Work Health and Safety Laws and Professional Sport: New Zealand and Australia Compared

(2016) 11 Australian and New Sports Law Journal 1-25

21 Pages Posted: 14 Aug 2018

See all articles by Eric Windholz

Eric Windholz

Monash University - Faculty of Law

Date Written: 2016

Abstract

This article examines the application of New Zealand and Australian work health and safety (‘WHS’) laws to professional sport. After briefly discussing the origins and structure of both countries’ WHS laws, the article explains how statutory WHS duties operate for the benefit of workers and the public and, in the professional sporting context, sportspersons and spectators. The article then focuses on a number of areas of complexity in the application of the laws to professional sport. These include: applying the duties to situations where multiple people owe concurrent and overlapping duties; what constitutes work and a workplace; and the extent to which risks inherent in many sports moderate WHS duties. The article concludes by distilling a number of lessons for those involved with professional sports, and those who advise them.

Keywords: Sport, OHS, Workplace Safety

JEL Classification: K32

Suggested Citation

Windholz, Eric, Work Health and Safety Laws and Professional Sport: New Zealand and Australia Compared (2016). (2016) 11 Australian and New Sports Law Journal 1-25, Available at SSRN: https://ssrn.com/abstract=3222464

Eric Windholz (Contact Author)

Monash University - Faculty of Law ( email )

Wellington Road
Clayton, Victoria 3800
Australia

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