Work Health Safety Regulation Revoked by SA Govt.

Media Release November 2015:

Work Health Safety Regulation Revoked by SA Govt.

The South Australian Government has revoked Regulation 348 of the Work Health and Safety Regulations 2012. The regulation relates to the requirement for a person to notify the regulator (SafeWork SA) if they exceeded a manifest quantity of a hazardous substance.

The regulation was to come into effect as of January 1 2016, however, a recent determination by SafeWork SA advised that as a result of a risk assessment considering public safety, it has concluded that the state’s existing dangerous substances licensing system provided a higher standard of safety management than the Regulation 348 would provide.

Based on this determination, the existing licensing requirements for keeping, handling or transporting dangerous substances as set out in the existing Dangerous Substances Act 1979 (and the related Dangerous Substances Regulations 2002 & Dangerous Goods Transport Regulations 2008) will continue unchanged.

SafeWork SA advises that it is otherwise ‘business as usual’ for dangerous substances, and that it will continue to assess applications for licences to store these substances, ensuring that applicants meet the necessary safety requirements.

Businesses are reminded that the remaining provisions of the Work Health Safety Regulations 2012 will continue to apply, including the Approved Code of Practice for Labelling of Workplace Hazardous Chemicals.

As of the first of January 2016, a person who stores certain quantities of hazardous chemicals at their workplace will be required to ensure a manifest (a document that records the types, quantities and locations of each chemical) is available for emergency services officers to use in the event of an incident.

The State Government has advised that it will review the dangerous substances legislation and licensing requirements in 2016.

For more information about the Work Health Safety Regulation Revoked by SA Govt., feel free to contact Adelaide OHS Consultants on 8296 4405.