Thursday, 9 September 2021

 Ms KILKENNY (Carrum) (19:13:533:): It is a great honour to rise to contribute to the debate on the Occupational Health and Safety and Other Legislation Amendment Bill 2021. To start with, I would like to acknowledge the tremendous work of the Minister for Workplace Safety in the other place. The reforms and amendments in this bill are significant. They are important. They will improve the operation of the Occupational Health and Safety Act 2004 and other Victorian safety acts, including the Workplace Injury Rehabilitation and Compensation Act 2013, in relation to a number of really key areas: labour hire arrangements, insurance and indemnities, notice requirements and the powers of certain authorised representatives.

In summary, the bill will improve the rights of and protections for labour hire workers. It will ensure directors and officers cannot use insurance or indemnity arrangements to avoid liability to pay penalties for the consequences of a failure to comply with the law. It will streamline the electronic delivery of notices and reports by WorkSafe inspectors and allow infringement notices to be served electronically. It will give authorised representatives of registered employee associations and health and safety representatives a new power to take photos and measurements and make sketches and recordings when observing workplaces under the Occupational Health and Safety Act, and the bill will simplify procedures for disposing of or destroying property which has been seized by WorkSafe. As I said, these are really key, important measures. We know that our workplaces play a huge role in our physical, mental, economic and social wellbeing, and to this end occupational health and safety in our workplaces is absolutely critical.

These laws are not a choice. These are about duties, and they are about employers who owe a duty to every single employee to secure and maintain the health and safety and welfare of those workers. All employers have a duty to eliminate workplace risk. And for workers, it matters not what industry you are in; as a worker, you are absolutely entitled to a work environment that is safe. That is why it is incumbent upon all governments of all persuasions to strengthen workplace safety laws. We need to make sure that workers rights are properly protected. We need to make sure that employers are accountable and that they are held to account for their actions if workers are injured, and we need to make sure that the bodies that are tasked with enforcing occupational health and safety laws can do so efficiently, responsibly, fairly and equitably. As a minimum, all workers, all Victorian families, deserve this. It is up to absolutely everyone to get this right, and that is why I am so proud that the Andrews Labor government is steadfastly committed to doing this. As I said, every single Victorian worker deserves these rights and every single Victorian deserves to come home safely from work every day; every single Victorian family deserves this. Over the past seven years we have seen the commitment by the Andrews Labor government to this cause, to implementing reforms to achieve this, including now with this bill before us.

As I mentioned, there are a number of key changes that this bill will implement. One of those will address labour hire arrangements, and this will give effect to recommendations from the 2016 inquiry into the labour hire industry and insecure work, the Forsyth inquiry. That inquiry identified quite significant gaps in rights and protections for labour hire workers under the Occupational Health and Safety Act because they are not defined as employees under the act, so it is a really significant gap. New section 5A in the Occupational Health and Safety Act will make sure that workers who are provided to perform work under a labour hire arrangement will be employees of the person for whom they are performing work. This will ensure that both the host employer and the labour hire agencies owe labour hire workers duties under the Occupational Health and Safety Act. Further, where agencies and host employers share those duties, they will have an absolute duty to consult and to cooperate with each other to make sure that those duties to the employee are met. So we are making sure that labour hire workers have the same rights and safety protections as all other workers. This is significant because we have seen a real increase in the use of labour hire arrangements. We have seen these vulnerabilities really exacerbated during the pandemic as well, so I think this is a really important step and an important commitment to the rights and welfare of workers who are engaged under labour hire arrangements. A breach of the duty, which is where there is a duty to consult and cooperate between the host employer and the labour hire agencies, will be punishable, and that is set out in the bill.

A further and significant change that has been proposed in this bill, and one which I am really proud to see in here, will prevent directors and officers from hiding behind indemnities or being insured for breaches of workplace safety laws. This responds directly to concerns that the ability of businesses to insure or indemnify themselves against penalties essentially undermines the whole effectiveness of penalties under our safety legislation and reduces that deterrence for employers. This is clearly not the intent of these laws, and this simply flies in the face of all that we are trying to do in affording protection and creating deterrence as well.

Under the bill a term of a contract or other agreement that purports to insure or indemnify a person for their individual liability to pay a pecuniary penalty will be void with immediate effect. This provision will apply to any kind of arrangement, including contracts of insurance and contracts of indemnity. For example, that might include a director’s deed of indemnity or directors and officers insurance policies. Further, the bill will actually create offences relating to contracts that purport to indemnify or insure a person for the person’s liability to pay a penalty. So under the bill it will be an offence to enter into, offer to enter into or be a party to such a contract or arrangement, it will be an offence to receive a benefit under a term of a contract or other arrangement and it will be an offence to provide a benefit under such a contract or arrangement. These are indictable offences with maximum penalties for both individuals and companies.

The other change I want to mention just briefly covers some new powers for health and safety representatives and authorised representatives of registered employee organisations. These representatives play a really important and fundamental role in our occupational health and safety system, and under the act they are given powers to enter workplaces in certain circumstances. But those powers do not extend to taking evidence—for example, taking photographs or measurements or making sketches or recordings—when fulfilling their roles. These are important powers. Evidence like this can be very important to better inform agencies like WorkSafe or to better communicate issues directly with employers. The bill will address this by amending the act to provide these representatives with these additional powers. To support these additional powers, new guidance will be developed along with minor updates to other relevant guidance.

These are important changes which will improve the effective operation of our workplace health and safety laws. I want to acknowledge all Victorian families and all Victorian workers. I want to acknowledge those in the union movement who continue to fight for and defend safety laws and employment protection and help to give our occupational health and safety laws real meaning. So many of our reforms are the result of union campaigning, advocacy and representation.

I know that mental health is going to play a much bigger role in all of this, and I am really proud to see that our minister and this government are committed to this as well with Respect@Work, the Boland review of workplace sexual harassment and of course this government’s Royal Commission into Victoria’s Mental Health System. I want to commend the work of the minister, and I commend the bill to the house.

 Mr TAYLOR (Bayswater) (19:23): It is with great pleasure that I rise in this place to speak in support of and speak on the Occupational Health and Safety and Other Legislation Amendment Bill 2021. Of course it is always a great privilege as a member of this Andrews Labor government in its second term to talk about further protecting and enshrining workers rights into the law, righting wrongs and making sure we continue to support Victorian workers, regardless of their employment across the board.

I would like to take this opportunity to acknowledge immediately the contribution before me by the member for Carrum. Her passion is obviously clear for ensuring we protect workers and provide them with safe workplaces. Every single person is entitled to feel safe in the workplace, to be provided with a safe workplace and to of course understand that their government will protect them and enshrine in legislation that protection to make sure that they feel that they can go to work and come home safely at the end of it. That is incredibly important. To hear that passion from not just the member for Carrum but to have the opportunity, not so much from this house physically during this week due to some of the restrictions and following that health advice but from the comfort of my office in Parliament and in my electorate office as well, to hear members speaking on this bill and their passion, essentially passion from this government about making sure we do not just pass this bill but continue on our strong track record of making sure that every single Victorian has a safe workplace—this bill goes to the very heart of that.

Of course this is very much a continuation of the Andrews Labor government’s work since coming to government in 2014 and some very, very key things that it has delivered in this term of government—in its second term. We know around workplace safety and supporting workers rights when it comes to safety that whether it be the safety of construction workers, nurses, paramedics, teachers, supermarket workers or indeed any worker, each and every Victorian worker deserves an occupational health and safety system that is focused on prevention, on identifying and mitigating risks and on ensuring employers are providing workers with a safe workplace.

A member interjected.

Mr TAYLOR: Despite the good minister interjecting on my lack of a haircut of recent times—and I do intend to correct those wrongs when able to do so, when the health advice allows—I am very, very keen to pivot immediately back to this bill.

This bill does make me reflect on when I was a young lad growing up in Dandenong and even reflect on previous conversations with mates and with people across the community about why it is I joined this great Labor Party at the age of 19, why I knew I was always going to be a Labor voter and of course what attracted me to progressive politics. It is because we—this Labor government and Labor governments before us and Labor governments after us—will always work in the interests of everyday workers and will always work in the interests of making sure we provide a safe workplace no matter where you work and no matter what kind of work you are involved in. And that is a track record that this government proudly has.

When it comes to workplace manslaughter, we continue to back in the work to support the families who we know have tragically lost loved ones to workplace accidents and have suffered too much, and our Labor government has made workplace manslaughter a crime once and for all. That was incredibly important work and I hope some solace for those families who have tragically lost loved ones.

Our nurse-to-patient ratios go to the very heart of making sure our nurses are getting every support to make sure that they feel safe in their workplace, and they are doing incredible work. This is a great opportunity of course, not having been in this place for some time, to take a moment of indulgence to again thank all the workers across my community—frontline workers and in particular our healthcare workers, our healthcare heroes. And ‘heroes’ we call them, because that is exactly what they are. Each and every single step of the way they have risen to the challenge—before this pandemic, during this pandemic—and they will continue to rise to the challenge to make sure they keep us all safe and care for us all, because we know we still have challenges ahead of us.

I would like to take this opportunity to say a sincere, heartfelt thankyou to our nurses, to our doctors, to our pharmacies, to all support staff and to each and every single person in between in our hospitals and right across the healthcare sector. You are doing an amazing job, whether it is caring for patients with COVID in hospital or whether it is caring for everyday patients in a COVID setting. We know that is incredibly challenging, whether it is our ICU nurses or our ICU staff. They are doing incredible work, and I am very, very proud that this government is a government that follows the health advice to provide them the safest possible workplace that we can. We know that challenges lie ahead—there is no doubting that—but following the health advice provides the best opportunity to provide them the safest possible workplace that we can, and we are doing that work in earnest of course. I am very, very proud of our track record—the second-term Andrews Labor government—in supporting workers, in enshrining important things into law, like workplace manslaughter, and in ensuring we have the appropriate enforcement and compliance, and this legislation here today will make sure we continue to do that work. I commend the bill to the house.

Following speeches incorporated in accordance with resolution of house of 7 September:

Mr CHEESEMAN (South Barwon)

It is my pleasure today to rise to make a contribution on the Occupational Health and Safety and Other Legislation Amendment Bill 2021. I know this bill is of significant important to the union movement, and unionists everywhere.

The Occupational Health and Safety and Other Legislation Amendment Bill 2021 (the bill) makes several changes to improve the operation of the Occupational Health and Safety Act 2004. The bill also makes supporting or consequential amendments to other legislation administered by WorkSafe, being the Dangerous Goods Act 1985 (DG act), Equipment (Public Safety) Act 1994 (E(PS) act) and Workplace Injury Rehabilitation and Compensation Act 2013 (WIRC act).

The bill has five separate elements.

Firstly, amendments that give labour hire workers the same rights and protections under the OHS act as ‘employees’ thereby improving the rights and protections of labour hire workers. It will also require labour hire providers and host employers to consult, cooperate and coordinate with each other when they share OHS act duties towards a labour hire worker. These amendments will come into effect six months after the bill commences.

Secondly, contracts which purport to insure or indemnify a person against liability to pay a pecuniary penalty for an offence under the OHS act, DG act and E(PS) act or their regulations will be prohibited. Any such terms in contracts will be rendered void. Entering into, offering, or being a party to such a contract will be an offence, as will providing or receiving a benefit. Substantial penalties apply. The offence provisions will come into effect 12 months after the bill commences, but the provision rendering offending contractual terms void will commence immediately.

Thirdly, amendments to the OHS act, the DG act, the E(PS) act and the WIRC act will ensure a number of notices and reports issued by WorkSafe inspectors and health and safety representatives (HSRs) may be delivered electronically. This element of the bill largely resolves technical issues and inconsistencies relating to electronic service in the current law. However, it will also ensure that infringement notices may be served electronically when a WorkSafe infringement notice regime is introduced in the future. These amendments will come into effect immediately.

Fourthly, amendments to the OHS act will give a new power to authorised representatives of registered employee organisations (ARREOs) and HSRs allowing them to take photos, measurements, sketches and recordings, including video. ARREOs and HSRs will then be able to use the photos, recordings et cetera in support of their existing roles under the act, including by providing them to WorkSafe as evidence of suspected contraventions of the law. These amendments will come into effect immediately.

Finally, the bill will amend provisions relating to seizure and return of goods in the OHS act, DG act, E(PS) act and WIRC act to state that WorkSafe does not need to return seized items if the item is a copy of a document. Amendments to the OHS act, E(PS) act and WIRC act (but not the DG act) will also state that WorkSafe does not need to return seized items if the owner has relinquished ownership of the item in writing. WorkSafe can then destroy or otherwise dispose of those seized items. These amendments will come into effect immediately.

This is an important bill that is long overdue. I commend this bill to the house.

Ms COUZENS (Geelong)

I am pleased to contribute to the Occupational Health and Safety and Other Legislation Amendment Bill 2021.

I am proud of the Andrews government’s commitment to keeping workers safe. Having been a delegate and president at the Geelong Trades Hall for many years I have heard a great deal about the workplace deaths and injuries that happened in Victoria.

Hearing from devastated families about the death or injury at work of their loved one clearly brought the realisation that poor health and safety practices have tragic consequences.

The member for Melton, in his contribution to this bill, talked passionately about his experience as a paramedic and the impact of attending workplace incidents.

These are stories we shouldn’t be telling or hearing because workplace deaths and injuries are preventable. Sixty-eight workers died from workplace related injuries or illness in 2020, families, friends and work mates are grieving these unacceptable and preventable loss of loved ones.

The Labor government will always prioritise workplace safety; I am proud of our record.

When it comes to the safety of construction workers, nurses, paramedics, teachers, supermarket workers, indeed any worker, each and every Victorian worker deserves an occupational health and safety system that is focused on prevention, on identifying and mitigating risks and on ensuring employers are providing workers with a safe workplace.

We continue to back in the work of families who have lost loved ones to workplace accidents and have suffered too much, and this Labor Government has made workplace manslaughter a crime, once and for all.

These families campaigned in memory of the loved ones who never came home. They fought hard to ensure no-one else has to know the pain they know too well.

Our workplace manslaughter laws came into effect on 1 July 2020.

Yet when those laws were debated in this chamber, we witnessed the self-serving manoeuvring of opposition members, the very members who purport to be ‘tough on crime’ were the first to object to workplace manslaughter laws.

This bill is about making our workplace safety laws stronger and more effective in keeping workers safe.

The key areas in this bill include:

Improving the rights and protections for labour hire workers.

Ensuring that businesses can’t use insurance or indemnity arrangements to dodge penalties for offences against workplace health and safety laws.

Allowing for the electronic delivery of WorkSafe inspectors’ reports, notices and infringements.

Giving authorised representatives of registered employee organisations (ARREOs) and health and safety representatives (HSRs) the power to take photos, measurements, sketches and recordings when they exercise their important functions under the OHS act.

WorkSafe inspectors perform an important job enforcing workplace health and safety laws. They have a vital role in reducing work-related incidents, injuries, disease and death through the prevention, compliance and enforcement work that they do.

Every day, WorkSafe inspectors target unsafe workplace activity, respond to health and safety issues and deal with breaches of health and safety laws.

For the occupational health and safety system to be effective, workers need to be confident that they can raise safety issues with their employer, and the regulator, WorkSafe.

A key strength of our OHS system is the important role of health and safety representatives. Workers are entitled, and should be encouraged, to be represented in relation to health and safety issues.

Workers must be able to speak up about hazards in their workplaces—and advocate for the safety of themselves and their workmates.

Both health and safety representatives (HSRs) and authorised representatives of registered employee organisations (ARREOs) play a fundamental role in our occupational health and safety system.

An HSR is an elected and voluntary role. They are our workplace health and safety ‘first responders’, and it’s important they are equipped with the right tools to undertake this vital work.

An important element of this bill is providing the power for HSRs and ARREOs to take photographs, measurements, sketches or recordings of possible breaches of workplace safety laws.

These changes recognise that HSRs and ARREOs are often the first on the scene of a workplace incident. They are sensible changes that recognise the reality of our workplaces and the changes in technology since the provisions were originally enacted.

The changes mean they’ll be able to record—in real time—evidence of possible contraventions—and record material that will assist them in raising health and safety issues.

The bill makes clear that any photograph, measurement, sketch or recording taken must be used for the purposes intended under the OHS act.

There are clear and strong safeguards that exist against potential misuse of this power, and the bill clarifies the limitations on its use, so it is not used for improper purposes.

Existing limitations in the OHS act mean that an ARREO can only enter a workplace if they reasonably suspect that a contravention of the OHS act or regulations has occurred or is occurring.

It is offence under the OHS act for an ARREO to exercise their functions for purposes that are not reasonably connected with inquiring into a suspected contravention.

And this bill clarifies the offences in the OHS act to make clear that the use of this new function for a purpose not reasonably connected with the exercise of an ARREO’s power is not permitted.

Alongside these safeguards, the benefits of being able to record potential breaches of OHS laws will facilitate a more effective way for workers, representatives, employers and WorkSafe to exchange information about risks to health and safety and discuss measures that can be taken to eliminate or reduce those risks.

Employers and workers will be supported through implementation with new WorkSafe guidance, which will ensure they understand the new arrangements.

In terms of labour hire employment, this is an arrangement involving a worker, a labour hire company and a ‘host employer’. In the ordinary course of business, a labour hire worker attends the host employer’s worksite and will be supervised by the host employer or their staff.

Under these arrangements, the worker is not technically an ‘employee’ of the host employer. Instead, the labour hire worker is usually only an employee of the labour hire provider.

Most Victorian employers, from farmers to other small businesses, treat their workers properly and follow the rules, but we know that there are disturbing examples of unsafe practices which can lead to disastrous consequences.

There are several ways a labour hire worker might be more vulnerable to health and safety risks—perhaps it’s less experience, a smaller amount of discretion about the way tasks are performed or that they haven’t received specific training or an induction.

The very nature of this type of employment relationship should not be a barrier to safe work.

It shouldn’t matter whether a worker is engaged via a labour hire provider or employed directly—every worker has a right to be safe.

The changes mean that labour hire workers will have rights to be represented on workplace health and safety matters at their host employer’s workplace, including improved rights to require the establishment of a designated work group, a group of employees that perform similar jobs or have similar occupational health and safety concerns, and to stand for election as a health and safety representative.

It also means labour hire workers will be protected if a host discriminates against them on the basis that the worker raises a health and safety concern—a right that is permitted under the OHS act.

Secondly, this bill introduces a new duty that requires labour hire providers and host employers to consult, cooperate and coordinate with each other when they share duties under the OHS act towards labour hire workers.

This duty is based on a similar duty in the Model Work Health and Safety Act which is in force in other Australian states and territories.

This amendment ensures that labour hire providers and hosts are working together to ensure that they are meeting their duties, and ultimately doing what’s needed to keep workers safe.

A proud achievement of this Labor government has been enshrining the workplace manslaughter offence in law—because there is nothing more important than every worker coming home safe every day.

Under these laws, employers who negligently cause a workplace death face fines of up to $16.5 million.

One cannot begin to imagine the anguish felt by the families who have lost a loved one at work. We don’t want any family to suffer that trauma.

This government continues to listen to the concerns of impacted families and stakeholders about further measures we can take to improve workplace safety. Stakeholder groups that were established to advise on the implementation of Victoria’s landmark workplace manslaughter offence also called for the prohibition of insurance and indemnity arrangements which cover a business’s liability to pay fines under workplace safety laws.

This bill closes this potential loophole by prohibiting these arrangements. Allowing businesses to access this kind of insurance or indemnity can only undermine the effectiveness of our important workplace safety laws.

This bill strengthens our workplace safety laws, expands worker rights and protections, boosts employer accountability and streamlines WorkSafe’s enforcement.

I commend the bill to the house.

Mr EREN (Lara)

•   I rise to speak to the house today regarding the Occupational Health and Safety and Other Legislation Amendment Bill 2021.

•   Being safe at work is a fundamental workers right and the health and safety of Victorian workers will always be a top priority for this Labor government.

•   It has also always been a priority for me personally.

•   As the house may know, I was a former delegate for the vehicle builders union back in the 1980s.

•   I worked for Ford for a number of years and in that time I was very proud to represent hundreds of workers at Ford and represent their rights.

•   Back then it was a bit tough.

•   Industrial relations was pretty much one-sided, but there was a change in the law which I will never forget and I thank John Cain for that—the occupational health and safety legislation that went through this house.

•   I was one of the first union delegates that represented workers to be given that additional power of being not only a shop steward on the shop floor but also an occupational health and safety officer when that legislation was brand new.

•   That way we had a couple of options as representatives of workers to not only protect workers from unsafe working conditions but also defend their rights as well.

•   I am proud of all of those Labor governments that made an impact on workers’ lives. It is important. If we want to grow the economy, it has to be conducive to a good, decent working environment where people get a fair day’s pay for a fair day’s work, and that is what today’s bill is all about.

•   I am so proud to be part of a government that is continuing to make sure that not only does our economy grow but it grows sustainably and grows in a way where it does not impinge upon anybody’s rights. That is what this bill is all about.

•   Safe work is key to decent work, but the reality of poor work health and safety practices has tragic consequences. Despite all our best efforts, we know there are still too many workplace injuries, illnesses and deaths.

•   Sixty-eight workers died from work-related injuries or illness in 2020. That is unacceptable.

•   Workers’ lives have been cut short by a workplace incident—not accident, because workplace deaths and injuries are preventable. They are not accidents.

•   At the core of this bill is our government’s unwavering commitment to making our workplace safety laws stronger and more effective in keeping all workers safe.

•   The following key reforms in the bill are:

• Improving the rights and protections for labour hire workers.

• Ensuring that businesses can’t use insurance or indemnity arrangements to dodge penalties for offences against workplace health and safety laws.

• Allowing for the electronic delivery of WorkSafe inspectors’ reports, notices and infringements.

• Giving authorised representatives of registered employee organisations (ARREOs) and health and safety representatives (HSRs) the power to take photos, measurements, sketches and recordings when they exercise their important functions under the OHS act.

•   Labour hire employment is an arrangement involving a worker, a labour hire company, and a ‘host employer’.

•   Under these arrangements, the worker is not technically an ‘employee’ of the host employer.

•   However, it shouldn’t matter whether a worker is engaged via a labour hire provider or employed directly—every worker has a right to be safe.

•   The Victorian Inquiry into the Labour Hire Industry and Insecure Work chaired by Professor Anthony Forsyth identified various ways in which labour hire workers are treated as a ‘second class’ of worker.

•   And these amendments in this bill respond directly to that important Inquiry’s recommendations.

•   The Inquiry found that while labour hire agencies and hosts have shared obligations to safeguard the health and safety of workers placed at host sites, some ambiguities and ‘grey areas’ remain.

•   The Inquiry also found that some labour hire workers do not report safety incidents, risks or hazards in the workplace—fearful that doing so may jeopardise their future engagement at a worksite, or their employment with the labour hire agency.

•   In response to the Inquiry’s recommendations, this bill makes two key amendments to the Occupational Health and Safety Act (OHS act) that will strengthen and improve the rights and protections for labour hire workers in Victoria.

•   Firstly, it will extend the definition of ‘employer’ and ‘employee’ in the OHS act to provide that a labour hire worker working for a host is taken to be the employee of the host.

•   This change gives labour hire workers the same rights and protections under the OHS act as ‘employees’ when at the host employer’s workplace.

•   This change means that labour hire workers will have rights to be represented on workplace health and safety matters at their host employer’s workplace, including improved rights to require the establishment of a designated work group, a group of employees that perform similar jobs or have similar occupational health and safety concerns, and to stand for election as a health and safety representative.

•   It also means labour hire workers will be protected if a host discriminates against them on the basis that the worker raises a health and safety concern—a right that is permitted under the OHS act.

•   Secondly, this bill introduces a new duty that requires labour hire providers and host employers to consult, cooperate and coordinate with each other when they share duties under the OHS act towards labour hire workers.

•   This amendment ensures that labour hire providers and hosts are working together to ensure that they are meeting their duties, and ultimately doing what’s needed to keep workers safe.

•   Breaching this duty will be an offence that is punishable by a maximum penalty of 180 penalty units (approximately $30 000) for individuals and 900 penalty units (approximately $149 000) for body corporates. This is in line with the existing penalty for a failure of employers to consult with employees.

•   The intent of these amendments is to make crystal clear that they need to work together to ensure the safety of workers.

•   A proud achievement of this Labor government has been enshrining the workplace manslaughter offence in law—because there is nothing more important than every worker coming home safe every day.

•   Under these laws, employers who negligently cause a workplace death face fines of up to $16.5 million.

•   One cannot begin to imagine the anguish felt by the families who have lost a loved one at work, and this government continues to listen to the concerns of impacted families and stakeholders about further measures we can take to improve workplace safety.

•   Stakeholder groups, that were established to advise on the implementation of Victoria’s landmark workplace manslaughter offence, also called for the prohibition of insurance and indemnity arrangements which cover a business’s liability to pay fines under workplace safety laws.

•   This bill closes this potential loophole by prohibiting these arrangements.

•   Allowing businesses to access this kind of insurance or indemnity can only undermine the effectiveness of our important workplace safety laws.

•   Marie Boland’s 2018 Review of the Model Work Health and Safety laws: Final Report also recommended these changes to prohibit such insurance.

•   Similar prohibitions already exist in other jurisdictions such as New South Wales and Western Australia.

•   This change will render void offending contract terms which purport to insure or indemnify against a liability to pay monetary penalties under the OHS act, Dangerous Goods Act and the Equipment (Public Safety) Act.

•   These changes are coupled with strong penalties for breaches of the new provisions, which will result in a maximum penalty of 300 penalty units for individuals (approximately $49 000)—and 1500 penalty units for body corporates (approximately $274 000.

•   WorkSafe inspectors perform an important job enforcing workplace health and safety laws.

•   They have a vital role in reducing work-related incidents, injuries, disease and death through the prevention, compliance and enforcement work that they do.

•   In the course of this work, WorkSafe inspectors issue infringement and compliance notices and entry reports.

•   The amendments in this bill are intended to ensure the electronic service of these notices and reports—because it’s important that the framework in which WorkSafe inspectors operate is as effective as possible.

•   This will ensure they can focus on the most critical aspect of their job, which is to ensure workers are safe.

•   For the occupational health and safety system to be effective, workers need to be confident that they can raise safety issues with their employer and the regulator, WorkSafe.

•   A key strength of our OHS system is the important role of health and safety representatives. Workers are entitled, and should be encouraged, to be represented in relation to health and safety issues.

•   Both health and safety representatives (HSRs) and authorised representatives of registered employee organisations (ARREOs) play a fundamental role in our occupational health and safety system.

•   An HSR is an elected and voluntary role. They are our workplace health and safety ‘first responders’, and it’s important they are equipped with the right tools to undertake this vital work.

•   An important element of this bill is providing the power for HSRs and ARREOs to take photographs, measurements, sketches or recordings of possible breaches of workplace safety laws.

•   These changes recognise that HSRs and ARREOs are often the first on the scene of a workplace incident. They are sensible changes that recognise the reality of our workplaces and the changes in technology since the provisions were originally enacted.

•   The bill makes clear that any photograph, measurement, sketch or recording taken must be used for the purposes intended under the OHS act.

•   There are clear and strong safeguards that exist against potential misuse of this power, and the bill clarifies the limitations on its use, so it is not used for improper purposes.

•   Existing limitations in the OHS act mean that an ARREO can only enter a workplace if they reasonably suspect that a contravention of the OHS act or regulations has occurred or is occurring.

•   It is offence under the OHS act for an ARREO to exercise their functions for purposes that are not reasonably connected with inquiring into a suspected contravention.

•   And this bill clarifies the offences in the OHS ct to make clear that the use of this new function for a purpose not reasonably connected with the exercise of an ARREO’s power is not permitted.

•   Alongside these safeguards, the benefits of being able to record potential breaches of OHS laws will facilitate a more effective way for workers, representatives, employers and WorkSafe to exchange information about risks to health and safety and discuss measures that can be taken to eliminate or reduce those risks.

•   Employers and workers will be supported through implementation with new WorkSafe guidance, which will ensure they understand the new arrangements.

•   This bill strengthens our workplace safety laws.

•   It expands worker rights and protections, boosts employer accountability and streamlines WorkSafe’s enforcement.

•   That’s why I commend this bill to the house and wish it a speedy passage.

•   These reforms will make Victorian workplaces safer. Victorian workers deserve nothing less.

•   This bill is another demonstration of the Andrews Labor government’s steadfast commitment to the occupational health and safety of Victorian workers.

•   And for that reason I support this bill, I commend it to the house and I wish it a speedy passage.

The SPEAKER: Order! The time set down for consideration of items on the government business program has arrived and I am required to interrupt business. The house is considering the Occupational Health and Safety and Other Legislation Amendment Bill 2021. The minister has moved that the bill be now read a second time. The member for Mornington has moved a reasoned amendment to this motion. He has proposed to omit all the words after ‘That’ and replace them with the words which appear on the notice paper. The question is:

That the words proposed to be omitted stand part of the question.

Those supporting the reasoned amendment by the member for Mornington should vote no.

House divided on question:

The SPEAKER: The bill will now be sent to the Legislative Council and their agreement requested.

Register of opinion on motion

Ayes

Ms Addison, Mr Andrews, Ms Couzens, Ms Edwards, Mr Eren, Mr Fowles, Ms Hall, Ms Hennessy, Mr Merlino, Ms Neville, Mr Pakula, Mr Pallas, Mr Richardson, Ms Theophanous

Noes

Mr Northe, Mr D O’Brien, Mr M O’Brien, Ms Staley