The draft Code of practice, Person overboard – prevention and response, has been developed by the Work Health and Safety Commission. The Code builds on the transitional code of practice, Man overboard: prevention and response, developed under the Occupational Safety and Health Act 1984, and incorporates new requirements following the introduction of the Work Health and Safety Act 2020 (WHS Act).
The Code assists a person conducting a business or undertaking to meet the requirements of the WHS Act and associated regulations in relation to work carried out on commercial vessels. The Code also provides guidance on:
- safe systems of work to prevent person overboard situations
- effective emergency measures to minimise the risks of injury, harm or death in the event of a person overboard incident
- risk management processes to address potential hazards and risks in relation to a person overboard situation.
The WHS Act provides for the approval, variation and revocation of codes of practice by the Minister for Industrial Relations. Under section 275 of the WHS Act, the Minister may only approve a code of practice if it was developed by a process involving consultation between the unions and employer organisations.
Getting involved
The Work Health and Safety Commission is now inviting public submissions on the draft Code of practice, Person overboard – prevention and response.
Please use the cover sheet and feedback template to submit your comments to wspublications@lgirs.wa.gov.au.
Unless advised by the submitter, all submissions may be collectively made available to the public in a consultation summary. Published submissions will be verbatim with the submitter listed. Submissions close: 5.00 pm AWST, Friday 20 March 2026.
Next step
After submissions close, the next step will involve the review of your feedback. The Commission will consider all submissions when finalising the code of practice.
Publication
Codes of practice are approved by the Minister and then gazetted. WorkSafe will then publish the code on its website and promote through news alerts.
