whs-act-checker-wa

Western Australian WHS Act 2020 — Complete Reference

Purpose

This skill provides the complete verified text of the Work Health and Safety Act 2020 (WA), extracted directly from the official Western Australian legislation. 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 2020 (WA)" 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-wa skill) prescribes specific technical requirements and standards.
7. WA-specific terminology: WA uses "WorkSafe Commissioner" as the regulator (not "Regulator" generically), and the "WHS Tribunal" for review matters. WA has a "Work Health and Safety Commission" as an advisory body. The Act references "WHS department" for the department principally assisting with administration.

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 1–12A	Definitions (worker, PCBU, workplace, supply), object of Act, application
parts/pt02-duties.md	Part 2 — Health and Safety Duties	ss 13–34; s 30A	Primary duty of care (s 19), duty of persons managing/controlling 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), industrial manslaughter (s 30A)
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 40–45C	Meaning of authorised, requirements for authorisation of workplaces, plant, substances, work
parts/pt05-consultation.md	Part 5 — Consultation, Representation and Participation	ss 46–103	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/pt06-discriminatory-conduct.md	Part 6 — Discriminatory, Coercive and Misleading Conduct	ss 105–115	Prohibition on adverse action for WHS reasons, civil remedies
parts/pt08-regulator.md	Part 8 — The Regulator	ss 152–155C	Functions and powers of the WorkSafe Commissioner, information gathering, delegation
parts/pt09-compliance.md	Part 9 — Securing Compliance	ss 156–190	Appointment and identification of inspectors, inspector powers, entry powers, offences relating to inspectors
parts/pt10-enforcement.md	Part 10 — Enforcement Measures	ss 191–215	Improvement notices, prohibition notices, non-disturbance notices, remedial action
parts/pt11-undertakings.md	Part 11 — Enforceable Undertakings	ss 216–222	WHS undertakings — acceptance, contravention, withdrawal
parts/pt12-review.md	Part 12 — Review of Decisions	ss 223–229B	Internal review, external review by WHS Tribunal/court
parts/pt13-legal-proceedings.md	Part 13 — Legal Proceedings	ss 230–267	Prosecutions, limitation periods, sentencing, adverse publicity orders, WHS civil penalty provisions
parts/pt14-general.md	Part 14 — General	ss 269–277	Codes of practice (s 274), approved forms, regulation-making power, review of Act
parts/pt15-repeals.md	Part 15 — Repeals and Consequential Amendments	ss 279–372	Repeal of OSH Act, Mines Safety Act, petroleum legislation, transitional arrangements for regulations
parts/pt16-transitional.md	Part 16 — Transitional Provisions	ss 374–425	Application of Interpretation Act, transitional provisions for various bodies and instruments
parts/schedules.md	Schedules 1–2	—	Schedule 1 (WorkSafe Commissioner, Chief Inspectors, WHS Commission, Mining and Petroleum Advisory Committee, WHS Tribunal), Schedule 2 (regulation-making powers)

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-wa 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), s 30A (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	Parts 9–10	ss 156–190 (appointment, powers, entry), ss 191–215 (improvement/prohibition notices)
Codes of practice (legal status)	Part 14	s 274 (approval)
Definitions / dictionary	Part 1	ss 4–8, Schedule 1
Reasonably practicable	Part 2	s 18
Industrial manslaughter	Part 2	s 30A

Version Information

• WHS Act 2020 (WA): Current as at extraction date
• Source: Western Australian Legislation website
• Extraction method: Full text extracted from official source

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-wa skill covering the WHS (General) Regulations 2022 (WA). Legislation is subject to amendment; for critical compliance decisions, verify current provisions at https://www.legislation.wa.gov.au/