The Vehicle Industry Occupational Health and Safety Award, 1986

Before 1986 the regulation of occupational health and safety fell solely within the domain of the states, both through legislation and the activities of state inspectorates. This pattern of regulation was broken in 1986 with the making of the Vehicle Industry Occupational Health and Safety Award by the Australian Conciliation and Arbitration Commission. This article examines the enforcement provisions of the award, and, in particular, the extent to which these provide lower standards of regulation than the provisions of the Victorian Occupational Health and Safety Act, 1985. An examination of the award also discloses a complex interphase of activity between state inspectorates, which will have certain residual activities under state legislation not affected by the award, and members of the federal Arbitration Inspectorate, who have the task of enforcing the award. The article concludes that the federal inspectorate has neither the resources nor the expertise to properly enforce an award regulating occupational health and safety