Regulatory Compliance

• will not be liable for penalties or other legal sanctions;
• will meet the minimum requirements for safety and protection of people, property and the environment.

  There are a number of duties and responsibilities placed on employers and owners of organisations which are often of a general nature. These are usually defined in the Acts. More detailed specification or guidance is provided by regulations and other detailed documents.

  However, there is a preference now for even these elaborating documents to be non-specific, and to be "performance-oriented". This means that these documents will specify the desired or necessary outcome or result, but will not generally say how this should be achieved.

  The advantage of this approach is that an organisation is able to use different ways to achieve that outcome. This enables the use of emerging technologies, and alternative methods and practices, which may not have been the case with the older prescriptive documents.

  Regulatory Compliance within management systems

  A management systems approach recognises that merely meeting the minimum specifications of regulations will not provide a competitive situation. The systematic approach to a high level of performance provides for on-going achievement of a high level of productivity by enabling the most efficient integration of improvements to technology, procedures and tasks.

  When this is coupled with a quality system which focuses on continuous improvement for the benefit of the customer or client, a truly competitive edge results.

  This approach is about to receive a boost through the just-released Draft Joint Australian and New Zealand Standard for OHS Management Systems. For more information click here.

  State and Federal

  The Australian Constitution means that in both occupational health and safety and environmental areas the State Government has prime responsibility and the State legislation is directly relevant. However, there are some areas relating to off-shore, inter-state and international trade etc. where the Federal legislation prevails.

  There is an increasing convergence between the requirements of the various States as a result of work being carried out at the national level. This has led to agreements in a number of areas for various "national model" legislation and regulations to be adopted by all the States. The goal of this national approach is to have uniform requirements across Australia.

  Occupational Health and Safety

  Within Victoria the principal Acts relevant to occupational health and safety are:
  • Dangerous Goods Act 1985
  • Equipment (Public Safety) Act 1994
  • Health Act 1958
  • Occupational Health and Safety Act 1985

  Under these Acts there are a number of regulations and Codes of Practice. For the current list click here

  Environment

  The principal Acts relating to the environment are:
  • Environment Protection Act 1970
  • Planning and Environment Act 1987

  There are also regulations made under these Acts.

  Copies of the Acts and Regulations are available from Information Victoria at 318 Little Bourke St, Melbourne Vic. 3000 Tel: (03) 9651 4100

  PEM can assist companies to identify issues, prioritise them and develop action plans to implement solutions in a cost-effective, productive, sustainable and strategic manner.

  To contactPEM

  Any questions, feedback or comments are welcome, so just click here

  To return to top of the home page.

  Updated: May 12, 1997