WHS compliance requirements checklist

Pick your state or territory and tick the kinds of work you do. You get the WHS duties that apply, the section of the law behind each one, and the tool that works it through.

Figures checked 5 November 2026. Free to use, no sign-in.

Victoria and Western Australia have their own Acts; the tool switches to them.

Your work

Tick everything that applies to your business

Leave a box unticked if you’re not sure; the core duties apply either way.

Your WHS requirements

Requirements in NSW

11 requirements

11 core duties every business has, plus 0 from the work you ticked.
Core duties
11
From your work
0
Regulator
13 10 50

Core duties

  1. Primary duty of care

    Ensure, so far as is reasonably practicable, the health and safety of your workers and of anyone else put at risk by the work, including psychological health. Manage risks by eliminating them or, if that isn’t reasonably practicable, minimising them.

    s 19 of the Work Health and Safety Act 2011 (NSW)

  2. Officer due diligence

    Each officer (directors and senior decision-makers) must personally exercise due diligence: keep up to date, understand the operations and risks, and make sure resources and processes exist, are used and are verified.

    s 27 of the Work Health and Safety Act 2011 (NSW)

    Officer due diligence audit

  3. Consultation with workers

    Consult, so far as is reasonably practicable, workers who are or are likely to be directly affected by a health and safety matter, including when identifying hazards, deciding controls and proposing changes.

    ss 47–49 of the Work Health and Safety Act 2011 (NSW)

    WHS consultation duty checker

  4. Health and safety representatives and committees

    If a worker asks, facilitate the election of health and safety representatives, at any business size. Set up a health and safety committee within 2 months if a representative or 5 or more workers ask.

    Part 5 (ss 50–79) of the Work Health and Safety Act 2011 (NSW)

    Health and safety committee checker

  5. Notifiable incidents

    Notify SafeWork NSW immediately after becoming aware of a death, serious injury or illness, or dangerous incident (13 10 50), preserve the site, and keep a record.

    ss 35–39 of the Work Health and Safety Act 2011 (NSW)

    Notifiable incident checker

  6. Psychosocial hazards

    Identify psychosocial hazards and eliminate or minimise the risks (r 55A–55D). The hierarchy of controls applies.

    Work Health and Safety Regulation 2025 (NSW), in force from 1 October 2022 (now in the 2025 Regulation)

    Psychosocial risk self-assessment

  7. Facilities: toilets, drinking water, washing and eating areas

    Provide adequate and accessible facilities for the number and mix of workers.

    r 41 of the Work Health and Safety Regulation 2025 (NSW)

    Workplace amenities calculator

  8. First aid

    Provide first aid equipment and access to trained first aiders suited to the work, hazards, size and location of the workplace.

    r 42 of the Work Health and Safety Regulation 2025 (NSW)

    First aid requirements calculator

  9. Emergency plan

    Prepare an emergency plan covering response, evacuation, notifying emergency services, medical help and communication; test it; train workers; keep it effective and use it in an emergency.

    r 43 of the Work Health and Safety Regulation 2025 (NSW)

  10. WHS records

    Keep the records the law requires, for the required time: notifiable incident records, training, registers, health monitoring and others.

    Work Health and Safety Act 2011 (NSW) and Work Health and Safety Regulation 2025 (NSW)

    WHS record keeping checker

  11. Workers compensation insurance

    Hold a current workers compensation policy (or self-insurance) under the New South Wales scheme and declare wages accurately. It sits outside the WHS law but is compulsory.

    New South Wales workers compensation legislation

    Workers compensation premium calculator

Your regulator

SafeWork NSW: 13 10 50. The law is the Work Health and Safety Act 2011 (NSW).

  • This lists duties at the level of the law, with the tool that works each one through. It doesn’t replace a risk assessment of your own workplace.
  • Unticked items aren’t assumed: if you start that kind of work, the extra duty applies from then.

General information, not legal advice.

How this works

Eleven duties apply to every business: the primary duty of care, officer due diligence, consultation, health and safety representatives and committees, notifiable incidents, psychosocial hazards, facilities, first aid, an emergency plan, records and workers compensation insurance. Each tick adds the duties that kind of work brings, such as safe work method statements for high risk construction work or chain of responsibility duties for heavy vehicles.

The harmonised Acts and Western Australia’s Act share section numbers, so the tool cites the Act for your jurisdiction with the same sections. Victoria is handled separately under the Occupational Health and Safety Act 2004 and its regulations.

Legal basis

Checked against these sources on 5 November 2026. Spotted a figure that looks wrong? Tell us.

Questions

What WHS duties does every business have?

Every business has the primary duty of care, officer due diligence, consultation with workers, health and safety representatives and committees on request, incident notification, managing psychosocial hazards, adequate facilities and first aid, an emergency plan, records and workers compensation insurance. The exact sections differ between the harmonised Acts, Western Australia and Victoria.

Does a small business have the same WHS duties?

Yes. The duties apply whatever the size of the business. What is reasonably practicable can differ with size and resources, and a few rules have thresholds, such as a committee being required when 5 or more workers ask for one.

Is Victoria different?

Victoria has its own Occupational Health and Safety Act 2004 with duties on employers rather than PCBUs, and its own regulations. The core obligations are similar, but the sections, some thresholds and the officer liability model differ.

Who enforces WHS law?

Each state and territory has a regulator, such as SafeWork NSW, WorkSafe Victoria or WorkSafe WA. Comcare regulates Commonwealth agencies and licensed self-insurers.

Related tools

All tools
CheckerNotifiable incident checkerCheck whether a workplace death, injury, illness or dangerous incident must be reported to the WHS regulator, how fast, who to call and what records to keep.Open checker CheckerPsychosocial risk self-assessmentRate the 14 common psychosocial hazards to build a ranked risk register, with the psychosocial regulations that apply in your state or territory.Open checker CalculatorWorkplace amenities calculatorWork out the toilets, urinals, washbasins and drinking water points a workplace should have from its headcount, under the code of practice for your state.Open calculator

Questions the calculator can’t answer?

Workfloor answers pay, award, leave and termination questions for your team, with the Fair Work Act section or award clause behind each answer.

See plans