NEW LEGISLATION FOR WORKPLACE HEALTH AND SAFETY IN QUEENSLAND AND NSW�IMPLICATIONS FOR PRESSURE EQUIPMENT

A CONSOLIDATION OF Work Health and Safety (WHS) legislation, called harmonisation, has taken place between some but not all of the states. In the area of boilers and pressure vessels, NSW has moved to less prescriptive legislation whereas Queensland appears to be more prescriptive. Despite being in existence for about one year, these new arrangements are poorly understood. It appears that the regulatory authorities are still getting their own houses in order before beginning countrywide education and/ or enforcement. There are new duties for importers, manufacturers and users of equipment. There are standards which don�t appear in the main legislation but which have evidentiary status, i.e. admissible for the purposes of defence (or prosecution) in court. The paper will discuss the legislative implications for the specialised pressure vessels and boilers used in the Australian sugar industry. It will draw on our 50 years� experience with inspection. The dilemma for the industry is how to find a happy medium between over spending on occupational health and safety (OH&S) as opposed to a minimal spend but with reduced reliability and safety.