WHS due diligence training for officers and business owners
Under Australia's model WHS laws, a person conducting a business or undertaking (PCBU) has the primary duty of care for workers and others affected by its work. Officers, such as directors, partners and senior managers who make decisions affecting the whole business, have a separate, personal duty: to exercise due diligence to ensure the PCBU meets its obligations.
Due diligence is more than a policy statement. Regulators and courts look for evidence that officers took reasonable steps to:
- acquire and keep up to date knowledge of work health and safety matters
- understand the nature of the business's operations and its hazards and risks
- ensure the business has, and uses, appropriate resources and processes to eliminate or minimise risks
- ensure there are processes to receive and respond promptly to information about incidents, hazards and risks
- ensure the business has, and implements, processes to comply with its WHS duties
- verify that those resources and processes are provided and used
Who this training is for
Courses in this category suit company directors, business owners, partners and senior managers who want to understand what WHS law expects of them personally, and how to keep the records that show they have met it.
Start with Officer Due Diligence in Practice, a one-day online course that turns the six due diligence duties into practical steps for day-to-day decision-making. To see who holds WHS duties beyond companies, read why ‘we’re not a company’ is not a WHS defence.