Do you work with other businesses? You have duties to all workers and others affected by your work, not just those you directly employ or engage.
Under the Health and Safety at Work Act 2015 (HSWA) operators must pay attention to overlapping duties between multiple PCBUs (Person Conducting a Business or Undertaking).
All businesses must, so far as is reasonably practicable, coordinate their activities with other businesses when there are overlapping duties in relation to workplace health and safety.
PCBUs of two or more entities working on the same operation have to consult to ensure they jointly manage safety.
For instance, a farmer is the PCBU of their business, and the manager of an agricultural aviation operation is the PCBU of theirs. They have to get together and discuss how safety will be managed in the air, and on the ground, during the operation. This will help you establish clear roles, responsibilities and actions for managing risks for workers, preventing gaps and duplication.
Your business cannot contract out of its duties, however you can enter reasonable relationships with other businesses to meet your duties. Note that your business still retains the responsibility to meet its own duties. Businesses should also monitor each other to ensure everyone is doing what they agreed.
Where there are overlapping duties, the extent of each business’s responsibility to carry out their duties will depend on the ability your business has to influence and control the health and safety risk. So the more influence and control your business has to manage a health and safety matter, the more responsibility you are likely to have. A business with less control or influence may fulfil their responsibilities by making arrangements with the business with the higher level of influence and control.
WorkSafe has more information about overlapping duties(external link).
WorkSafe's(external link) quick guide to overlapping duties.
