Duties of PCBUs

Under the SA WHS laws (Work Health and Safety Act and Regulations 2012), a PCBU has a primary duty of care to ensure the health and safety of workers while they are at work in the business or undertaking and that the health and safety of others is not put at risk from work carried out by the business or undertaking.

It is the PCBU’s responsibility to eliminate so far as is reasonably practicable, risks arising from exposure to RCS or, where elimination is not reasonably practicable, minimise the risks so far as is reasonably practicable to workers and other persons. This includes the provision and maintenance of the workplace environment without risks to health and safety, as well as the provision of any information, training, instruction, or supervision necessary to protect people from risks to their health and safety. PCBUs must also, so far as is reasonably practicable, consult with workers who carry out work for the business or undertaking who are or are likely to be directly affected by a WHS matter. PCBUs must also consult with the workers’ HSRs on WHS matters. For PCBUs working with RCS, examples of when consultation must occur include when preparing risk assessments and safe work method statements (SWMS), developing a silica dust control plan, deciding on control measures and selecting the medical practitioner to undertake health monitoring.

A PCBU must manage the risks to health and safety associated with handling or generating RCS (a hazardous chemical) at a workplace in accordance with Part 3.1 of the WHS Regulations. Part 3.1 requires, for example, that the PCBU identify hazards that could give rise to risks to health and safety and apply the hierarchy of controls to minimise the risks to health and safety if it is not reasonably practicable to eliminate the risks. Failure to comply with regulation 351 is a breach of the PCBU’s primary duty of care in section 19 of the WHS Act.

As with all health and safety duties in the WHS law, the duty on a PCBU to manage the risks to health and safety from RCS at a workplace are not transferrable.

Duties of workers

Workers have a duty to take reasonable care for their own health and safety, and to take reasonable care to not adversely affect the health and safety of other persons.

Workers must also:

• comply as far as they are reasonably able with any reasonable instruction given by the PCBU to allow the PCBU to comply with the WHS Act, such as participating in health monitoring and wearing relevant personal protective equipment (PPE), and
• co-operate with any reasonable policy or procedure relating to WHS at the workplace that has been notified to them.

The PCBU must make workers aware of the hazards associated with the use of silica-containing materials, including the process for reporting safety incidents.

If a worker refuses to participate in health monitoring or refuses to use PPE as they have been trained and instructed, a PCBU would need to take other action to meet its duties under the WHS laws. This could include removing the worker from the source of exposure to RCS.

WHS legal References

During health monitoring

The registered medical practitioner should ensure that the health monitoring program, test methods and procedures are followed throughout the program.

Regular feedback should be provided to both the PCBU and the worker if results indicate the worker is being or has been exposed and is showing adverse health effects as a result of exposure.

Health Monitoring Report

A health monitoring report is required by the PCBU as soon as practicable after the health monitoring is carried out in relation to a worker.

A health monitoring report template is provided in Health monitoring guides for hazardous chemicals for each hazardous chemicals listed in Schedule 14. Other templates, forms and formats of health monitoring reports are acceptable and may also be used.

Termination of health monitoring – data to be collected

Final medical examination

A final medical examination should be conducted when the worker has finished working with the chemical that triggered health monitoring.

Workers with continuing symptoms of exposure or health conditions due to exposure should be advised to seek continuing medical examinations.

Health monitoring report

A final health monitoring report must be provided to the PCBU.

Content of health monitoring report

Section one of the health monitoring report must contain:

• the name and date of birth of the worker
• the name, registration number and signature of the registered medical practitioner
• name and address of the business or undertaking
• the date(s) of health monitoring
• for health monitoring in relation to hazardous chemicals– any test results that indicate whether or not the worker has been exposed above the workplace exposure standard.
• any advice that results indicate the worker may have contracted an injury, illness or disease as a result of exposure during carrying out the work that triggered the requirement for health monitoring
• any recommendation that remedial measures are to be taken, including whether the worker can continue to carry out the type of work that triggered the health monitoring, and
• whether medical counselling or specialty medical advice is required for the worker in relation to the injury, illness or disease caused by exposure during work that triggered the requirement for health monitoring.

Section two of the health monitoring report contains the information and test results that you collected to assess if a worker has been exposed to hazardous chemical and impacts on worker health. This may include:

• information on the exposure history
• the questionnaire on general health
• the questionnaire on chemical specific symptoms
• results of the medical examination.

WHS RCS Duties Document Oct 2023