OHS Duties of Designers, Manufacturers and Suppliers of Plant in Victoria

You might be a duty holder twice over

Most Victorian manufacturers think of the Occupational Health and Safety Act 2004 (Vic) in one direction: as an employer, running a factory, keeping their own people safe under sections 21 to 26. That's the duty everyone knows about.

But if your business also designs, manufactures or supplies plant to other businesses — a fabricator who builds custom conveyors, jigs, guarding, presses or bespoke machinery and sells or hires it out — you carry a second, separate set of duties under the same Act. These sit in Part 3, in the sections dealing with plant, substances and structures supplied for use at a workplace: sections 27, 29 and 30 (section 28 covers designers of buildings and structures; section 31 covers those who install, erect or commission plant).

These duties are independent of your duties as an employer. You can run a spotless factory and still breach section 29 if a machine you built and sold to another manufacturer turns out unsafe because you didn't test it properly, or didn't pass on the right safety information.

Section 27 – if you design plant

Under section 27 of the OHS Act, a person who designs plant must:

• ensure, so far as is reasonably practicable, that the plant is designed to be safe and without risks to health when used for the purpose it was designed for
• carry out (or arrange) whatever testing and examination is necessary to be satisfied of that
• provide adequate information about the purpose the plant was designed for, the results of testing, and any conditions necessary for safe use
• give that information, on request, to anyone who has the plant for use

A breach is an indictable offence, able to be heard summarily under the Criminal Procedure Act 2009, with a maximum of 1800 penalty units for an individual or 9000 for a body corporate.

This is separate from section 28, which covers designers of buildings or structures intended as a workplace — a different, lower-penalty duty (500/2500 units) aimed at architects and building designers, not machinery designers.

Section 29 – if you manufacture plant

Section 29 applies to a manufacturer of plant or a substance who knows, or ought reasonably to know, it will be used at a workplace. The manufacturer must:

• ensure, so far as is reasonably practicable, that it's manufactured to be safe and without risks to health
• carry out or arrange necessary testing and examination
• provide adequate information about its intended purpose, test results and conditions needed for safe use
• supply that information to users or prospective users on request

Same penalty range as section 27: 1800/9000 penalty units, indictable but able to be dealt with summarily.

The practical point: if you design and build the plant, you're both the designer and the manufacturer under the Act, and both duties apply to the one job.

Section 30 – if you supply plant

Section 30 catches suppliers — anyone who supplies plant or a substance for use at a workplace, whether or not they designed or made it. A supplier must:

• ensure, so far as is reasonably practicable, that the plant or substance is safe and without risks to health if used for the purpose it was designed, manufactured or supplied for
• provide adequate information about that purpose and any conditions necessary for safe use
• give that information, on request, to a person who has the plant or substance for use

Subsection (2) carves out finance-only companies: a company that finances the purchase without taking possession or control isn't the "supplier" — the actual supplier carries the duty. Penalty scale again: 1800/9000 units, indictable/summary.

Build a custom machine and sell, lease or hire it to another manufacturer, and you're a supplier under section 30 as well as a designer and manufacturer.

Role	Section	Core requirement	Max penalty (individual / corporate)
Designer of plant	s.27	Design safe SFARP; test; provide info	1800 / 9000 units
Designer of a workplace building/structure	s.28	Design safe SFARP	500 / 2500 units
Manufacturer of plant/substance	s.29	Manufacture safe SFARP; test; provide info	1800 / 9000 units
Supplier of plant/substance	s.30	Ensure safe for intended use; provide info	1800 / 9000 units
Installer/erector of plant	s.31	Installation doesn't make plant unsafe	—

Why this is easy to miss

Manufacturers caught by Division 2 rarely think of themselves as "designers" or "suppliers" — they think of themselves as a fabrication shop or engineering business that occasionally builds equipment for a client. But the duties attach to the role you play on that job, not to how the business describes itself. Draw up the plans for a custom jig, build it, and sell it to another factory, and you've performed all three roles on one transaction.

It also comes up with modifications. Substantially rework an existing machine — change its intended use, alter guarding, re-purpose it — before passing it on, and you should treat yourself as carrying manufacturer and supplier duties for the modified plant, because you're now responsible for its safety in its new form. That's the mirror image of our guide to buying second-hand machinery in Victoria, which covers the buyer's duty to check a machine before putting it to work. Division 2 is the seller's side of that transaction.

If the plant you design, manufacture or supply falls on WorkSafe's high-risk list, there may also be design registration requirements — see our guide to registrable plant in Victoria.

Practical next steps

1. Map your roles, not just your product. For anything you design, build or sell to another business, work out which of sections 27, 29 and 30 apply — often all three.
2. Keep a design safety file. Records of testing done and why you're satisfied the design is safe so far as reasonably practicable are your evidence later.
3. Send information with the plant, not just on request. An operating and safety sheet — intended purpose, test results, conditions for safe use — should travel with every unit.
4. Check registration before you sell. Some categories of plant need their design registered with WorkSafe before supply.
5. Treat substantial modifications as a new manufacture. Don't rely on the original manufacturer's information if you've reworked the machine — you're now responsible for its safety in its new form.

Victoria also runs its own Act, not the national model: Safe Work Australia confirms the model WHS laws are in force in every jurisdiction except Victoria. Supply plant interstate too, and you shouldn't assume the two frameworks impose identical obligations.

FAQ

Does section 27 or 29 only apply to businesses whose main trade is manufacturing machinery? No. The duty attaches to designing or manufacturing plant that will be used at a workplace, not to how the business is categorised. A fabrication or engineering business that builds custom equipment for a client is performing the role of designer and manufacturer for that job, regardless of what else it does.

I only occasionally sell or hire out equipment I've built for my own use — does section 30 still apply? If you supply plant for use at a workplace, by sale, lease or hire, section 30 applies to that supply. It doesn't matter whether supplying equipment is a regular part of your business or a one-off.

What's the difference between my duties as an employer and my duties under sections 27, 29 and 30? Employer duties (broadly sections 21–26) cover people in your own workplace. Sections 27, 29 and 30 are separate duties that apply because of the role you play — designer, manufacturer or supplier — in relation to plant that ends up at someone else's workplace. Meeting one set doesn't mean you've met the other.

If I modify a used machine before reselling it, do I take on manufacturer duties? The Act sets out no specific test for this. Treat it as a practical risk question: if the modification changes how the plant is used or how safe it is, assume you carry the same design and manufacturer-style duties as if you'd built it new. See our second-hand machinery guide for the buyer's side.

What are the penalties for breaching these sections? Breaching sections 27, 29 or 30 is an indictable offence, able to be dealt with summarily under the Criminal Procedure Act 2009, with a maximum of 1800 penalty units for an individual and 9000 for a body corporate. The dollar value of a penalty unit is indexed each financial year, so check the current figure before relying on it in a specific case.

If your business designs, builds or supplies plant to other Victorian workplaces as well as running its own, it's worth having someone independently check your design records, testing and safety information against these duties before WorkSafe or a customer's insurer asks first. Book a site assessment with Ardmor.

This article is general information for Victorian manufacturers, not legal advice. Last updated: 20 September 2026.