Activities that are purely domestic, social, recreational or private in nature are not included. Whether an activity is considered work may depend on specific circumstances. The following criteria may help determine if an activity is work under the Work Health and Safety (WHS) Act:
the activity involves physical or mental effort or the application of particular skills for the benefit of someone else or for themselves (if self employed), whether or not for profit or payment
activities where someone would ordinarily be paid may be considered work
activities that are part of an ongoing process or project may be work if some of the activities are paid
an activity may be more likely to be work if someone is managed or controlled by another person when they undertake that activity
formal, structured or complex arrangements may be considered to be work than ad hoc or unorganised activities.
The activity may be work even though one or more of the criteria are absent or minor.
Examples of activities that are not considered work include:
running a game of tag with children as a volunteer leader
teaching a group of children how to light a camp fire safely, or
leading bush walks with a group of young people on a weekend.
Examples of activities that may be considered work include: