Operation Sovereign Borders personnel exempted from workplace protection
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Version 0 of 1. Defence personnel involved in Operation Sovereign Borders have been exempted from key workplace protections to take reasonable care for the health and safety of themselves and of others because of the “hazardous and uncertain” environment of border operations. The chief of the defence force, David Hurley, issued a declaration at the end of December excluding defence officers from the operation of several sections of the 2011 Work Health and Safety Act. “The declaration limits the extent to which certain individuals, not having a sufficient degree of control in the exceptional circumstances under consideration, can be held personally criminally responsible for any incidents which may occur, and removes requirements relating to site preservation which would be extremely and impracticably onerous, or impossible, under the circumstances of the operation,” the declaration, which was first reported by Fairfax media, says. It goes on to say that “potential mishaps” could result from the operation. It says: “This does not mean that the right to safe workplaces is abandoned in Operation Sovereign Borders. Commonwealth officials and agents of the commonwealth engaged in activities under Operation Sovereign Borders will be appropriately trained and equipped to intercept, board and control vessels, and control and potentially transfer the illegal maritime arrivals therein, in a safe and secure manner.” The declaration also said it was compatible with Australia’s human rights obligations, but was required because officers needed to work “in a hazardous, uncertain and high-tempo operational environment, having to potentially board and control vessels, and control and transfer uncooperative persons”. At a press conference on Wednesday, the immigration minister, Scott Morrison, said the same obligations were in place for the government, but that the move would help protect individual officers. “Those changes do not change the legal obligations of the government. The same obligations remain in place. What it does is protect the individual officers from any liability,” he said. “The government takes responsibility for the policies it is enacting. We ask much of the people that go out there to protect our borders.” There have been declarations before that exempt defence personnel from some parts of the Work Health and Safety Act. An earlier declaration was made in December 2012 under the Labor government to exempt defence personnel from a number of different workplace laws. The Department of Defence and the minister’s office did not respond to questions about the new declaration. Our editors' picks for the day's top news and commentary delivered to your inbox each morning. |