Regulatory Compliance and Legislation
Regulatory questions test your grasp of the legal architecture rather than memorized section numbers. Understand the hierarchy: statutes (acts) set duties, regulations prescribe detailed requirements, and standards or codes of practice provide accepted ways of complying. Know the general duty clause concept, the reasonably practicable standard, and the internal responsibility system where employers and workers share duties. Distinguish prescriptive requirements (specific limits, mandatory equipment) from performance-based duties (maintain a safe workplace). Understand worker rights commonly embedded in OHS law: the right to know about hazards, the right to participate, and the right to refuse unsafe work, plus protection from reprisal.
Traps: assuming a code of practice is legally binding when it may only be evidentiary; confusing the employer's duty with the supervisor's or worker's duty; and forgetting that the most specific requirement governs when documents overlap. Jurisdictional variation is real, so questions often hinge on the principle rather than a precise number.
Rule of thumb: apply the hierarchy of controls to the law itself: the statute overrides the regulation, which overrides the standard, unless the standard is incorporated by reference. Worked example: a guideline recommends a chemical exposure limit lower than the regulation. The regulation is the legal minimum, but adopting the stricter guideline may be required to meet the general duty to protect health.