The new National Standard for Manual Tasks (2007) (the Standard) and Code of Practice for the Prevention of Musculoskeletal Disorders from Performing Manual Tasks at Work (2007) (the Code of Practice) were finally declared by the Australian Safety and Compensation Council (ASCC) on 22 August 2007.
The Standard and Code will have a different impact upon your business depending upon which jurisdiction(s) you trade. In Tasmania the Standard is automatically picked up in the Workplace Health and Safety Regulations 1998, in the ACT the Occupational Health and Safety Act 1989 also adopts the Standard. In the Northern Territory the Code of Practice is also automatically adopted. In relation to the other jurisdictions there has been an in-principle agreement reached to see the substantive parts of both the Standard and Code of Practice adopted within the next two years.
There are several problematic elements to both documents and the ARA lobbied several jurisdictions as well as the Chairman of the ASCC in an attempt to emphasise the concerns of the retail industry. Industry in general has expressed genuine disappointment with the final Standard and Code of Practice and has expressed the view that neither of these documents will contribute to an improvement in OHS outcomes. The problems with these documents were compounded by an administrative error at the ASCC that resulted in confusion relating to what version of the Standard was approved.
Each jurisdiction will adopt the Code of Practice individually, and as such the ARA will again be reemphasising to each jurisdiction the problematic nature of the Code of Practice – in particular the unnecessary complexity of the document and the risk assessment models contained in it.
Although the ARA is strongly in favour of harmonisation of OHS legislation, we do not support the wide scale adoption of standards and codes of practices that are in place for the sake of having national documents in place. It is the position of the ARA that industry wide guidance material is the most effective way to reduce OHS incidences in the workplace.
