Duty of care

A duty of care is a legal responsibility. The general duty of care provisions in the Workplace Health and Safety Act 1995 are limited by 'reasonable practicability'. Practicable means it must be possible or capable of being done safely. To carry out a duty as far as is reasonably practicable means the degree of risk in a particular activity or environment can be balanced against measures taken to control it.  

The 'reasonable practicability' test must take into account:  

The nature of the employment or, as the case may be, the particular aspect of the employment concerned; and  

(a) the severity of any potential injury or harm to health or safety that may be involved, and the degree of risk that exists in relation to such potential injury or harm; and  

(b) the state of knowledge about the injury or harm to health or safety that may be involved; the risk of the occurrence of that injury or harm to health or safety; and any methods of preventing, removing or mitigating that injury, harm or risk; and  

(c) the availability and suitability of ways to prevent, remove or mitigate that injury or harm to health or safety or risk; and  

(d) whether the cost of preventing, removing or mitigating that injury or harm to health or safety or that risk is prohibitive in the circumstances.  

As the risk increases, it is reasonable to increase substantially the time, effort and cost needed to reduce or eliminate that risk.  

General duties of care are central to the legislation, requiring all workplace participants to take practicable steps to ensure health and safety measures are met. Each person under a duty must satisfy it, even if other persons also have a similar duty.  

The duties set out in the Act have always existed under common law.  

The details of the duty of care as it applies to all people in the workplace, which may influence the provision and maintenance of a safe and healthy workplace, are detailed in Section 9 of the Act.