NSW Bill to Protect Police from OHS Liability in Armed Offender Situations
Monday 19 March 2018 @ 2.01 p.m. | Legal Research
The NSW government has passed the Work Health and Safety Amendment Bill 2018 (NSW) (‘the Bill’) on 14 March 2018, which is currently awaiting assent. The Bill is for the purpose of ensuring that if a police officer fails to comply with duties stipulated in the Work Health and Safety Act 2011 (NSW) ('the Principal Act') in the course of responding to an armed offender incident, it will not constitute an offence by the officer under the Principal Act.
Main Legislative Amendments
The Bill proposes to amend the Principal Act in order to provide that:
- members of the NSW Police Force who are involved in responding to active armed offender incidents do not commit offences under the principal Act for failing to comply with health and safety duties in connection with responding to such incidents;
- an armed offender incident is regarded as such, if a person armed with an offensive weapon is attacking or is attempting to attack another person.
In her second reading speech, Ms Sarah Mitchell, Minister for Early Childhood Education, Minister for Aboriginal Affairs and Assistant Minster for Education, highlighted that the Bill addressed specific concerns raised by NSW Police Force. She stated:
She further highlighted that it was unreasonable to expect police officers involved in an active offender situation to face liability under the Principal Act, stating:
TimeBase is an independent, privately owned Australian legal publisher specialising in the online delivery of accurate, comprehensive and innovative legislation research tools including LawOne and unique Point-in-Time Products. Nothing on this website should be construed as legal advice and does not substitute for the advice of competent legal counsel.
Sources:
Work Health and Safety Amendment Bill 2018 (NSW), second reading speech and explanatory memorandum, available on TimeBase's LawOne service.