Work Safety Group

The Work Health and Safety Act 2011 and Work Health and Safety Regulation 2011 are laws to ensure that we have healthy and safe working environments for ACT workers and workplaces and our legislation is consistent with similar laws across Australia.

The regulation provides details on specific work health and safety (WHS) obligations, such as workplace arrangements, psychosocial hazards, licensing high risk work, construction, plant safety, electricity safety and performing hazardous manual tasks. It was last updated in 2024 to include the ban on engineered stone.

The ACT’s work health and safety laws are administered by the work safety regulator, WorkSafe ACT.

On the spot fines may be issued for breaches of WHS laws. For more information about WHS infringement notices see the Magistrates Court (Work Health and Safety Infringement Notices Regulation 2011.

Other key work safety legislation we have responsibility for includes:

• Dangerous Substances Act 2004 health and safety laws for explosive substance licensing and asbestos containing materials in residential settings
• Dangerous Goods (Road Transport) Act 2009 laws to make sure dangerous substances and hazardous chemicals are transported safely when transported by road in line with the Australian Dangerous Goods Code (edition 7.8).

Codes of practice provide practical guidance about how to meet WHS standards in the legislation. They cover specific topics or hazards and include effective ways to identify and manage health and safety risks. Following a code of practice assists those with WHS duties to comply with their legal obligations.

Codes of practice are announced in public notices when they are issued.

New Codes of practice

Tower cranes

The revised ACT Tower Crane Code of Practice (Code) updates the ACT’s existing Code to locally implement the model Code of Practice: Tower Cranes (Published by Safe Work Australia, 19 June 2023).

Codes provide practical guidance on how to achieve the standards of work health and safety required under the ACT WHS laws, and effective ways to identify and manage risks.

Updates to the Code have not changed existing standards in meeting WHS duties and obligations. Specific ACT guidance relating to high/low lifts and first-aid boxes has also been retained.

The revised Code has been prepared in consultation with the ACT Work Health and Safety Council.

Silica dust

The ACT’s Managing the risks of airborne crystalline silica (silica dust) in the workplace Code of Practice was updated when the national ban on engineered stone [PDF 278 KB] was introduced in July 2024. More information on the engineered stone ban and silica dust WHS requirements is available on the WorkSafe ACT website.

Heat risks

A code of practice on managing the health and safety risks of working in extreme temperatures is being developed. While this is being developed interim guidance, Managing the Risks Associated with Extreme Heat at Work [PDF 359 KB], provides information about managing extreme heat risks in the workplace and a framework for determining when it is no longer safe to continue work.

We have responsibility for a number of laws that apply to workplaces, work conditions and workers’ compensation, including:

• Workers Compensation Act 1958 laws that provide support to workers who become injured or ill to return to work
• Labour Hire Licensing Act 2020 laws that protect workers from poor workplace practices and promote compliance in the labour hire sector
• Long Service Leave Act 1976 laws that provide for long service leave entitlements for length of service with the same employer
• Long Service Leave (Portable Schemes) Act 2009 laws that provide access to long service leave entitlement for length of service within a covered industry
• Holidays Act 1958 – laws that provide the days to be observed as a public holiday in the ACT, for more details see Public holidays, school terms and daylight savings.

Automatic mutual recognition

Automatic mutual recognition (AMR) is part of national reforms to make it easier for eligible workers to operate interstate. Under AMR workers who hold an occupational registration or licence in one Australian state or territory can work in other Australian states or territories without needing to pay additional fees or apply for a separate registration.

The ACT has exempted from AMR until 1 July 2025 licences under the Labour Hire Licence Act 2020 and the Dangerous Substances Act 2004 to allow time to resolve issues, such as improving information sharing between states and territories, and to ensure that Canberra workers and the community continue to be protected by our work health and safety standards.

For more details about AMR, see Occupational mobility for interstate workers.

Portable long service leave

Portable long service leave allows workers in certain industries to accrue long service leave entitlements based on length of service in a covered industry, rather than service with a single employer.

From 1 April 2025, the existing contract cleaning scheme will become the Services Industry Scheme for portable long service leave.

On 1 July 2026, the Services Industry Scheme will expand to cover:

• hairdressing and beauty services
• accommodation and food services industries, including hospitality services.

This expansion was due to start on 1 April 2025. The Minister for Skills, Training and Industrial Relations has paused the expansion to allow additional time for new entrants into the scheme to prepare and register.

Employers in the expanded industries need to register with ACT Leave by 30 June 2026.

This fact sheet provides information about how businesses in the expanded industries can prepare [PDF 195kB].

Learn more about portable long service leave in the ACT on the ACT Leave website.