The model Act should define ‘management or control’ of the workplace, fixtures, fittings and plant to make it clear who owes the duty of care.
Note: A definition of ‘management or control’ will be provided in our second report.
It is important to appreciate more than one person or entity may have management or control of a workplace. This may occur where there is a shared responsibility (e.g. between the landlord and tenant) or where there is more than one undertaking being conducted at the workplace. The various persons may each have management or control only over specific aspects of the workplace.
Management or control over a workplace or parts of it may change over time. An example is a construction worksite where various expert contractors may consecutively have effective management or control over work areas, while the principal contractor may retain overall management or control of the site.
We recommend that the model Act make clear that each person with management or control would owe the duty of care, in relation to the matters over which they have management or control and while they do so.
