WHS Act section 27, plain-English definition from TheAICommand
← Glossary
Reference

What is section 27 of the WHS Act?

Section 27 of the WHS Act 2011 is the officer duty. Where a business has a work health and safety duty, its officers must exercise due diligence to ensure the business complies. Subsection 27(5) sets out six reasonable steps, ending with a duty to verify.

Quick answer

Section 27 of the WHS Act 2011 requires an officer of a person conducting a business or undertaking to exercise due diligence to ensure the business complies with its work health and safety duties. Subsection 27(5) defines due diligence to include six kinds of reasonable step, from keeping knowledge current through to verifying resources and processes.

Verified against the current authoritative text on by the editorial team at TheAICommand.

This page is an educational summary for professionals working with AI. It is not the law and not legal advice. Always work from the current authoritative text linked below.

What does section 27 do?

Section 27, headed "Duty of officers", attaches a personal duty to the people who direct a business. Under subsection 27(1), where a person conducting a business or undertaking has a duty or obligation under the Act, an officer of that business must exercise due diligence to ensure the business complies with it. Subsection 27(5) then defines due diligence by listing six kinds of reasonable step, running from keeping work health and safety knowledge current, through resourcing and incident response processes, to verifying that those resources and processes are provided and used. Read the current compilation on the Federal Register of Legislation.

Who does it bind?

Officers personally, not the business. The duty exists because the business has one, but subsection 27(4) allows an officer to be convicted whether or not the business is.

What do practitioners get wrong?

Stopping at paragraph 27(5)(e). The verification limb in paragraph 27(5)(f) is the one that distinguishes an officer who was told the controls work from an officer who checked. A briefing pack is evidence of reporting, not of verification. See the primary duty of care.

Where does AI use touch it?

Wherever a model sits between a hazard and an officer. If AI triages incident reports, paragraph 27(5)(d) still requires processes that respond in a timely way to that information, and paragraph 27(5)(f) requires the officer to verify the tool is actually used as described. See officer due diligence over AI work systems.

Bottom line

Section 27 makes assurance a personal obligation. The six steps are a checklist an officer can be asked to evidence, and the last one is the hardest to fake.

TheAICommand. Intelligence, At Your Command.

Frequently asked questions

What are the six due diligence steps?
Subsection 27(5) lists taking reasonable steps to acquire and keep up-to-date work health and safety knowledge, to understand the operations and their hazards and risks, to ensure appropriate resources and processes are available and used to eliminate or minimise risk, to ensure processes exist for receiving and responding to incident and hazard information, to ensure processes for complying with duties, and to verify all of that.
Is the officer's liability dependent on the business being prosecuted?
No. Subsection 27(4) states that an officer may be convicted or found guilty of an offence relating to a duty under section 27 whether or not the person conducting the business or undertaking has been convicted or found guilty of an offence relating to the underlying duty. The officer duty stands on its own.
Is the list in subsection 27(5) exhaustive?
No. The subsection says due diligence includes taking those reasonable steps, so the list is inclusive rather than closed. What is reasonable will also depend on the nature of the operations, which paragraph 27(5)(b) requires the officer to understand in the first place.
What does the verification step add?
Paragraph 27(5)(f) requires reasonable steps to verify the provision and use of the resources and processes referred to in paragraphs 27(5)(c) to (e). It converts assurance from a report the officer receives into something the officer tests, which is the limb most often missing from a board or executive pack.

Primary sources

Where s27 appears

← Back to the glossary

General information and education only. Not legal, compliance, financial, or professional advice. Always confirm obligations against the primary source and current regulator guidance.