In giving effect to the recommendations relating to the primary duty of care, the proposed model clause at paragraph 6.125 should be taken into account.
Providing for detail in regulations and guidance material
Currently, various regulations and legislation unrelated to the central OHS legislation impose obligations on business operators in specific industries. Examples include ‘chain of responsibility’ regulation in the road transport industry168 and the regulation of various parties to clothing outworker arrangements.169
These and other industries have safety issues and requirements that are specific to the nature of the industry. The changing nature of work and work relationships and arrangements means that other specific requirements may be needed in the future. We consider that the detail required is not appropriate for the model Act, but is appropriate for regulations, codes of practice and guidance material under the Act.
The proposed primary duty of care, being sufficiently broadly cast, would provide legislative support for specific regulations for existing and emerging industries and work arrangements.
The scope of this duty of care is also relevant to whether industry specific safety legislation should be maintained, or whether all industries might appropriately be regulated under the model Act. This is a matter which we will discuss in our second report.
