OHS Regulations Reform Public comment submission form

Transcription

1 Submission number OHS007 OHS Regulations Reform Public comment submission form Submission date 18 August 2016 Name Jim Borle Organisation name (where applicable) Postcode 3431 AITAC Pty Ltd General comments on the proposed OHS Regulations Generally very positive to align with the WHS Regs wherever possible. Alignment of CB and CV HRW Licences with other jurisdictions is very positive. Move to include RS and BS, BA also positive if not overdue and unduly delayed. Specific comments on the proposed OHS Regulations Chapter 1 Preliminary Chapter 2 General duties and issue resolution Chapter 3 Physical hazards Chapter 4 Hazardous substances and materials Chapter 5 Hazardous industries Chapter 6 Licensing and Registration Reg 459 re resident applicant. Workforce is very transient. There is disparity in class of HRW Licence required from one 1

2 Chapter 7 Administrative Matters and Exemptions Chapter 8 Saving and Transitional Provisions jurisdiction to another (telehandlers >3T is an example). Border issues exist with NSW and SA also. Many companies have national relationships re these Licences or operation of specific equipment. If clause is to remain, "Reasonable Grounds" should be relaxed enough to allow corporates which operate in more than one jurisdiction to get employees Licensed where they want it done, and by a provider entirely of their choosing - let the market forces prevail and not impose immaterial Red Tape. Remove requirement for a CN or C2 HRW Licence for Multi tool carrier or Telehandler when fitted with attachments other than >3T jib. This is at odds with all other jurisdictions, causes substantial expense and compliance issues for border and transient workers and their employers. Requirement for HRW Licence for telehandler fitted with loading bucket or hay prongs is not sustainable. Remove Red tape and align to all other jurisdictions. Reg 557 (1) & (2). The regulation allows basic and intermediate boiler Licences to be issued for up to 12 months after commencement date, and denies the opportunity for issue of a Standard boiler or (new) Advanced boiler Licence. This mandates the issue of a Licence against a standard which is inferior and not within the competency standards of the AQF, and when coupled with (4) allows the continued operation of an Advanced boiler (new rules) by an operator holding an Intermediate boiler Licence. This is not consistent with other jurisdictions. Standard boiler Licence should be made available from the date of commencement to fall in line with other jurisdictions, and allow industry the opportunity to choose to be compliant with the national standards from the earliest date possible. The delay is not supported as there is no sustainable reason to deny an employer or operator access to the Standard boiler. The regulator administrative load is identical for the issue of the superior Licence. Basic boiler Licence is not currently being issued and Intermediate and Advanced boiler Licences are being issued. (3) Indicates that Basic boiler is equivalent to Standard boiler which is not correct. Basic boiler Licence is not currently being issued - only combined with Intermediate boiler at application for collection of 2 Licence fees. Remove clause. (4) Allows a transition period of approx 2 years (until 18 June 2019) for some Intermediate boiler Licence holders to upgrade to Advanced boiler for the operation of some equipment. The problem is that the choice to immediately obtain the appropriate Advanced boiler Licence is not being

3 Chapter 9 Consequential amendments afforded the operator or employer. Suggest offer the Standard boiler and new Advanced boiler Licence immediately, remove reference to Basic boiler, and allow the transition period for Intermediate boiler Licence upgrade as proposed in the regulation. Suggest allow RPL option for operators to transition from Intermediate to Standard boiler Licence from commencement date also - and waive fee. Schedules 1-19 Schedule 3. Introduction of separate Reach Stacker Licence is fully supported to align with other jurisdictions (Qld from 1 Jan 2017, NSW from 1 July 2017, SA, Tas, etc.) Item 14 - Non slewing crane. Scope of work should not include Reach Stacker. Items 15 to 18 - Slewing cranes. Scope of work should not include Reach Stacker. This inclusion of Reach Stacker under these Licences does not align with other jurisdictions or WHS. Transient workers would need probably two HRW Licences if operating in other places. Skills redundancy for CN licensed persons who operate only RS is dramatic. Declaration at 5 year renewal re retention of competency would be false declaration. From RIS "Deloitte Access Economics - This proposal is a great idea. Currently, the training for CN licence is mostly irrelevant so is a waste of time and doesn't result in operators being trained correctly. This means that they have to provide separate in-house training on the use of reach stackers." The suggestion that ability to operate a 20 tonne slewing crane is sufficient to pick and carry 40 tonne containers safely and efficiently in a totally different environment is flawed in practice and logic. These equipments are so vastly different that knowledge and ability to operate one unit does not translate to the other type, even with a reasonable opportunity for familiarisation training. A basic example of this is the need for crane load equalisation gear for poorly loaded CTUs. Suggest adopt a transfer from CN to RS similar to the Qld proposal recently announced, based upon equipment used at initial Licence test, VOC, or other reasonable and logical process. Remove RS from the scope for all cranes.

4 General comments on the proposed EPS Regulations Specific comments on the proposed EPS Regulations Part 1 Preliminary Part 2 Hazard identification Part 3 Duties of designers of Part 4 Duties of manufacturers of Part 5 Duties of importers of Part 6 Duties of suppliers and agents of suppliers of Part 7 Duty of person in charge of Part 8 Notice of design Part 9 Incident Notices Part 10 Saving and transitional provisions Schedule Prescribed equipment designs to be notified

5 General comments on the Regulatory Impact Statement for proposed Occupational Health and Safety Regulations 2017 and Equipment (Public Safety) Regulations 2017 Specific comments on the Regulatory Impact Statement Part One Introduction and general analysis Part Two Analysis by hazard area Part Three Implementation, evaluation and consultation Appendixes A to E Technical Appendix 5