Page 597 - Week 02 - Thursday, 22 February 2018
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the nature and extent of the application of schedule 1 to non-workplaces in the context of the right to privacy and reputation under the Human Rights Act 2004.
Recognising that hazardous chemicals are often used, stored and handled in the home, the bill makes the changes needed to ensure that the regulation of hazardous chemicals applies beyond the workplace. This move maintains the territory's current safety standards, as the current duty in the dangerous substances legislation already applies to everyone. The adoption of hazardous chemicals regulation into the work health safety legislation will give subject matter to the existing, but currently unutilised, entry and inspection provisions in relation to the use of hazardous chemicals outside the workplace.
Specifically the amendments in this bill to section 2 of schedule 1 are intended to ensure that the general safety duty under the section 23 of the Dangerous Substances Act is adequately and appropriately transferred into the work health and safety legislation. Consistent with the general duty that applies under the Dangerous Substance Act the purpose of schedule 1 is to ensure the public health and safety of occupiers of residential premises, visitors to a residence, passers-by and neighbours when hazardous chemicals are being used.
Anyone should have a reasonable expectation that their health and safety are not recklessly or adversely affected by anyone storing or handling hazardous chemicals whether at the workplace or not. Transferring this duty into work health and safety legislation provides a clear framework for regulating hazardous chemicals both within the workplace and outside of the workplace. This is important when considering the workplace and public health and safety imperatives when dealing with hazardous chemicals.
In addition to the technical changes made in this bill more substantial changes will come with the adoption of the hazardous chemicals and major hazard facilities chapters of the national model regulations into the territory’s Work Health and Safety Regulation 2011. This will occur through an amending regulation which will be made and tabled in the usual process to come into effect on the commencement of this bill on 29 March 2018.
There will be a number of changes to current practices once the national model chapters come into effect. Firstly, the introduction of the Globally Harmonised System of Classification and Labelling of Chemicals, or the GHS, will bring the territory into line with other jurisdictions that have implemented model work health and safety regulations in relation to the classifying, labelling and packing of hazardous chemicals.
As I have previously outlined, moving to the GHS will address the current regulatory anomaly wherein a hazardous chemical that is supplied from New South Wales to the territory is correctly GHS labelled in compliance with the New South Wales law, but once it crosses the border into the territory it is not compliant with our law because it is not labelled under the ADG code. This has both practical implications for businesses and workplaces in the territory as well as regulatory impacts on WorkSafe
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