Right of Entry – Do you Know your Rights and Obligations?
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Under the Fair Work Act 2009 (Cth) (‘FW Act’) and the Work Health and Safety Act 2011 (ACT) (‘WHS Act’), an entry permit holder can attend your site to have discussions with your workers and/or to investigate suspected contraventions of the respective legislation.
For right of entry to be properly exercised, an entry permit holder must give certain notices with specified timeframes and do certain things, such as showing you their entry permit. A summary is provided below:
As the person with control of the site, you also have obligations to comply with when an entry permit holder is exercising his or her rights under the respective legislation. These obligations are summarised below:
- Not refuse or unduly delay entry to a permit holder
- Not intentionally hinder or obstruct a permit holder
- Not intentionally or recklessly misrepresent or give the impression that they are authorised to do things they are not.
The Workplace Relations and Legal Team are available to assist you with right of entry queries. The Team is also available to provide you (and your team) with some basic training to empower you with the correct information relating to your rights and obligations when it comes to right of entry.
