Your duties,
made clear.
Plain-English guidance on your occupational health and workers' compensation obligations in Western Australia, drawing on Safe Work Australia and WorkCover WA.
Your obligations
Your duties sit across two frameworks: work health and safety (WHS) for preventing harm, and workers\' compensation for managing it when injury occurs.
Primary duty of care (WHS)
Under the model WHS laws adopted in WA, a person conducting a business or undertaking (PCBU) must, so far as is reasonably practicable, provide and maintain a safe workplace without risks to health. This includes identifying hazards, managing risks, consulting with workers, and providing safe systems of work. Guidance is published by Safe Work Australia and the WA regulator.
Health monitoring duties
Where there is a significant risk to a worker's health from exposure to a hazardous substance or hazardous work, you must provide health monitoring (surveillance) and act on the results. This is a specific WHS obligation alongside your general duty of care.
Workers' compensation insurance
In WA, if you employ workers you must hold a current workers' compensation policy with an approved insurer (or be an approved self-insurer). Cover is compulsory and penalties apply for failing to hold insurance. This is regulated by WorkCover WA under the Workers Compensation and Injury Management Act 2023.
Report and lodge claims on time
When a worker is injured, you must complete your section of the claim and lodge the Certificate of Capacity and Claim Form with your insurer within seven days. Serious incidents must also be notified to the regulator (WorkSafe WA).
Injury management and return to work
Where a worker has partial capacity, you must consult with them to implement a Return to Work Program with suitable duties. Staying actively involved in the claim and recovery keeps costs down and helps the worker return to safe work sooner.