The obligation
Officers of a PCBU must exercise due diligence to ensure the PCBU complies with its WHS duties.
Section 27 imposes a positive personal duty on officers (directors, partners, executives with significant influence) to exercise due diligence. Due diligence includes: acquiring and updating WHS knowledge; understanding operations and hazards; ensuring resources and processes are in place; receiving/considering/acting on incident information; and verifying compliance processes. The duty is not transferable and cannot be discharged by delegation.
- What
- Officers of a PCBU must exercise due diligence to ensure the PCBU complies with its WHS duties.
- Source
- legislation.wa.gov.au
description
Full analysis
lock
Free account
tips_and_updates
What this means for you
lock
Free account
lock_open
Read the full analysis, tailored to your industry
- star
Impact summary tailored to your industry
- check_circle
Full plain-English analysis of what changed
- check_circle
Email alerts & digests when this law changes
- check_circle
Compliance self-assessment tools
Labels
officer
due diligence
director liability
Official sources
Frequently asked questions
Which WHS law does this come from?
Officer due diligence duty is a WHS requirement set out in Work Health and Safety Act 2020 (WA). The relevant provision is Work Health and Safety Act 2020 (WA) > Part 2 > Division 4 § s 27.
What does this WHS obligation require?
Officer due diligence duty is a WHS obligation under Work Health and Safety Act 2020 (WA). In short, Officers of a PCBU must exercise due diligence to ensure the PCBU complies with its WHS duties.
What changed recently?
Officer due diligence duty was last updated on 8 October 2026.