OHS delays causing Federal Government funds to be withheld

The Federal Government announced that any state or territory delaying the implementation of the uniform OSH laws will have millions of dollars worth of Federal funding withheld.

Bill Shorten, Federal Minister for Employment and Workplace Relations, stated the costs associated with incompatible laws are costing Australian businesses tens of millions of dollars a week.

The WA Minister for Commerce and Small Business, Simon O’Brien has defended Western Australia’s position by stating that the timetable for change has been unreasonable as the Federal Government was late in providing the full package of laws.

The actions by the Federal Government have caused much backlash by other state governments.

According to latest advice from WorkSafe WA, a public consultation will be started around February and the process should take up to six months. The date of implementation for the model laws in WA has not been determined.

Version 1.0 | 18/01/2012