Do Occupational Health & Safety Requirements Apply to Strata?
Yes they do if the strata scheme has direct employees, is commercial or is mixed residential and commercial. On the 1st of September 2001 the Occupational Health & Safety Act 2000 and the Occupational Health & Safety Regulation 2001 were proclaimed. This regulation sets out requirements for workplaces to put into place systems to identify, assess, control and/or eliminate health or safety risks. Because Owners have work done on common property, this legislation applies to them. This means that the owners corporation is defined as an employer under the act and that the owners corporation controls premises used by people as a place of work. The Strata Schemes Management Act requires that hazard identification and risk assessment is undertaken and risk control measures are implemented. While the Occupational Health & Safety Act 2000 has previously established duties for persons in control of premises the regulations did not fully illustrate how persons were to discharge their obligations.
