Current plain English regulatory documents distributed by the

local WHS government regulator.

Who or what is a PCBU?

A PCBU means a Person Conducting a Business or Undertaking.

It's a broad concept used throughout HSWA to describe all types of modern working arrangements
which we commonly refer to as businesses.

Most businesses, whether large corporates, sole traders, or self-employed, are classed as PCBUs.

The difference between a business and an undertaking is:

● businesses are usually conducted with a view to making a profit and have a degree of organisation,
system and continuity.
● undertakings will have elements of organisation, systems, and possible continuity, but are usually not
profit-making or commercial in nature.

What is the primary duty of care?

The primary duty of care means that a business has the primary responsibility for the health and
safety of workers and others influenced by its work.

All businesses must ensure, so far as is reasonably practicable, the health and safety of:
● its workers
● any other workers who are influenced or directed by the business.

A business must also look after other people who could be at risk by the work of the business, for
example customers, visitors, children and young people, or the general public.

If you are self-employed, then you must also ensure, so far as is reasonable, your own health and
safety as well as the health and safety of others who could be put at risk by your work.
What does the primary duty of care look like in practice?

The primary duty of care is broad overarching duty which includes, but is not limited to, a business
having effective practices in place for:
Providing and maintaining a work environment that is without risks to health and safety

PCBUs must, so far as is reasonably practicable, provide and maintain a work environment that is
without health and safety risks.

The work environment includes:

● the physical work environment, including lighting, ventilation, dust, heat and noise
● the psychological work environment, including overcrowding, deadlines, work arrangements (eg the
effects of shift-work and overtime arrangements) and impairments that affect a person’s behaviour,
such as work-related stress and fatigue, and drugs and alcohol.

The health and safety regulations that sit under HSWA cover duties to manage certain work risks.
 Providing and maintaining safe plant and structures

Your business must, so far as is reasonably practicable, provide safe plant and structures, and
maintain them in good condition.

‘Plant’ includes:
● machinery
● vehicles
● vessels
● aircraft
● equipment (including personal protective equipment)
● appliances
● containers
● implements
● tools
● any component of one of these items or anything fitted or connected to one of these items.

‘Structure’ means anything that is constructed. It can be fixed, movable, temporary or

permanent, and includes any component or part of a structure. The following are examples of
structures:
● buildings
● masts
● towers
● frameworks
● pipelines
● quarries
● bridges
● underground works (including shafts and tunnels).
Providing and maintaining safe systems of work

Your business must, so far as is reasonably practicable, provide and maintain safe systems of work
(eg work processes).

Developing a safe system of work is a formal procedure carried out by a person with
sufficient knowledge and experience. It involves:
● the systematic examination of a task to identify risks that may arise from carrying it out
● the identification of safe methods including control measures to eliminate or minimise the identified
risks
● the setting of methods to safely carry out the task.

The development of safe systems of work can involve looking at the physical layout of the workplace
and its access and egress, tools, plant, procedures and people (eg instruction, information,
training). For risky work, safe work methods can be formalised using a permit-to-work system.
 Systems of work should be reviewed on a regular basis and updated as appropriate.
Ensuring the safe use, handling and storage of plant, structures and substances

You business must, so far as is reasonably practicable, make sure that plant, structures, and
substances are safely used, handled and stored.
Providing adequate facilities for the welfare of workers when doing work for your business, including
ensuring access to those facilities

Your business must, so far as is reasonably practicable, provide adequate facilities (that are clean,
safe, accessible, in good working order and maintained to stay that way) for the welfare of workers.
PROVIDING ANY INFORMATION, TRAINING, INSTRUCTION, OR SUPERVISION THAT IS NECESSARY
TO PROTECT ALL PERSONS FROM RISKS TO THEIR HEALTH AND SAFETY ARISING FROM THE WORK
OF YOUR BUSINESS

Your business must, so far as is reasonably practicable, make sure your workers and others are
provided training, information, instruction or supervision to protect them from risks to health and
safety.

The type of training, instruction or supervision required will depend on the nature of the
work carried out and the experience of the workers, and the risk that workers and others, such
as clients and customers, are exposed to.
Monitoring the health of workers and the conditions at the workplace for the purpose of preventing
injury or illness of workers when doing work for your business

Exposure to certain hazards can injure workers or make them ill. This can include exposure to:
● airborne contaminants such as dusts, fibres, fumes
● chemicals that can make people ill after breathing in, getting on their skin, or eating or drinking them
● biological hazards such as bacteria, viruses or fungi
● physical hazards such as noise, vibrations, UV radiation, heat
● ergonomic hazards such as repetitive motions, eye strain.

A PCBU must, so far as is reasonably practicable, monitor its workers’ health and the
workplace conditions. Monitoring is not a control measure to manage risk and does not replace the
need for control measures to reduce exposure. Results from monitoring should be used to improve
control measures where needed.
WORKPLACE MONITORING

Workplace monitoring can involve measuring a hazard (eg a substance, fumes, noise or
vibrations arising from the work). The purpose of the monitoring is to assess the effectiveness of
controls being used to minimise the risk of workers developing a work-related condition or getting
injured on an ongoing basis.
HEALTH MONITORING

Health monitoring involves specific and targeted testing of the health of workers to identify potential
signs of potential harm to their health and any changes on an ongoing basis. As well as identifying
the development of work-related conditions, the purpose of monitoring is to assess the effectiveness
of control measures designed to minimise potential harm to worker health on an ongoing basis.
Providing healthy and safe worker accommodation

In some situations, your business may provide your workers with accommodation that your business
owns, or managers, or controls.

If this is the case, then you are responsible for ensuring that the accommodation is fit for purpose
and does not expose the worker to any health and safety risks.

Small businesses account for more than 95% of all Australian businesses and are responsible for the
health and safety of approximately 4.8 million workers.
Small business: a definition
Small businesses have less than 20 workers and will often be single director companies and family
businesses. Leaders of these businesses are likely to be part of the day-to-day work and workplace.
Work health and safety duties

In Australia, businesses have the primary duty of care for WHS. PCBUs must ensure the health and
safety of workers so as far as is reasonably practicable, as well as others such as visitors.

▪ PCBUs include individuals, for example sole traders or people who are self-employed, partners
in a partnership as well as companies and organisations.

Business owners or those who make decisions that affect the business—referred to as ‘officers’ in the
model regulations—must exercise due diligence and make sure the PCBU complies with its health
and safety obligations.

This includes making sure there are appropriate practices or systems of work in place as well as
actively monitoring and evaluating health and safety at the workplace.

▪ Due diligence requirements are set out in the WHS laws. They are not onerous and there are
plenty of resources to help you understand your obligations.
Workers’ compensation
Most employers are required to have workers’ compensation insurance. This generally covers
payments to workers for any lost wages if they are unable to work due to an injury or ill health, as
well as medical costs and rehabilitation expenses to help them return to work as soon as possible.

Each state and territory has its own workers’ compensation scheme and there are differences
between them. For more information about the workers’ compensation scheme that applies to you,
contact your local workers’ compensation authority.

Safety leadership in small business

Small business owners have a vital role to play when it comes to leading safety. When workers know
their employer places high importance on WHS they are more likely to be motivated to follow safety
procedures and raise safety issues.

If you support and encourage positive workplace health and safety practices, over time you will
improve the culture in your business. A positive culture can help small business owners
improve WHS and avoid costly incidents and injuries, minimise productivity disruptions and reduce
overheads.

Figure 1: Leadership principles

Principles of effective leadership in work health and safety

Safe Work Australia Members have developed five leadership principles to help you develop your
safety leadership practices and create a workplace culture that promotes safety. They include:

▪ commit to safety
▪ get involved
 ▪ encourage participation
▪ make WHS part of your business
▪ review your performance.
Commit to safety

Be clear that you are serious about good WHS by your personal and business practices. You can
clearly show your commitment to safety by spending the time, money and resources needed to
provide a safe and healthy working environment.

Business practices
▪ Have a clear safety policy and make it visible to staff and visitors.
▪ Include your staff in planning ways to raise the importance of safety in your business; have a
safety suggestion box.
▪ Understand the safety risks in your business and do something about them.
▪ Formally show your focus on safety on your website or social media page.
▪ Put up WHS signs, posters or a notice board.
Leader practices
▪ Personally decide to make safety as important as any other part of your business process.
▪ Be able to explain to others why safety is important to you and your business.
▪ Show enthusiasm and interest for good health and safety outcomes.
▪ Walk around your business, talk to workers about safety and find out what their biggest safety
issues are.
▪ Be ready to act on safety issues as they are raised, explain your actions.
Get involved

When supervisors and managers are actively involved in safety workers are more likely to raise safety
issues and follow safe work procedures. You can help improve everyone’s attitude to WHS by leading
by example in your business.

Business practices
▪ Set goals for the safe work environment you want and regularly check progress against these
goals.
▪ Put in place systems for safety issues to be communicated, both from your workers up to you
and from you down to your workers.
▪ Include these systems for communicating about safety in your business documentation, for
example planning inductions and updates.
▪ Formally communicate your focus on safety to everyone involved in your business, for example
by email or in meetings.
▪ Make sure any supervisors in your business are consulted on safety and that they all apply the
same approach to safety practices when supervising work.
Leader practices
▪ Communicate the importance of safety in different ways so everyone can understand the
message, for example talks, emails, posters and demonstrations.
▪ Give regular feedback about the safety and practices in your workplace and help improve them.
▪ Lead by example, show your workers how you expect them to wear correct PPE, follow safe
work procedures and take part in safety training.
▪ Hold regular toolbox talks about safety.
▪ Help with identifying hazards and developing safe work procedures.
Encourage participation

You can improve the safety culture in your workplace by encouraging others to get on board with
your approach to WHS. This can include the way you speak about safety, respond to safety issues and
involve others in thinking about and acting upon safety issues.

Business practices
▪ Schedule regular paid time for workers to talk about and act on health and safety issues. This
may include developing safe work procedures, maintaining tools and equipment, making
changes to workplace layout that improve safety, and refreshing their knowledge of good safety
practices.
▪ Have different ways to reward and recognise good WHS practices, for example spoken and
written encouragement.
▪ Have a formal way of quickly and easily raising and resolving safety issues, for example a form
or an email template.
▪ Inform new staff of the practices and procedures you have in place to get them involved in
health and safety.
Leader practices
▪ Make time to attend and actively contribute to your business safety management practices.
▪ Regularly reward your workers’ WHS contributions and give prompt feedback on safety issues.
▪ Talk to your managers and staff about safety.
▪ Walk around the business and speak with your staff about safety.
▪ Ask for input on planned equipment or machinery purchases.
▪ Check in on safety once business changes have occurred.
▪ Act on feedback or give reasons why you didn’t.
▪ Promote an open, positive environment for dealing with health and safety concerns.
Make work health and safety part of your business

Make WHS a regular part of running your business. Including WHS in your standard processes can
improve normal standard practice for everyone involved in your business.
Business practices
▪ Include WHS when you allocate responsibilities to people in your business and follow up on
their progress.
▪ Provide resources to manage WHS risks.
▪ Make sure workers have the right equipment and training to carry out their tasks safely.
▪ Allocate time to check that safety related activities such as reviewing procedures and pre-start
checks are being done.
▪ Make sure all staff, including supervisors, are sufficiently trained and competent.
▪ Consider WHS at the same time as you are making other business decisions such as buying
equipment and engaging sub-contractors.
▪ Include WHS in your induction for new workers.
Leader practices
▪ Discuss safety with your managers or staff as part of a regular performance review.
▪ Review your budget and make sure that money allocated for safety has been spent on safety
and the amount is appropriate.
▪ Hold your staff and contractors accountable for safety performance.
▪ Ask staff to explain safety protocols to you and check whether or not they are easy to follow.
▪ Be present for new worker inductions or important team updates relating to safe work
practices.
Review your performance

Once you’ve set things in place for good WHS management and culture in your business, you will
need to regularly check your systems and activities to make sure your improvements are maintained.

Business practices
▪ Document the WHS risks in your business and review your documents regularly.
▪ Check control measures are implemented and working as planned.
▪ Seek advice as needed from WHS professionals about how best to manage health and safety
risks.
▪ Review your reports into safety performance and issues and act on any trends you see
emerging.
▪ Include safety in your business planning and make sure you consider safety during times of
change for your business
▪ Join your regulator’s or employer association’s safety network or leadership program and learn
from others who are facing the same safety issues you are.
Leader practices
▪ Be aware of what is happening on the ground including activities carried out internally or by
contractors.
▪ Share relevant WHS data and information with your workers.
▪ Address any health and safety problems when they are identified from your review.
 ▪ Encourage your workers to report incidents and near misses and learn from these.
▪ Take a personal interest in staying up-to-date on safety issues relevant to your business.
Further advice

SWA is not a regulator and cannot advise you about work health and safety for small businesses. If
you need help, please contact your state or territory WHS regulator.

Contact options

●
SafeWork NSW
View more NSW contacts

●
Workplace Health and Safety Queensland
View more QLD contacts

●
WorkSafe Victoria
View more Vic contacts

●
WorkSafe ACT
View more ACT contacts

●
SafeWork SA
View more SA contacts

●
 NT WorkSafe
View more NT contacts

●
WorkSafe WA
View more WA contacts

●
WorkSafe Tasmania
View more Tas contacts

●
Comcare
View more commonwealth and national contacts

Reference https://www.safeworkaustralia.gov.au/small-business#further-advice