Why are strata schemes exempt?

The WH&S laws treat owners and occupiers of residential units in the same way as owner occupiers of detached residential dwellings ie houses and any place where a worker is working is a ‘workplace’.
In general if the work is carried out from, or at, a person’s home:

• the person conducing the relevant business or undertaking owes general work health and safety duties to the worker
• the worker and other persons at the workplace must take reasonable care
• the owner/occupier of the home does not owe duties as the ‘person with management or control of the workplace’ unless the place is used as a nursing home, hospice or for similar purposes.

WH&S Manual

As a Risk Management strategy the Body Corporate instructs a Service Contractor, normally their On Site Manager or Caretaking Manager to maintain and operates a written set of procedures or templates that conforms to the above principles. See Helpful WH&S Documents below from Seymour Consulting for reference or downloading if needed.

WH&S Audits

Work Place Health and Safety audits can be conducted to establish then minimize risk a building or complex. Once the audit has been completed a Work Health and Safety Report is produced similar to the sample below.