Abstract
The high cost of major hazard facility (MHF) accidents, in terms of loss of lives, serious injuries, loss of production and associated cost of reputation and legal costs, require major hazard facilities to operate in a regulated regime designed to control major accidents. The Australian goal-setting regulatory regime is characterised by fragmentation in terms of jurisdiction, administration, reporting of near misses and classification of MHFs. Implementation of MHF regulation falls to the control of State and Federal jurisdictions, leading to some inconsistency in interpretations, as well as the additional complexity of process and high cost of developing Safety Case documentation. Specifically, this expansive rework on compliance activities impacts on all national/ international concerns that have operations in multiple states and thereby consequential exposure to higher expenses and competitive disadvantages. The discussions in this paper include: a basic comparison of MHF regulatory framework applied in different Australian jurisdictions and the impact of proposed harmonisation of Australian OHS legislation on reducing the risk of major accidents at MHFs.
