for research and compliance

• Because the instrument rescinds earlier transitional regulations, practitioners must confirm that any transitional relief claimed under a now‑rescinded instrument has been carried forward into this instrument (it has been in the specific respects enumerated in this text). However, if a particular transitional relief was present only in the earlier instruments and not reproduced here, it will no longer apply. The instrument preserves specific legacy conversions (for example, card recognition and design registrations) that are expressly included.

In short, the amendment history within the instrument is limited to the rescission of earlier transitional regulations and the tie of commencement to the new regulations; no further amendments are recorded in the supplied text.

The supplied instrument does not include any cases, judicial interpretations, or recorded litigation history. There are no judgments, appeals or tribunal decisions referenced or reproduced within the text. Consequently, there is no direct litigation history available in this instrument to cite or analyse.

Potential dispute issues suggested by the text

Although the instrument contains no litigation history, the wording of several transitional provisions creates factual and legal questions that could give rise to dispute and litigation. The instrument itself contains language that suggests what factual issues would be material in any enforcement or dispute scenario:

• Interpretation of “commenced any steps constituting the importation” and similar phrases: regulation 5(1)(b)(i) and parallel provisions use the phrase “commenced any steps constituting the importation” or “commenced any process associated with the supply.” These phrases are factually loaded and will typically produce disputes about what specific acts are sufficiently proximate to amount to commencement. The instrument therefore delegates to factual analysis the determination of whether a person falls within the transitional carve‑out.

• Proof of completion dates for first or second anniversary tests: many exemptions depend on completion by either the first anniversary (importers and suppliers (regulations 5-6)) or the second anniversary (designers, installers/constructors, PCBUs commissioning/constructing/installing, persons commissioning construction work (regulations 4, 7-9)). Disputes could arise about the date an item was “completed” for these tests, and the sufficiency of evidence records.

• Scope of conversion of registration documents and conditions: regulation 13 takes former registrations and makes them effective under the new regulations subject to the same conditions as existed immediately before the 2012 commencement day. Disputes may arise regarding what precisely those “same conditions” were, whether a registration lapsed, or whether a registration had conditions that are incompatible with new regulatory requirements.

• Construction of “taken to be” conversions: where the instrument says a legacy certificate or record is “taken to be” a new‑regulation document (for example, reg 10), litigation could occur over the legal consequences of that conversion in edge‑cases, for instance where the converted document lacks information required by the new regulation that is material to safety obligations.

• Interaction with codes and the timing of code approvals: regulation 12 suspends application of regulation 221 of the new regulations until an approved code of practice takes effect. Disputes could arise concerning when an approved code of practice actually takes effect, or whether a code approved under section 274 covers the practices required.

Because the instrument does not contain case law, any litigation history must be sought in external databases or registries. For a practitioner advising a client, the key point is that the instrument sets up factual predicates,commencement steps, completion dates, manufacture dates, and documentary conversion,that will be central to any enforcement or litigation. Those predicates will have to be evidenced with contemporaneous documentation if the regulator contests a party’s claim to transitional relief.

This instrument contains a number of drafting features and temporal triggers that create practical pitfalls for regulated entities and advisers. The following are concrete operational “gotchas” to flag, each grounded in the instrument’s text.

1. Different anniversary cut‑offs for different activities

• Importers and suppliers rely on a first‑anniversary completion test (regulations 5(1)(b)(ii) and 6(1)(b)(ii)), whereas designers, installers/constructors, PCBUs installing/constructing/commissioning, and those commissioning construction work have a second‑anniversary completion test (regulations 4(1)(b)(ii), 7(2)(b)(ii), 8(2)(b)(ii), 9(2)(b)(ii)). Practitioners must avoid applying the wrong anniversary to the activity in question.

2. “Commenced any steps” and “commenced any process” are broad fact questions

• The instrument repeatedly uses the phrases “commenced any steps constituting the importation” (regulation 5(1)(b)(i)) and “commenced any process associated with the supply” (regulation 6(1)(b)(i)). There is no statutory definition in the instrument for what counts as a “step” or a “process”. Without contemporaneous documentary evidence (purchase orders, shipping instructions, bills of lading, design briefs, working files), claiming the transitional carve‑out risks regulatory challenge.

3. Evidence burden is implicit but decisive

• The instrument takes no procedural step to relieve a person from producing evidence that they meet the transitional thresholds. In enforcement or compliance audits, the onus will effectively fall on the person asserting the transitional relief to demonstrate the relevant commencement/completion dates. Keep dated signed documents, certificates, logbooks, delivery records and communications.

4. Narrow scope of conversion for construction induction cards

• Only occupational health and safety construction induction cards issued by Workplace Standards Tasmania after 19 August 2009 and held immediately before the 2012 commencement day are recognised (regulation 10(1)-(2)). Cards issued by other entities, before that date, or not held immediately before the 2012 commencement day are not covered. Verify issuer and date carefully.

5. Manufacture‑date cut‑off for specific plant items

• Regulation 14 provides that certain new regulation duties do not apply to plant specified in Part 1 of Schedule 5 of the new regulations if the plant was manufactured before 1 January 2014. This requires proof of manufacture date; absence of documentary proof could mean the plant falls within the full scope of the new regulations.

6. Converted registration numbers and documents may not contain required new‑regulation particulars

• Regulation 13 takes a former design registration number and makes it the registration number under regulation 260, and treats a Director’s notice under the former regime as a registration document under regulation 261 (regulation 13(2)-(4)). However, if the new regulation requires particulars that the former notice did not record, a gap could arise that the instrument does not address. Maintain original application materials and any condition records.

7. Active duty to investigate pre‑2012 incidents remains enforceable and penalised

• If prior incidents were not fully addressed under former regulation 63, the person conducting the business or undertaking must investigate and implement measures to prevent recurrence “as soon as reasonably practicable” and faces up to 20 penalty units for non‑compliance (regulation 16). This is a live obligation and not a retrospective amnesty.

8. Suspension of regulation 221 pending a code of practice

• Regulation 221 of the new regulations does not apply until an approved code of practice for crane‑based tree lopping takes effect (regulation 12(2)). Until such a code is approved and takes effect practitioners may continue under previous standards, but once the code takes effect new obligations will apply. Monitor code approval progress.

9. Codes of practice prescribed are limited and specific

• Regulation 17 prescribes four codes. Where a workplace’s customary code or practice is not one of the four listed, it will not enjoy the explicit prescription under regulation 17 and section 15 of the Act unless separately approved.

10. Rescission of earlier transitional instruments

• The instrument rescinds the 2012 transitional regulations and subsequent amendments (Schedule 1). If reliance was placed on other transitional provisions in those earlier instruments not reproduced here, that reliance may no longer be valid. Re‑check whether earlier transitional relief remains embodied in the 2022 instrument.

11. Regulatory enforcement outside transitional carve‑outs remains available

• The instrument only excludes the application of certain specified new regulation numbers or converts specific legacy documents. It does not immunise behaviour from other duties under the Act or new regulations, nor does it impede the regulator from applying general enforcement powers where transitional exceptions do not cover the conduct in question.

12. Ambiguity in definitions where the instrument defers to the “new Act” or “new regulations”

• The instrument refers to definitions and terms “as in the new Act” or “as in the new regulations” (regulation 3). Where the interpretation of those definitions is contested, the instrument’s transitional effects will still depend on how the new Act or new regulations define roles such as “person conducting a business or undertaking” or “regulator”. Cross‑reference carefully.

Practitioners should treat the instrument as a narrow, technical instrument that demands documentary precision and proactive record keeping. Failing to match the precise temporal tests or to produce contemporaneous evidence will be the most common practical error.

Compliance under the transitional instrument is document‑ and date‑driven. The following are concrete compliance steps mapped to the instrument’s provisions. Each recommended action is grounded in specific transitional rules.

1. Map your activities against the applicable transitional tests

• Create a matrix of your company’s projects and items of plant across the relevant time windows: whether an activity was commenced before the 2012 commencement day and whether it was completed before the first anniversary or the second anniversary as required by regulations 4-9. Distinguish designers (second anniversary), importers and suppliers (first anniversary), installers/constructors and commissioning‑PCBUs (second anniversary), and those commissioning construction work (second anniversary) (regs 4-9).

2. Preserve and collate contemporaneous evidence of commencement and completion

• For each item where you intend to rely on a transitional carve‑out, keep:
  • date‑stamped design drafts, briefs, signed design completion certificates;
  • shipping instructions, bills of lading, customs entry documents and dates for importation;
  • purchase orders, invoices, delivery notes, and completion certificates for supply;
  • site diaries, work orders, photographs, equipment handover records and commissioning records for installation, construction and commissioning. The instrument makes transitional relief conditional on precise temporal facts (regulations 4-9), and that relief will be practically unavailable without such records.

3. For designers and plant design registrations, retain original registration documents and condition records

• If you hold a plant design registration under the former regulations that was in force immediately before the 2012 commencement day, retain the original registration document, notices from the Director, and any conditions attached to the registration. Regulation 13 takes those registrations “to be” registered under Division 3 of Part 5.3 of the new regulations and treats the former registration number and Director’s notice as equivalents (regulation 13(2)-(4)), but documentation will be decisive in administrative queries.

4. Confirm construction induction card details and maintain proof of issuer/date

• For workers claiming recognition under regulation 10, confirm that the occupational health and safety construction induction card was issued by Workplace Standards Tasmania after 19 August 2009 and that it was held immediately before the 2012 commencement day (regulation 10(1)-(2)). Keep a certified copy of the card and any issuer confirmation.

5. For diving qualifications, verify the 2011-2012 hours threshold

• If advising a worker or employer relying on regulation 11, document that the person undertook harvesting or scientific diving work during 2012 and completed at least 60 hours between 1 January 2011 and 31 December 2012 (regulation 11(2)). Maintain logbooks, employer confirmations and records of deployments.

6. Check manufacture dates for specified plant in Schedule 5

• For plant items listed in Part 1 of Schedule 5 of the new regulations, confirm manufacture date. If the plant was manufactured before 1 January 2014, certain requirements in the new regulations do not apply (regulation 14(2)-(3)). Keep manufacturing certificates, plate data, or supplier invoices as proof.

7. Preserve health surveillance records and convert to health monitoring reports as needed

• Health surveillance records required under the former regulations and held immediately before the 2012 commencement day are taken to be health monitoring reports under regulation 378 of the new regulations (regulation 15). Maintain those records in secure form for inspection and ongoing monitoring obligations.

8. If there were pre‑2012 incidents for which former regulation 63 had not been complied with, take immediate steps to investigate and prevent recurrence

• Regulation 16 imposes an ongoing obligation to investigate and identify and implement measures to prevent recurrence “as soon as reasonably practicable” (regulation 16(2)), with a possible fine not exceeding 20 penalty units for non‑compliance. Prepare an investigation plan, retain investigation records, and document implementation of preventive measures.

9. Monitor codes of practice and approval processes

• Regulation 12 defers the application of regulation 221 of the new regulations in respect of crane‑based tree lopping until an approved code of practice takes effect. Track whether an approved code has been made under section 274 of the new Act and ensure practices comply when the code becomes operative (regulation 12).

10. When supplying or importing, ensure supply chain documents reflect the date thresholds

• For importers and suppliers seeking transitional relief, organise supply chain paperwork to demonstrate when steps constituting importation commenced and when supply was completed (regulations 5 and 6). Where possible, prepare affidavits or declarations from counterparties that corroborate dates.

11. Engage the regulator early where doubts exist

• Where factual circumstances are close or the documentary record is incomplete, consider early engagement with the regulator to seek clarification or an administrative record of acceptance. The instrument converts some legacy documents to new equivalents (regulations 10, 13, 15), and the regulator will be the administrative holder of conversions and records.

12. Internal compliance training and audit

• Educate design, procurement, import, manufacturing, installation and HR teams about the specific transitional cut‑offs and the need for tight record‑keeping. Conduct an audit to identify items for which transitional relief is being claimed and maintain an audit trail for each claim.

13. Where registering new designs post‑transition, do not assume transitional conversion applies

• The transitional instrument’s recognitions apply only to legacy registrations and legacy documents described in the instrument. For any new application or new design registrations post‑transition, comply with the substantive requirements of the new regulations.

14. Legal review of contracts and warranties

• Ensure warranty, indemnity and contract provisions reflect which party bears the risk if transitional carve‑outs are challenged by the regulator or a third party. Confirm that contract completion definitions align with the temporal tests used in the instrument.

15. Keep a watch on the administrative position and any amendments

• Although this instrument rescinds earlier transitional regulations (Schedule 1), later amending instruments (if any) may alter transitional arrangements. Keep periodic checks on the legislation register.

These compliance steps are practical and documentary: the full range of transitional relief in this instrument depends on demonstrable dates, issuer identity (for induction cards), manufacture dates, and retention of registration documents. Proactive record management and early regulator engagement are the most effective measures for reducing enforcement and litigation risk under the transitional rules.