78725 Work Health and Safety Law
Warning: The information on this page is indicative. The subject outline for a
particular session, location and mode of offering is the authoritative source
of all information about the subject for that offering. Required texts, recommended texts and references in particular are likely to change. Students will be provided with a subject outline once they enrol in the subject.
Subject handbook information prior to 2025 is available in the Archives.
Credit points: 6 cp
Result type: Grade and marks
Requisite(s): (70211 Contracts AND 70311 Torts) OR ((94 credit points of completed study in spk(s): C04236 Juris Doctor OR 142 credit points of completed study in spk(s): C04250 Juris Doctor Master of Business Administration OR 94 credit points of completed study in spk(s): C04363 Juris Doctor Master of Intellectual Property OR 94 credit points of completed study in spk(s): C04364 Juris Doctor Graduate Certificate Trade Mark Law and Practice) AND 70106 Principles of Public International Law AND 70107 Principles of Company Law) OR (94 credit points of completed study in spk(s): C04320 Juris Doctor Graduate Certificate Professional Legal Practice AND 70106 Principles of Public International Law)
These requisites may not apply to students in certain courses.
There are course requisites for this subject. See access conditions.
Anti-requisite(s): 76015 Labour Law AND 76053 Workplace Relations Law AND 79013 Industrial and Labour Law AND 79031 Employment and Industrial Law
Description
Changing work practices and the increasing use of technology pose numerous challenges for creating safe working environments. These challenges impact upon employers, directors, management, employees, governments, independent contractors and the self-employed.
In this subject students examine the key principles of Australian work health and safety legislation, as well as the principles of tort, contract, criminal and employment law pertaining to work health and safety.
The classes are interactive and include guest presentations by legal and work health and safety practitioners. Through class discussions and problem-based scenarios, students will progressively develop their understanding of the practical application of Australian work health and safety law principles.
Students will also be able to deepen their knowledge on Australian work health and safety law through completing research essay on a topic of their choice, in consultation with the subject coordinator.
Subject learning objectives (SLOs)
Upon successful completion of this subject students should be able to:
| 1. | Evaluate the development of the key legislation and common law principles applying to work health and safety in Australia. |
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| 2. | Apply relevant the relevant legislative provisions and common law principles to advise hypothetical clients about complex work health and safety scenarios |
| 3. | Critically evaluate the adequacy of Australia’s current legal framework relating to work health and safety, and where relevant the scope for the reform |
| 4. | Identify and evaluate appropriate electronic and paper-based information resources to assist in resolving practical legal problems involving Australian work health and safety law. |
Course intended learning outcomes (CILOs)
This subject also contributes specifically to the development of the following graduate attributes which reflect the course intended learning outcomes:
- Legal Knowledge
- A specialised understanding of a complex body of legal knowledge, including the Australian legal system in relation to employment law and practice, impacts of historical and ongoing Anglo-Australian laws, social justice, cultural and international contexts, the principles and values of ethical practice, and contemporary developments in employment law and practice and its professional practice.
- Demonstrate specialised legal knowledge of Australasian employment law and practice to support innovation in a range of contexts, including Indigenous law and systems (1.0) - Critical Analysis and Evaluation
- A capacity to think critically, strategically and creatively, including an ability to identify and articulate complex employment issues, apply reasoning and research to generate appropriate theoretical and practical responses, and demonstrate sophisticated cognitive and creative skills in approaching complex employment issues and generating appropriate responses.
- Identify, synthesise and articulate complex legal and technical issues and apply analytical skills to identify innovation and generate clear, succinct and novel responses. (3.0) - Research skills
- Well-developed cognitive and practical skills necessary to identify, research, evaluate and synthesise relevant factual, legal and policy issues and demonstrate intellectual and practical skills necessary to justify and interpret theoretical propositions, legal methodologies, conclusions and professional decisions.
- Research, identify and evaluate technical information, legal judgments and issues to interpret, justify, or critique propositions, conclusions and professional decisions that are underpinned by ethical research practices. (4.0) - Communication
- Professional and appropriate professional communication skills, including highly effective use of the English language, an ability to inform, analyse, report and persuade using an appropriate medium and message and an ability to respond respectfully.
- Communicate accurately and appropriately with multidisciplinary audiences in a range of specialised and technical formats; including productive collaboration with professional teams and clients. (5.0) - Indigenous Professional Capability
- A well-developed understanding of Indigenous perspectives informed by a commitment to build Indigenous professional capability, to work for and with Indigenous peoples.
- Identify and challenge the deficit narratives and biases of Anglo-Australian laws towards Indigenous Australians, particularly in relation to employment law and practice. (7.0)
Teaching and learning strategies
Strategy 1 Independent learning:
Student learning outside the classroom is a key learning strategy in this subject. Students will do a large part of the learning in this subject by completing all of the pre-class activities including watching relevant audio-visual materials posted on Canvas, reading, analysing and reflecting upon the assigned readings and undertaking online quizzes.
Strategy 2 - Interactive seminars:
The seminars in this subject involve interactive class discussion between students and their peers and teachers about pre-assigned problems, scenario-based exercises, audio-visual material and readings. Several seminars will incorporate guest lectures from specialist practitioners. During the seminars students will undertake a variety of exercises including discussions of short problem scenarios on work health and safety scenarios in practice. Through these activities students will develop their appreciation of the perspectives of the various stakeholders involved in the practice of work health and safety – including governments, regulatory authorities, business groups and trade unions.
Strategy 3 Feedback:
Students will be provided with on-going feedback on their understanding of the weekly topics through in-class discussions of solutions to short problem questions towards the end of each class. Before the semester Census date, a “Test your knowledge” multiple choice quiz will be available for student completion on Canvas to provide students with formative feedback on their understanding of work health and safety legislation applying to practical scenarios.
Subject Delivery
Content (topics)
- Development of WHS law in Australia
- The Work Health and Safety Act 2011 (NSW) and other Australian WHS legislation
- WHS and the contract of employment
- WHS and tort law
- Investigation and prosecution of WHS law breaches
- Managing workplace security
- WHS risks from terrorism and politically-motivated violence
- Workers compensation
- WHS and insurance
- Workplace emergency planning and management
- WHS and anti-discrimination law
- Workplace surveillance law
Assessment
Assessment task 1: Class participation
| Objective(s): | This task addresses the following subject learning objectives: 1, 2 and 3 This task contributes specifically to the development of the following graduate attributes: 1.0, 3.0, 5.0 and 7.0 |
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| Weight: | 20% |
| Criteria: |
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Assessment task 2: Advice memorandum
| Objective(s): | This task addresses the following subject learning objectives: 1, 2 and 4 This task contributes specifically to the development of the following graduate attributes: 1.0, 4.0, 5.0 and 7.0 |
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| Weight: | 30% |
| Length: | 1500 words |
| Criteria: |
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Assessment task 3: Research essay
| Objective(s): | This task addresses the following subject learning objectives: 1, 3 and 4 This task contributes specifically to the development of the following graduate attributes: 1.0, 3.0, 4.0 and 5.0 |
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| Weight: | 50% |
| Length: | 3000 words |
| Criteria: |
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Required texts
Neil Foster Workplace Health and Safety Law in Australia 2nd Edition (LexisNexis Butterworths, 2016)
Recommended texts
R. Johnstone and M. Tooma Work Health and Safety Regulation in Australia (Federation Press, 2022)
M. Tooma Safety, Security, Health and Environental Law (Federation Press, 3rd ed 2019)
R. Johnstone, E. Bluff and A. Clayton Work Health and Safety Law and Policy (Law Book Co, 3rd ed 2012)
R. Johnstone and M. Tooma Work Health and Safety Regulation in Australia: The Model Act (Federation Press, 2012)
C. Dunn Australian Master Work Health and Safety Guide (CCH, 2014)
M.Tooma Tooma's Annotated Work Health and Safety Act 2011 (Thomson Reuters, 2017)
C. Dunn Annotated Australian Work Health and Safety Legislation (Wolters Kluwer, 2017)
C. Dunn Planning Work Health and Safety: An Introduction to Best Practice (CCH, 2012)
R. Payant Emergency Management for Facility and Property Managers (McGraw Hill, 2016)
R. Sarre and T. Prenzler The Law of Private Security in Australia (Thomson Reuters, 2nd ed, 2009)
E. Smith Workplace Security Essentials: A Guide for Helping Organisations Create Safe Work Environments (Butterworth-Heinemann, 2014)