In the last working week of 2017, the Victorian Government quietly released the Independent Review of Occupational Health and Safety Compliance and Enforcement in Victoria. As we settle into the new working year, we consider whether the Review is likely to change the compliance and enforcement landscape in Victoria – whether more ‘carrots’ will be proffered, or whether duty holders will suffer more ‘stick’.

Is the Review likely to result in a seismic shift of compliance and enforcement activities for occupational health and safety offences in Victoria? Probably not. However, this is no bad thing – it symbolises an old adage that “if it ain’t broke, don’t fix it” – we have previously commented that this adage is a sound approach to regulatory and policy reform.

Rather than fundamental change, the report indicates incremental changes to the way WorkSafe Victoria is likely to:

Plan and target compliance and enforcement activities

Publishing its annual compliance and enforcement priorities.

Adopting a risk based approach to compliance and enforcement activities.

Establishing performance based measures which reflect health and safety outcomes.

Responding to the changing workplace context (ie the “gig economy”).

Communicate and implement its compliance and enforcement framework

Identifying and documenting its compliance and enforcement framework with a guide developed by mid-2018.

Communicating the circumstances in which each compliance and enforcement tool may be used.

Developing a process to regularly review documents in the compliance and enforcement framework.

Updating the visual representation of its regulatory approach.

 Provide information and support to duty holders

Engaging more with stakeholders in shaping its strategies.

Being increasingly proactive in risk scanning and monitoring.

Publishing its research agenda.

Increasing the amount of published guidance and resources including some inspector checklists.

Implementing targeted media campaigns.

Increasing the publication of enforcement outcomes.

Collaborate and engage with other regulators and duty holders.

Introducing infringement notices for some offences.

Continuing to use enforceable undertakings (EUs) with an updated policy on when an EU may be accepted and what an EU may contain.

Undertaking “blitzes” of particular industries/high risk activities.

Increasing strategic prosecutions of offences in priority areas and for exposure to risk (as opposed to reactive prosecutions of injuries and fatalities).

The proposed reforms therefore seem to offer a balance of carrot – by way of greater transparency on WorkSafe’s compliance and enforcement activities and some stick – in the form of the suggested infringement notices and increased prosecutions in strategic areas and for exposure of persons to risk.
As the year progresses, it will become clear which of the recommendations assume priority and whether our prediction of only incremental change is correct.

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