whs-act-checker-qld

Queensland WHS Act 2011 — Complete Reference

Purpose

This skill provides the complete verified text of the Work Health and Safety Act 2011 (Qld), extracted directly from the official Queensland legislation (current as at 29 November 2024). It ensures Claude cites accurate section numbers, provisions, and requirements when producing occupational hygiene reports, compliance analyses, duty analyses, and WHS documentation.

Critical Rules

1. Only cite provisions that appear in the part files. Never fabricate or assume section numbers or content.
2. Citation format: Use "s [number]" for individual sections, e.g. "s 19 of the Work Health and Safety Act 2011 (Qld)" or "ss 35–39" for a range.
3. Use conservative, factual language when describing legislative obligations. Avoid subjective terms — describe what the Act requires in objective terms.
4. Always use Australian English spelling (e.g. behaviour, organisation, colour, defence, licence [noun]).
5. If a provision cannot be located in these files, state that the specific section should be verified against the current legislation and indicate which Part it is likely found in.
6. Distinguish between the Act and the Regulation. The Act establishes duties, offences, and enforcement powers. The Regulation (covered by the separate whs-regulation-checker-qld skill) prescribes specific technical requirements and standards.

Part Index

Read the relevant part file(s) based on the subject matter of the query:

File	Part	Key Sections	When to Read
parts/pt01-preliminary.md	Part 1 — Preliminary	ss 1–12	Definitions (worker, PCBU, workplace, supply), object of Act, application
parts/pt02-duties.md	Part 2 — Health and Safety Duties	ss 13–34	Primary duty of care (s 19), duty re management/control of workplaces (s 20), design/manufacture/supply duties (ss 22–26), officer duties (s 27), worker duties (s 28), offence categories 1–3 and penalties (ss 31–33)
parts/pt02a-industrial-manslaughter.md	Part 2A — Industrial Manslaughter	ss 34A–34E	Industrial manslaughter offences for PCBUs (s 34C) and senior officers (s 34D), alternative offences
parts/pt03-incident-notification.md	Part 3 — Incident Notification	ss 35–39	Notifiable incidents (s 35), serious injury or illness (s 36), dangerous incidents (s 37), duty to notify (s 38), duty to preserve incident sites (s 39)
parts/pt04-authorisations.md	Part 4 — Authorisations	ss 40–45	Meaning of authorised, requirements for authorisation of workplaces, plant, substances, work
parts/pt05-consultation.md	Part 5 — Consultation, Representation and Participation	ss 45A–99	Duty to consult workers (s 47), nature of consultation (s 48), when consultation required (s 49), HSR election/powers/functions, health and safety committees, issue resolution, right to cease unsafe work (ss 84–88), provisional improvement notices
parts/pt05a-whs-officers.md	Part 5A — WHS Officers	ss 99A–99R	Appointment, functions and powers of WHS officers
parts/pt06-discriminatory-conduct.md	Part 6 — Discriminatory, Coercive and Misleading Conduct	ss 100–115	Prohibition on adverse action for WHS reasons, civil remedies
parts/pt07-workplace-entry.md	Part 7 — Workplace Entry	ss 116–149	WHS entry permit holders, rights of entry, conditions
parts/pt08-regulator.md	Part 8 — The Regulator	ss 150–152	Functions and powers of the regulator
parts/pt09-compliance.md	Part 9 — Securing Compliance	ss 153–198	Inspector powers, improvement notices, prohibition notices, non-disturbance notices, remedial action
parts/pt10-enforcement.md	Part 10 — Enforcement Measures	ss 199–219	Seizure, forfeiture, embargo notices, injunctions
parts/pt11-undertakings.md	Part 11 — Enforceable Undertakings	ss 220–224	WHS undertakings — acceptance, contravention, withdrawal
parts/pt12-review.md	Part 12 — Review of Decisions	ss 224A–229ZB	Internal review, external review by QCAT/court
parts/pt13-legal-proceedings.md	Part 13 — Legal Proceedings	ss 229ZC–271A	Prosecutions, limitation periods, sentencing, adverse publicity orders, WHS civil penalty provisions
parts/pt14-general.md	Part 14 — General	ss 272–277ZA	Codes of practice (s 274), approved forms, regulation-making power, review of Act
parts/pt15-16-transitional.md	Parts 15–16 — Repeals and Transitional	ss 278–305	Repeal of WHS Act 1995, transitional arrangements
parts/schedules.md	Schedules 1–4	—	Schedule 1 (dangerous goods, relationship with other Acts), Schedule 2 (regulator, consultative committees, WHS prosecutor), Schedule 2A (reviewable decisions), Schedule 3 (regulation-making powers), Schedule 4 (Dictionary)

Workflow

1. Identify the subject matter from the user's query
2. Read the relevant part file(s) using the view tool — read only what is needed
3. Cite provisions accurately from the extracted text
4. Cross-reference with Regulation where appropriate (e.g. s 19 primary duty + specific regulation requirements)
5. Flag any gaps — if the query requires Regulation provisions (not covered in this skill), note this and refer to the whs-regulation-checker-qld skill

Common Query Routing

Query Topic	Primary Part(s)	Key Sections
PCBU duty of care	Part 2	s 19 (primary duty), s 17 (management of risks), s 18 (reasonably practicable)
Officer due diligence	Part 2	s 27
Worker obligations	Part 2	s 28
Penalties / offence categories	Part 2	ss 31–33 (Cat 1–3), Part 2A ss 34C–34D (industrial manslaughter)
Incident notification	Part 3	ss 35–39
Consultation obligations	Part 5	ss 46–49
HSR powers and functions	Part 5	ss 50–79
Right to cease unsafe work	Part 5	ss 84–88
Inspector powers / notices	Part 9	ss 153–198
Codes of practice (legal status)	Part 14	s 274 (approval), s 26A (duty re codes) in Part 2
Definitions / dictionary	Part 1 + Schedules	ss 4–8, Schedule 4
Reasonably practicable	Part 2	s 18

Version Information

• WHS Act 2011 (Qld): Current as at 29 November 2024
• Uncommenced amendments: 2024 Act No. 11 (not yet commenced at extraction date, not incorporated)
• Source: Queensland Legislation website, authorised by the Parliamentary Counsel
• Extraction method: Full text extracted from official PDF using PyMuPDF, with page headers/footers removed

Note: This skill covers the WHS Act only. For specific technical requirements (workplace exposure standards, noise limits, silica controls, asbestos removal requirements, etc.), consult the companion whs-regulation-checker-qld skill covering the WHS Regulation 2011 (Qld). Legislation is subject to amendment; for critical compliance decisions, verify current provisions at https://www.legislation.qld.gov.au/