Safe Work Australia, a new national body, has been set up to bring into line the country’s occupational health and safety laws and to create “uniform, equitable and effective safety standards and protections for all Australians”. The Safe Work Australia Bill 2008 was passed by the Senate earlier this month, and work is expected to be finalised by December 2011, a year earlier than planned.

Current health and safety legislation is often conflicting, confusing and can be detrimental to businesses who have to invest large amounts of time and money into ensuring workers safety. The current 10 principal statutes covering OH&S in the country will be streamlined by the independent statutory authority.