Rights & Responsibilities

e-print e-mail

Transport Industry: Health, Safety and Welfare in the Workplace

Occupational Health and Safety

WorkCover NSW provides advice and information about workers compensation, rehabilitation of injured workers and occupational health and safety.

For further information, contact WorkCover NSW on 131 050.

Limitation of Driving Hours

Driving hours for heavy vehicles greater than 12 tonnes Gross Vehicle Mass (GVM) are limited by the Road Transport (Safety and Traffic Management) Act 1999 and the Road Transport (Safety and Traffic Management) (Driver Fatigue) Regulation 1999. 

For additional information, contact the Roads and Traffic Authority (RTA) on 132 213.

Workers Compensation

All employers are required by law to hold a workers compensation insurance policy from a licensed WorkCover insurer.  This covers any situation where they may be liable for compensation to an injured worker.

Discrimination

Discrimination in employment occurs when a person is unfairly treated at work or when seeking employment. The NSW Anti-Discrimination Act 1977 prohibits discrimination on the following grounds:

• sex
• pregnancy
• race, colour, ethnic or ethno-religious background, descent or nationality
• marital status
• disability (including past, present or future physical, intellectual or physical disability, learning difficulty or any organism capable of causing a disease, for example, HIV)
• homosexuality
• age
• transgender (anyone previously, currently, or anticipating living as a member of the opposite gender (sex) or their birth gender)
• carer's responsibilities

This includes being discriminated because the person has a relative or is an associate of a person who has one of the above characteristics.

Harassment

In general, harassment is any form of behaviour that:

• a person does not want
• offends, humiliates or intimidates
• targets a person because of their sex, pregnancy, race, marital status, disability, homosexuality, transgender, age or carer's responsibilities

Harassment is against the law if it happens in one of the following circumstances:

• in employment, when a person is applying for a job, or at any time during their employment
• accessing most types of goods or services, for example, from shops, pubs and entertainment places, banks, lawyers, government departments, doctors or hospitals
• renting or trying to rent accommodation, for example, a unit, commercial premises, hotel room, motel room or caravan
• applying to get into, or studying in, any state education institution, including state school, college, TAFE or university

For further information, contact the Anti-Discrimination Board on 1800 670 812 or 9268 5544.