Do you understand your OH&S obligations? |
| Can you avoid a $943,000 fine or 5 years jail or both. The Victorian government has increased fines for any breaches of the Occupational Health and Safety Act 2004 and as such, a Owners Corporation can now be penalised $943,290 and a 5-year jail term by failure to ensure a workplace that is under their control, is safe.. The Act defines the common property of a Owners Corporation as a workplace and therefore under the Act the Owners Corporation is responsible to ensure it is a safe place for workers, contractors, volunteers, members of the general public, tenants, owners and visitors. Penalties to the Act have been increased to a maximum penalty of $943,290 fines or 5 years jail or both for a Owners Corporation. Insurance policies / companies will not cover a Owners Corporation for fines or punitive damages that are awarded in a court of law.. Duties of those who manage or control workplaces (S26) Any person or body that manages or controls a workplace, to any extent, must ensure that the workplace, including entering and exiting the workplace, is safe and without risk to health. Those who manage or control a workplace could include the employer, the occupier of the workplace, the owner of the workplace and others. As a Owners Corporation you are exposed to a number of risks relating to your occupational health and safety obligations and common law responsibilities. Duty not to recklessly endanger people at workplaces (S32) It is an offence, without lawful excuse, to recklessly engage in conduct that exposes, or may expose, a person at a workplace to the risk of serious injury. Imputing conduct to Owners Corporation (S143) Any conduct undertaken on behalf of the Owners Corporation by its employees, agents or officers acting within the scope of their actual or apparent authority, is deemed to be conduct of the Owners Corporation. Who do you call? Roscon Property Services Pty Ltd provides a complete range of services, ranging from safety Inspections, maintenance plan budgets to depreciation schedules. We can provide safety audits of your common property areas and can also provide contractors that are fully qualified to perform all works that may eventuate. We have 27 years of experience in the Owners Corporation and Property Services fields and have been dealing with the Occupational Health and Safety Act since it first inception in 1987. | Liability of officers of Owners Corporation (S144) If a Owners Corporation contravenes this Act or regulations because an officer of the Owners Corporation failed to take reasonable care, the officer is guilty of an offence and liable to a fine of an amount no greater than a fine applicable to an individual found guilty of the same offence. Safe access to and from the common property for others including members of the public, visitors and tenants. A Owners Corporation can comply with their obligation by engaging a professional OH&S company to:
(a) Are properly insured (b) Adequately licensed (c) Provide work statements and Job Safety Analysis. These are documents that detail the methodology of the works that are to be performed and express the risks that will be involved and the counter measures that are to be taken to reduce the risk. The benefits of using Roscon Property Services Pty Ltd:
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