The term person conducting a business or undertaking or PCBU refers to the legal entity running the business or undertaking, and includes incorporated entities, sole traders, partners of a partnership and certain senior ‘officers’ of an unincorporated association. It also refers to the Commonwealth including its Departments, local governments and other government businesses and undertakings.
For the purposes of the anti-bullying provisions, a worker must be working in a constitutionally-covered business to be eligible to make an application. This means that not all PCBUs are covered by the anti-bullying provisions.
Public and private sector employers (including the self-employed) are the largest category of PCBU, but the term is broader and covers more than just employers – it includes principals that use contractors or subcontractors, franchisors and bailors.
A person (including a corporate entity)[1] may conduct a business or undertaking alone or with others,[2] and it is irrelevant whether the business or undertaking is conducted for profit or gain.[3]
The following are examples of what do not constitute a business or undertaking:
Volunteer associations (whether incorporated or not) that do not employ anyone, do not conduct a business or undertaking.[8] The Commission does not have power to deal with workplace bullying claims made by persons who may be at work in a volunteer association.
A volunteer association is a group of volunteers which acts together for one or more community purposes where none of the volunteers, either alone or jointly with any other volunteers, employs any person to carry out work for the volunteer association.[9]
‘Acting together for one or more community purpose’ includes ‘philanthropic or benevolent purposes, including the promotion of art, culture, science, religion, education, medicine or charity’ and ‘sporting or recreational purposes, including the benefiting of sporting or recreational clubs or associations’.[10]
If a person is employed to carry out work,[11] the volunteer association may be considered a business or undertaking.
[1] See Acts Interpretation Act 1901 (Cth) s.2C. Note: This Act as in force on 25 June 2009 applies to the Fair Work Act (see Fair Work Act s.40A).
[2] WHS Act s.5(1)(a).
[3] WHS Act s.5(1)(b).
[4] SafeWork Australia – Interpretive Guidelines to model WHS Act – The meaning of ‘person conducting a business or undertaking’, at p. 1.
[5] ibid.
[6] WHS Act s.5(5). It is however possible that an elected member could be an individual whose conduct could be relied upon as bullying behaviour under Fair Work Act s.789FD(1).
[7] WHS Act s.5(7).
[8] WHS Act s.5(7).
[9] WHS Act s.5(8).
[10] Explanatory Memorandum, Work Health and Safety Bill 2011 at para. 26.
[11] For a discussion on the difference between employees and contractors, see Hollis v Vabu Pty Ltd [2001] HCA 44 (9 August 2001) at paras 39–58, [(2001) 207 CLR 21]; Abdalla v Viewdaze Pty Ltd t/a Malta Travel PR927971 (AIRCFB, Lawler VP, Hamilton DP, Bacon C, 14 May 2003) at para. 34, [(2003) 122 IR 215]. See also On Call Interpreters and Translators Agency Pty Ltd v Federal Commissioner of Taxation (No. 3) [2011] FCA 366 (13 April 2011) at paras 188–220, [(2011) 206 IR 252]; Fair Work Ombudsman v Metro Northern Enterprise Pty Ltd [2013] FCCA 216 (7 May 2013) at paras 13–25.