Under the Western Australian Procurement Rules (Rule C2.6(1)) State agencies are required to establish processes to identify, analyse, allocate and manage risk when conducting procurement activities. Risks associated with work health and safety (WHS) is one class of risks that may be relevant.
State agencies and suppliers are also required to comply with applicable laws and regulations, including the Work Health and Safety Act 2020 (WA), the Work Health and Safety Regulations 2022 (WA) and mandatory codes of practice or guidelines relating to work health and safety.
This guideline is intended to support compliance with procurement policy and WHS laws in the context of goods and services, and community services procurements. The guideline provides an additional resource for agencies to use when they identify WHS risks as part of a procurement risk assessment.
The community services and goods and services Request templates and the General Conditions of Contract available on WA.gov.au have been updated to include clauses addressing WHS.
These clauses have also been included in the guideline so that agencies can adapt for use in other forms of procurement documents, or in a contract incorporating contract conditions other than the General Conditions of Contact. In these scenarios, agencies must review the content (including the definitions) for consistency with the relevant documentation and are encouraged to seek legal advice prior to finalising any documentation.
