Who Is an “Officer” Under WHS Law? Understanding Due Diligence Responsibilities in Australia

You may have heard the term ‘officer’ being used within the workplace. It’s often broad in its meaning, but within Australian Work Health and Safety (WHS) legislation it has a very specific definition. 

If you’re asking who an officer is under WHS legislation, it won’t be based on job titles alone. Instead, it’s usually based on the level of influence a person has over business operations and how safely those obligations are managed.

The purpose of defining an officer under WHS legislation is to clearly set out responsibility for workplace health and safety. It’s about knowing who’s in charge of what, so your entire workforce maintains the high levels of safety your business needs.

Defining “officer” under WHS law

The definition of an officer under WHS legislation is specific to WHS laws and could be different from other legal frameworks like Corporation Law. Generally, an officer is someone who holds a position of significant influence within a business or undertaking. This could be:

• Directors of a company.
• Individuals who make, or participate in making, decisions that affect the whole or a substantial part of the business or undertaking.
• Individuals who have the capacity to significantly affect the financial standing of the organisation.

It’s not the job title that determines whether someone is an officer. WHS law instead focuses on the person’s function, authority and level of influence. Individuals without executive titles may still be considered officers if organisational decision-making is part of their everyday tasks.

What does responsibility look like for an officer

Under WHS law, officers have a proactive legal duty to exercise due diligence so PCBU (Person Conducting a Business or Undertaking) complies with WHS obligations.

It’s helpful to first think about what a PCBU is, as officers are responsible for ensuring that the PCBU is meeting its duties under WHS legislation.

Due diligence requires officers to take reasonable steps:

• To acquire and keep up-to-date knowledge of WHS matters.
• To understand the operations and the hazards and risks associated with those operations.
• To ensure the PCBU has available, and uses, appropriate resources and processes to eliminate or minimise risks.
• To ensure the PCBU has processes for receiving and responding to information about incidents, hazards, and risks in a timely way.
• To ensure the PCBU has, and implements, processes for complying with WHS duties and obligations.
• To verify that these resources and processes are being used effectively.

This duty is personal to the officer and cannot be delegated, even if operational tasks are assigned to others. This responsibility ultimately plays a critical role in maintaining a consistently safe working environment across the organisation.

Who is not typically an officer?

Not every individual in a workplace is considered an officer under WHS legislation. The following are not generally classified as officers:

• Employees or workers without significant decision-making authority.
• Supervisors or managers who primarily implement decisions rather than set organisational direction.

These roles still have WHS responsibilities, but they don’t carry the same legal duty of due diligence as officers.

Why it’s important to understand officer duties

Any leadership or governance role must have a clear understanding of who is an officer under WHS legislation. officers who fail to meet their duty of due diligence can come against serious consequences, spanning everything from substantial financial penalties to imprisonment in severe cases.

Aside from legal risk, building strong WHS systems with workers that are protected is achievable if these obligations are fulfilled. Officers that actively engage with their responsibilities contribute directly to a stronger safety culture, one with a more comprehensive, consistent management of workplace risks.

Relationship to the PCBU

The officer role sits within the broader WHS framework and connects to the PCBU structure. The PCBU holds the primary duty of care for workplace health and safety, and it’s important to note that officers don’t replace this responsibility.

Instead, an officer’s duty is to exercise due diligence to maintain compliance with WHS obligations. In practice, this means officers giving greater oversight and governance to keep systems, processes and resources safe and and continuously improved.

Final thoughts

When officers actively exercise and implement due diligence, it creates stronger oversight, improved risk management, and creates safer, more consistent workplace systems.

WHS Monitor provides the tools to support structured reporting, clearer accountability and better workplace safety. Contact our team today and safeguard your workforce, workplace and assets.