OHS orders

Overview

The OHS Act gives officers authority to issue orders, which requires work site parties to take measures that result in compliance with the OHS legislation.

Orders are documented on a contact report. The contact report identifies:

the section of legislation the order is issued under
officer observations
what a regulated party has to do to be compliant with legislation
the date compliance has to be achieved by

Contact reports must be posted at a work site until all orders in the contact report are complied.

Types of orders

Compliance orders

Compliance orders note an observed non-compliance, and require action by a specific date. In some circumstances, OHS may grant an extension for compliance.

Stop use orders

Officers have authority to stop use of equipment that’s observed to be unsafe, or that has the potential, in the officer’s opinion, to seriously injure workers. A stop use order is lifted when the requirements of the order are met.

Stop work orders

When an OHS officer observes that work is being done in an unhealthy or unsafe manner for workers, the officer may issue a stop work order. This order requires that work is stopped immediately, and may apply to an entire work site, multiple work sites, or to certain activities or areas of a work site. A stop work order is lifted when the requirements of the order are met.

Director’s orders

OHS directors have additional authorities above those of an OHS officer. These include but are not limited to:

stopping work on a project
establishing a code of practice
establishing a health and safety program
requiring a prime contractor, contractor, owner, employer, supervisor or self-employed person to carry out regular work site inspections, as specified by the director
filing notice of new projects

In case of any inconsistency between this information and the OHS Act, Regulation or Code, the legislation will always prevail.

Orders may be issued to any of the work site parties described in Part 1 of the OHS Act.

Request a review of an OHS order or decision

As an employer, worker or affected party, you can ask OHS to review an order or decision made by an OHS Officer. Find out how to request a review of an OHS order or decision.