WHS Risk Management Skill Set for Statutory Managers

The Occupational Safety and Health Act 1984 (OSH) and has been supported by other legislation and regulations (MSIA 1994 and MSIR 1995) around specific health and safety measures related to mines and petroleum. The Work Health and Safety Act 2020 (WHS) has replaced this legislation and associated regulations. Work Health and Safety (Mines) Regulations 2022 came into effect in Western Australia on 31 March, 2022.

The Work Health and Safety (Mines) Regulations 2022 applies to mining and mineral exploration operations (WHS Mines Regulations) and details the requirements for the appointment of persons to Statutory positions, which have specific workplace health and safety responsibilities.

Statutory positions are classified in several categories, which impose different obligations on the appointed person and require different levels of knowledge, experience and formal qualifications.

The Statutory positions (for training purposes) are classified as being either:
* Statutory Supervisor - Underground supervisor, restricted quarry manager, noise officer, electrical supervisor
* Statutory Manager - Senior site executive, exploration manager, underground manager, quarry manager etc

To achieve certification, Statutory Supervisors and Statutory Managers must complete WorkSafe requirements and demonstrate competence for Statutory positions by 2025 which include:

1. Completion of national units of competency in health and safety risk management
2. Completion of applicable Mining Health and Safety Law assessments
3. Certification requires person to be "of good character"
4. Appropriate experience