PCBU primary duty of care (ACT WHS Act s 19)
the ACT PCBUs must, so far as is reasonably practicable, ensure the health and safety of workers and others affected by the work.
Who must comply
Every PCBU operating in the ACT, including sole traders and businesses with no employees, plus officers and workers. In the ACT, where a notifiable incident arises from more than one business or undertaking, each of those businesses must notify WorkSafe ACT; people who experience or witness a workplace sexual assault have no duty to report it.
What triggers it
Conducting a business or undertaking in the jurisdiction (whether or not you employ anyone).
When due
Continuous. Review risk controls whenever work, plant or the workplace changes, and after any notifiable incident. Notify WorkSafe ACT as soon as you become aware of a notifiable incident, by the fastest possible means; if you notify by telephone and WorkSafe ACT asks for written notice, provide it within 48 hours of the request. Keep the incident site undisturbed until an inspector arrives or directs otherwise.
Evidence required
WHS risk register and control plan (including psychosocial hazards); safe work procedures; induction, training and supervision records; consultation records with workers; incident and hazard reports; officer due-diligence records (board WHS reporting). Record of each notifiable incident (including any workplace sexual assault incident), kept for at least five years.
Max penalty
Category 1 offence (reckless or grossly negligent conduct exposing a person to risk of death or serious injury): up to $12,321,000 (body corporate), $2,464,000 (PCBU or officer as an individual) or $1,232,000 (other individual), per Safe Work Australia's comparison table as at 1 August 2026 (the ACT applies the model Act's indexed amounts for 2026-27). A death caused by a reckless or negligent breach is separately punishable as industrial manslaughter (see industrial-manslaughter-act).
Summary
Section 19 of the Work Health and Safety Act 2011 (ACT) imposes the primary duty of care on every person conducting a business or undertaking (PCBU) in the ACT: so far as is reasonably practicable, a safe work environment, safe plant and structures, safe systems of work, safe use and storage of substances, adequate facilities, information, training and supervision, and monitoring of workers' health and workplace conditions. "Health" includes psychological health. Officers must exercise due diligence (s 27). The Work Health and Safety Act 2011 (ACT) follows the model WHS Act, so the duty is the same as in the other model-law jurisdictions; the penalties and the industrial manslaughter offence are set locally. WorkSafe ACT administers the duty. In the ACT the list of incidents a PCBU must report is wider than the original model: since 9 June 2023 every workplace sexual assault incident, including a suspected incident, is notifiable, alongside deaths, serious injuries or illnesses and dangerous incidents. Infections to which carrying out work significantly contributed (for example from work with micro-organisms, care of people, or contact with blood, body substances or animals) and occupational zoonoses such as Q fever, anthrax, leptospirosis, brucellosis, Hendra virus, avian influenza and psittacosis must also be notified.
Enforced by
Source legislation
Topics
Related
- ACTIndustrial manslaughter offence (ACT WHS Act s 34A)In the ACT, a PCBU or officer whose reckless or negligent breach of a WHS duty causes a death commits industrial manslaughter.
- CWLTHManage psychosocial hazards at workWHS duty extends to psychosocial hazards — workload, bullying, harassment, role conflict.
- QLDPCBU primary duty of care (QLD WHS Act s 19)QLD PCBUs must ensure health and safety so far as reasonably practicable; industrial manslaughter live since 2017.
- SAPCBU primary duty of care (SA WHS Act s 19)South Australia PCBUs must, so far as is reasonably practicable, ensure the health and safety of workers and others affected by the work.
- NSWPCBU primary duty of care (NSW WHS Act s 19)NSW PCBUs must so far as reasonably practicable ensure the health and safety of workers and others.
- VICPCBU primary duty of care (Victoria OHS Act s 21)Victorian employers must so far as reasonably practicable provide and maintain a safe working environment.
Reading
Frequently asked questions
- Who must comply with PCBU primary duty of care (ACT WHS Act s 19)?
- Every PCBU operating in the ACT, including sole traders and businesses with no employees, plus officers and workers. In the ACT, where a notifiable incident arises from more than one business or undertaking, each of those businesses must notify WorkSafe ACT; people who experience or witness a workplace sexual assault have no duty to report it.
- What triggers PCBU primary duty of care (ACT WHS Act s 19)?
- Conducting a business or undertaking in the jurisdiction (whether or not you employ anyone).
- When is PCBU primary duty of care (ACT WHS Act s 19) due?
- Continuous. Review risk controls whenever work, plant or the workplace changes, and after any notifiable incident. Notify WorkSafe ACT as soon as you become aware of a notifiable incident, by the fastest possible means; if you notify by telephone and WorkSafe ACT asks for written notice, provide it within 48 hours of the request. Keep the incident site undisturbed until an inspector arrives or directs otherwise.
- What is the maximum penalty for PCBU primary duty of care (ACT WHS Act s 19)?
- Category 1 offence (reckless or grossly negligent conduct exposing a person to risk of death or serious injury): up to $12,321,000 (body corporate), $2,464,000 (PCBU or officer as an individual) or $1,232,000 (other individual), per Safe Work Australia's comparison table as at 1 August 2026 (the ACT applies the model Act's indexed amounts for 2026-27). A death caused by a reckless or negligent breach is separately punishable as industrial manslaughter (see industrial-manslaughter-act).
- What evidence is required for PCBU primary duty of care (ACT WHS Act s 19)?
- WHS risk register and control plan (including psychosocial hazards); safe work procedures; induction, training and supervision records; consultation records with workers; incident and hazard reports; officer due-diligence records (board WHS reporting). Record of each notifiable incident (including any workplace sexual assault incident), kept for at least five years.
Source: https://www.safeworkaustralia.gov.au/law-and-regulation/duties-under-whs-laws/duties-pcbu. Rules Mate is not a law firm. Always verify against the live regulator source before acting.