Workplace Health and Safety Amendment Act 2009 (TAS)

The case involved a challenge to the Workplace Health and Safety Amendment Act 2009 (TAS). The primary legal issue was whether the Act, which granted certain rights and responsibilities to OHS access cardholders, was compatible with the common law rights of property owners and occupiers. Specifically, the court had to determine if the statutory rights granted to OHS access cardholders under the Act intruded upon the common law rights of property owners and occupiers to exclude others from their property without reasonable cause.

The court reasoned that while the common law does indeed grant property owners and occupiers the right to exclude others, this right is not absolute and can be subject to statutory limitations where necessary for the public good. The court found that the Act's provisions, which were designed to improve workplace health and safety by enabling authorised representatives to enter workplaces to discuss health and safety issues, represented a valid exercise of legislative power. The court concluded that the Act's restrictions on the common law rights of exclusion were justified as they pursued a legitimate public interest goal in a manner that was reasonable and proportionate.

The final orders of the court were that the Workplace Health and Safety Amendment Act 2009 (TAS) was valid and did not infringe upon the common law rights of property owners and occupiers to the extent permitted by the Act's provisions. The court found that the statutory rights granted to OHS access cardholders represented a legitimate exercise of legislative power for the public good, and that the limitations on common law rights of exclusion were reasonable and proportionate to the objective of improving workplace health and safety.