Question: Does our body corporate need an annual WHS inspection if there’s no business activity on common property and no employees?
Our small complex of townhouses has no business activities on the common property, and the body corporate has no employees. We believe this means we have no obligation to have an annual Work, Health and Safety inspection.
It has been suggested that if some lot owners work from home or if lots are short-term rented through platforms like Airbnb, an inspection may be necessary. Is this correct, or does the legislation only apply to the common property?
Answer: No body corporate has a direct obligation to obtain an annual WHS inspection, but it may be best practice and, for body corporates that are a PCBU, there may be an indirect obligation.
There are no schemes which have a direct obligation to obtain an annual Work, Health and Safety inspection.
It is often best practice to do so because it can identify risks on the common property that can then be addressed and mitigated. For some schemes, which are a PCBU (usually when a letting agent is engaged), there may be an indirect obligation to obtain such a report to discharge the committee members’ obligations to exercise due diligence in managing the common property.
This post appears in Strata News #795.
Todd Garsden Mahoneys E: tgarsden@mahoneys.com.au P: 07 3007 3753
