Division 1 Outline of this Part
(1) This Part provides for the appointment, functions and powers of the following persons as government officials:(a) the Chief Inspector,(b) inspectors,(c) mine safety officers,(d) investigators.(2) This Part also provides for the election or appointment of site check inspectors to carry out inspections as representatives of the workforce at mines.
Division 2 Inspections by government officials
Subdivision 1 Appointment of government officials
127 Appointment of government officials
(1) The Minister may appoint a person employed under Chapter 2 of the Public Sector Employment and Management Act 2002 as:(a) the Chief Inspector, or(b) an inspector, or(c) a mine safety officer, or(d) an investigator.(2) An instrument appointing a person under this section may limit the functions that the person has as a government official.(3) A person appointed under this section is to be issued with an identification card under section 157 of the Work Health and Safety Act 2011.
128 Qualifications of inspectors
A person must not be appointed as an inspector unless the Minister considers that the person:(a) has a professional engineering qualification relevant to mining or quarrying operations from an Australian university or any equivalent qualification, and(b) has appropriate competencies, and adequate experience, in mining or quarrying operations to effectively perform the functions of an inspector.
129 Appointment of consultants as investigators
(1) The Minister may appoint a consultant:(a) as an investigator for the purposes of carrying out investigations under this Act, or(b) to assist an investigator in carrying out such investigations.(2) A consultant appointed under this section has, while exercising the functions for which the consultant was appointed, the same functions as an investigator has under this Act and the regulations, and the provisions of this Act and the regulations apply in respect of the consultant in the same way as they apply in respect of an inspector and anything done by an inspector.
Subdivision 2 Functions of government officials
130 Functions of Chief Inspector
(1) The functions of the Chief Inspector are:(a) the control and direction of inspectors and mine safety officers, and(b) reviewing appeals from notices issued by inspectors and mine safety officers, and(c) the other functions that are conferred on the Chief Inspector by this Act or the regulations, and(d) any other function conferred by the Minister from time to time.(2) For the purposes of this Act, the Chief Inspector is an inspector.
131 Bringing concerns regarding health, safety or welfare to the attention of operators
If a government official:(a) exercises any of the powers conferred on the official at or in connection with a mine, and(b) as a result of the exercise of those powers, obtains any information or becomes aware of any practice at a mine that may, in the official’s opinion, be relevant to the continued safe operation of a mine or the health, safety or welfare at work of the persons who work at a mine,the government official must, as soon as possible, advise the most senior person in the management structure of the mine who is currently at work that the official has obtained any such information or has become aware of any such practice.
132 Consideration and investigation of complaints
(1) A government official must consider any complaint made to the government official by a site check inspector for a mine, being a complaint concerning the health, safety or welfare at work of the persons who work at the mine.(2) A government official may investigate any such complaint if the official considers it appropriate to do so.(3) A government official must report to the site check inspector, who made the complaint to the government official, concerning the results of the official’s consideration or investigation of the complaint.(4) Nothing in this section prevents a site check inspector from raising matters directly with the operator of a mine.
133 Audit and review of mine safety management plans and other arrangements
(1) A government official may at any time audit and review:(a) the mine safety management plan for a mine, and(b) the emergency plan for the mine, and(c) any other arrangements for the mine required by this Act or the regulations.(2) Such an audit and review may occur periodically, after the occurrence of an event prescribed by the regulations or at any other time that the government official thinks is appropriate.
A government official has the following additional functions:(a) in the case of a government official other than the Chief Inspector, to provide advice to the Chief Inspector on matters relating to the health, safety and welfare of persons at work at mines,(b) to make reports on incidents or other matters at mines and to make recommendations for further action based on those reports.
Subdivision 3 Powers of government officials
Note. Section 156A of the Work Health and Safety Act 2011 provides that a person appointed as a government official under this Act is deemed to have been appointed as an inspector for the purposes of the WHS Act and has the powers of an inspector under that Act in relation to mining workplaces.
135 Powers of entry at any time
Despite Part 9 of the Work Health and Safety Act 2011, a government official may enter any place to which this Act applies at any time.Note. Section 6 specifies the places to which this Act applies.
(1) A government official may enter any land (including any land that includes residential premises) at any time if entering that land is the only way that the government official can gain entry to a place of work to which this Act applies for the purpose of exercising functions under this Act or the Work Health and Safety Act 2011.(2) A government official may enter only by any means or route approved by the occupier of the land and must exercise all due care in entering, being on and leaving the land.(3) However, subsection (2) does not apply:(a) in the case of an emergency, or(b) where the government official has made reasonable efforts to locate the occupier of the land and has been unable to do so, or(c) if the occupier of the land unreasonably fails to approve a means or route to cross the land, or(d) if the occupier of the land approves an unreasonable means or route to cross the land.
(1) A government official may require the operator of a mine to provide the government official with a plan of the mine marked with information that the government official considers necessary for an investigation or inquiry that the government official is making.(2) An operator must not fail to comply with a requirement made under this section.Maximum penalty: 100 penalty units.
Division 3 Inspections on behalf of work force
Subdivision 1 Site check inspectors
(1) For the purpose of enabling inspections to be carried out at a mine, on behalf of the persons at work at the mine, an individual may be elected as a site check inspector for the mine.(2) More than one person may be elected as a site check inspector if the operator agrees or the Chief Inspector so directs.
An election of a site check inspector for a mine must be held if one or more positions are vacant and:(a) a person employed in or about the mine requests in writing that an election be held, or(b) the Chief Inspector directs that an election be held.
140 Conduct of election of site check inspectors
(1) An election for a site check inspector for a mine may be conducted:(a) if there is only one involved union in relation to the mine—by that involved union, or(b) if there is more than one involved union and all the involved unions are in agreement that a specified one of those unions should conduct the election—by that specified union, or(c) if there is no involved union in relation to the mine or agreement cannot be reached under paragraph (b)—by a person authorised by the Chief Inspector to conduct elections under this section.(2) A person may be a candidate in the election if and only if the person is employed at the mine.(3) Subject to the regulations, all individuals employed in or about the mine are entitled to vote in the election.(4) Where there is only one candidate for the election, that person is taken to have been elected.(5) The election must be conducted in a manner that is consistent with recognised democratic principles.(6) Where a person is elected as a site check inspector for a mine, the involved union or other person authorised under subsection (1) to conduct the election must, as soon as practicable after the person has been so elected, inform the Chief Inspector and the operator of the mine.(7) As soon as practicable after being so informed, the operator of the mine must cause a notice, that the person so elected is a site check inspector for the mine, to be displayed in a prominent place at the mine, that will allow all of the persons working in or about the mine to be notified of the election.Maximum penalty: 10 penalty units.
Subject to section 142, a site check inspector for a mine holds office for 2 years after the date on which the site check inspector was elected but is eligible to be elected for further terms of office.
142 Vacation of office of site check inspector
(1) A person ceases to be a site check inspector for a mine if:(a) the person resigns as a site check inspector, or(b) the person ceases to be employed in or about the mine, or(c) the person’s term of office expires without the person having been elected to be a site check inspector for the mine for a further term.(2) A person may resign as a site check inspector for a mine:(a) if the person was last elected as a site check inspector in an election conducted by an involved union in relation to the mine—by notice in writing delivered to the involved union that nominated the person as a candidate in the election, or(b) in any case—by notice in writing delivered to the operator of the mine.(3) If a person has resigned as a site check inspector for a mine:(a) if subsection (2) (a) applies—the involved union to which the notice of resignation was delivered, or(b) in any other case—the operator of the mine,must notify the persons employed at or about the mine, and, in a case to which subsection (2) (a) applies, the operator of the mine, of the resignation.(4) If a person has ceased to be a site check inspector for a mine because of subsection (1) (b), the person must notify the following persons in writing that the person has ceased to be a site check inspector for that mine:(a) the persons employed at or about the mine,(b) the operator of the mine,(c) if the person was last elected as a site check inspector in an election conducted by an involved union in relation to the mine—the involved union that nominated the person as a candidate in the election.
A person elected as a site check inspector for a mine must:(a) notify the operator of the mine of the person’s election, and(b) give to the operator the person’s address and telephone number (including any mobile telephone number).Maximum penalty: 5 penalty units.
144 Functions of site check inspectors
The functions of a site check inspector for a mine are as follows:(a) to keep under review the measures taken to ensure the health, safety and welfare of persons at the mine, including procedures to control risks,(b) to investigate any matter that may be a risk to health and safety at the mine,(c) to attempt to resolve such matters but, if unable to do so, to request an investigation into those matters by an inspector for that purpose,(d) (Repealed)(e) to be an observer during the presentation of any formal report made by a government official to the operator of a mine, or to a contractor who does work at a mine, about an work health and safety matter related to work at the mine,(f) at the request of an employee at the mine, to accompany the employee during any interview or discussion with an employer or the operator of the mine about any work health and safety issue,(g) to be an observer during any formal in-house investigation of a notifiable incident within the meaning of Division 1 of Part 7,(h) to assist in the development of arrangements for recording workplace hazards and accidents and to promote improved workplace health and safety,(i) to make recommendations on the training of employees in relation to health and safety,(j) to participate in consultation that the operator, or any contractor who does work at the mine, is required to undertake with a site check inspector under this Act or the regulations,(k) to inspect the mine to assess the level of risk to which employees are exposed, including inspecting documents and plans relating to health, safety and welfare that are required to be kept at the mine by this Act or the regulations or by the Work Health and Safety Act 2011 or the regulations under that Act,(l) any other functions prescribed by the regulations.
145 Training of site check inspectors
(1) A site check inspector for a mine must undertake a course of training relating to work health and safety that is accredited by the Minister for the purposes of this section.(2) The operator of a mine must permit a site check inspector for the mine to take any time off work, without loss of remuneration or other entitlements, that is necessary to undertake the training.
146 Duties of operators in relation to site check inspectors
The operator of a mine must:(a) on being requested to do so by a site check inspector for the mine, consult with a site check inspector on the implementation of any changes at the mine that may affect the health or safety of persons at work at the mine, and(b) permit a site check inspector to make any inspection of the mine that a site check inspector is entitled to make under this Act and to accompany an investigator during any investigation at the mine by the investigator, and(c) if there is no health and safety committee (established under the Work Health and Safety Act 2011) in respect of the operator’s employees at the mine—on being requested to do so by a site check inspector, consult with a site check inspector concerning the development, implementation and review of measures to ensure the health or safety of persons at work at the mine, and(d) permit a site check inspector to be present at any interview at which a site check inspector is entitled to be present under this Act, and(e) provide a site check inspector with access to any information to which a site check inspector is entitled to have access in accordance with this Act and to which access has been requested, and(f) provide a site check inspector with reasonable time, during normal working hours, to exercise the functions of a site check inspector without loss of remuneration or other entitlements, and(g) provide a site check inspector with access to any facilities that are:(i) prescribed for the purposes of this paragraph, or(ii) necessary for the purposes of exercising the powers of a site check inspector.Maximum penalty: 100 penalty units.
147 Duties of contractors in relation to site check inspectors
A contractor carrying out work at a mine must:(a) on being requested to do so by a site check inspector for the mine, consult with a site check inspector on the implementation of changes at any mine at which employees of the contractor perform work for the contractor, being changes that may affect the health or safety at work of the employees, and(b) permit a site check inspector to make any inspection of the mine that a site check inspector is entitled to make under this Act, and to accompany an investigator during any investigation at the mine by the investigator, and(c) if there is no health and safety committee (established under the Work Health and Safety Act 2011) in respect of the contractor’s employees at the mine—on being requested to do so by a site check inspector, consult with a site check inspector concerning the development, implementation and review of measures to ensure the health or safety at work of those employees, and(d) permit a site check inspector to be present at any interview at which a site check inspector is entitled to be present under this Act, and(e) provide a site check inspector with access to any information to which a site check inspector is entitled to have access in accordance with this Act and to which access has been requested, and(f) if a site check inspector is an employee of the contractor, provide the site check inspector with reasonable time, during normal working hours, to exercise the functions of a site check inspector, without loss of remuneration or other entitlements.Maximum penalty: 100 penalty units.
148 Assistance to site check inspectors
The operator of a mine and all other persons at the mine must afford every facility and assistance to a site check inspector for the purposes of an inspection of the mine by a site check inspector.Maximum penalty: 100 penalty units.
149 Reports by site check inspectors
(1) After making an inspection at a mine, a site check inspector must report any perceived hazard to the operator of the mine.Maximum penalty: 20 penalty units.
(2) On receipt of a report from a site check inspector, the operator must:(a) send a copy of the report to a government official within 24 hours after receiving it, and(b) take measures to resolve the matter including the taking of any necessary corrective action.Maximum penalty: 20 penalty units.
(3) A government official who receives a copy of a report must investigate the report at the earliest practicable time.
Subdivision 2 Inspections on behalf of work force
150 Inspections by site check inspectors
A site check inspector for a mine may:(a) at any time enter and inspect working places, machinery and equipment at the mine and the shafts, roadways, working places, old workings and machinery and equipment at the mine, and(b) inspect any documents or plans that are required to be kept at the mine by this Act or the regulations or by the Work Health and Safety Act 2011 or the regulations under that Act, and(c) when there is at the mine an event or other occurrence (being an event or occurrence for which notice is required to be given by or under this Act) inspect the place where the event or other occurrence happened and, so far as is necessary for the purpose of ascertaining its cause:(i) inspect any other part of the mine and any machinery, apparatus or other thing at the mine, or(ii) test the atmosphere at the place where the event or other occurrence happened.
151 Site check inspector may be accompanied by operator or operator’s representative
For the purposes of an inspection of a mine under section 150, a site check inspector may be accompanied by the operator, or a representative of the operator, if the operator thinks fit.
152 Site check inspector must not leave work without prior notice
A site check inspector employed at a mine must not leave his or her place of work for the purpose of exercising functions as a site check inspector under this Division unless the site check inspector gives reasonable notice to the operator of the mine of his or her intention to do so. For this purpose, notice given to a supervisor is taken to have been given to the operator.Maximum penalty: 20 penalty units.
(1) A site check inspector or an authorised representative for a mine may enter any land (including any land that includes residential premises) at any time if entering that land is the only way that the site check inspector or the authorised representative can gain entry to a mine for the purpose of exercising functions under this Act.(2) A site check inspector or authorised representative may enter only by any means or route approved by the occupier of the land and must exercise all due care in entering, being on and leaving the land.(3) However, subsection (2) does not apply:(a) in the case of an emergency, or(b) where the site check inspector or authorised representative has made reasonable effort to locate the occupier of the land and has been unable to do so, or(c) if the occupier of the land unreasonably fails to approve a means or route to cross the land, or(d) if the occupier of the land approves an unreasonable means or route to cross the land.
154 Offence of failing to comply with requirement of government official
A person must not, without reasonable excuse, refuse or fail to comply with a requirement made by a government official in accordance with this Act.Maximum penalty:
(a) in the case of a previous offender—150 penalty units, or(b) in any other case—100 penalty units.
155 Obstruction of site check inspectors in exercise of functions
A person must not obstruct a site check inspector in the exercise of any function conferred on a site check inspector by this or any other Act.Maximum penalty: 100 penalty units.
156 Offence of interfering with site check inspector or government official
A person must not, without reasonable excuse, wilfully interfere with a site check inspector or a government official in exercising the inspector’s or official’s functions under this Act.Maximum penalty:
(a) in the case of a corporation (being a previous offender)—750 penalty units, or(b) in the case of a corporation (not being a previous offender)—500 penalty units, or(c) in the case of an individual (being a previous offender)—225 penalty units, or(d) in the case of an individual (not being a previous offender)—150 penalty units.
157 Offence of impersonating a site check inspector or government official
A person must not impersonate, or falsely represent that the person is, a site check inspector or a government official.Maximum penalty: 100 penalty units.