NSW passes Work Health & Safety Bill

02-Jun-2011 New South Wales yesterday passed the Work Health & Safety Bill in parliament.  However there has been a compromise on two areas to make sure the bill went through the Upper House.

The first amendment involves NSW giving Unions the power to allow them to prosecute for breaches of the Work Health and Safety Act.

In the amendment, Unions will be able to prosecute Category 1 and 2 offences if WorkCover have not done so.  However they will no longer receive a portion of the penalty.

The second component includes the NSW Industrial Court having a role to play in the enforcement of the legislation in a shared jurisdiction with the Local Court 

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