Document ID: chunk:federal_register_of_legislation:F2016L00422:body:0:p2
Version: federal_register_of_legislation:F2016L00422
Segment Type: other
Provision Reference: 
Character Range: 2621–5435

duties in the WHS Act, in relation to the subject matter of the code. Like regulations, codes of practice deal with particular issues and do not cover all hazards or risks that may arise. The health and safety duties require duty holders to consider all risks associated with work, not only those for which regulations and codes of practice exist.

Codes of practice are admissible in court proceedings under the WHS Act and Regulations. Courts may regard a code of practice as evidence of what is known about a hazard, risk or control and may rely on the code in determining what is reasonably practicable in the circumstances to which the code relates.

Compliance with the WHS Act and Regulations may be achieved by following another method, such as a technical or an industry standard, if it provides an equivalent or higher standard of work health and safety than the code.

An inspector may refer to an approved code of practice when issuing an improvement or prohibition notice.

This Code of Practice has been developed by Safe Work Australia as a model code of practice under the Council of Australian Governments' Inter-Governmental Agreement for Regulatory and Operational Reform in Occupational Health and Safety for adoption by the Commonwealth, state and territory governments.

Scope and application
This Code provides practical guidance on how to manage health and safety risks of plant once it is in the workplace, from plant installation, commissioning and use through to decommissioning and dismantling.
This Code provides practical guidance to persons who conduct a business or undertaking and have management or control of plant in the workplace, as well as to persons who install and commission plant. It includes information about specific control measures required under the WHS Regulations for plant generally. Other approved codes of practice on various types of plant may also be referenced.
The Code of Practice: Safe design, manufacture, import and supply of plant provides further guidance for persons conducting a business or undertaking involved in these activities.

How to use this Code of Practice
In providing guidance, the word 'should' is used in this Code to indicate a recommended course of action, while 'may' is used to indicate an optional course of action.
This Code also includes various references to provisions of the WHS Act and Regulations which set out the legal requirements. These references are not exhaustive. The words 'must', 'requires' or 'mandatory' indicate that a legal requirement exists and must be complied with.

1. INTRODUCTION

Plant is a major cause of workplace death and injury in Australian workplaces. There are significant risks associated with using plant and severe injuries can result from the unsafe use of plant including:
    * limbs