WINDOWS Magazine Winter 2013 | Page 18

wh&s|maureen kyne Development of effective workplace solutions for AWA members • kms solutions • The AWA have begun preliminary discussions with a company that can deliver services and systems to monitor and maintain compliance to support business objectives, determine proper legal and ethical behaviour and alert management to dangers of non-compliance to minimise legal and financial exposure. Work Health and Safety (WHS) and Industry Relations (IR) compliance can be an absolute minefield for businesses. The discussions between Klient Management Solutions (KMS) and the AWA will hopefully bring an effective solution for AWA members. Maureen Kyne is the Managing KMS have agreed to write relevant and important WHS updates for the Windows magazine and will be conducting a workshop at Fenestration Australia 2013 in Canberra. This article is a reminder of the Director of KMS. If you require further assistance please call on 1300 136 146 or visit on www. kmsolutions.com.au k There is the old saying, ‘there are two things certain in this world, death and taxes,’ but owning a business in the 21st century adds one more to this saying, ‘safety compliance’. The adoption of the WHS Act commenced on 1 January 2012 in Queensland, New South Wales and the Australian Capital Territory while the Northern Territory, South Australia and Tasmania implemented the WHS laws on 1 January this year. Victoria and Western Australia have deferred the commencement and are working through a range of processes to settle on a date for implementation. The most significant shake-up to the WHS laws is that business owners and managers will be personally liable for the health and safety of their workers. This places an obligation on senior management and directors to exercise due diligence to ensure their company complies with its various obligations. The laws apply to any person conducting a business, no matter how small or large. The level of safety varies from business to business - depending on the tasks undertaken, so an office environment will have far less safety issues