PCBU
Also known as: Person Conducting a Business or Undertaking
PCBU stands for Person Conducting a Business or Undertaking — the primary duty-holder under model WHS legislation in Australia. It is broader than “employer”: a PCBU can be a company, a sole trader, a partnership or an unincorporated association, and the duty applies whether or not workers are paid.
Legal context
PCBU is the central duty-holder concept introduced by the model Work Health and Safety Acts (mirrored across Qld, NSW, Vic from 2024, SA, WA, Tas, ACT and NT). Under s19 of the model WHS Act, a PCBU has a primary duty of care to ensure, so far as is reasonably practicable, the health and safety of workers and other persons at the workplace. The concept deliberately replaces the older "employer" framing so the duty captures arrangements where there is no traditional employment relationship — labour-hire, contractors, volunteers, charities, and gig-work platforms are all captured. Multiple PCBUs can have concurrent duties for the same worker on the same site; consultation, cooperation and coordination duties (s46) require them to work together rather than each holding a private duty.
Practical use
Practically, if you run a business, you are a PCBU and the duty is non-delegable: you cannot contract it out. Officers (directors, executives) hold a separate due-diligence duty under s27. The PCBU label is what an inspector will use on a notice and what a court will use on an indictment.
Regulator references
The binding-law and regulator-guidance sources behind this term.
Common questions
Is a sole trader a PCBU?
Yes. A sole trader is a PCBU under the model WHS Act, even with no employees. The duty applies to anyone whose work or activities the sole trader influences or directs, including themselves.
Can there be more than one PCBU for the same work?
Yes. Where multiple businesses have duties for the same matter (e.g. a principal contractor and a subcontractor on the same site), each is a PCBU and each must consult, cooperate and coordinate with the others under s46.
Does Victoria use the PCBU concept?
Victoria adopted the model WHS Act in 2024. Under the prior OHS Act 2004 regime, the equivalent term was "employer" — older Victorian documents still using "employer" need updating to "PCBU" where they apply to the post-2024 regime.
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Related terms
Officer
An officer for WHS purposes is a director, secretary, or person who participates in decisions that affect a substantial part of the business — adopted from the Corporations Act 2001 definition. Officers carry the personal due-diligence duty under s27 of the model WHS Act.
Worker
Under the model WHS Act (s7), a "worker" is anyone who carries out work in any capacity for a PCBU — employees, contractors and their workers, labour-hire staff, apprentices, trainees, work-experience students, volunteers and the PCBU itself if it is an individual doing work. The definition is deliberately broad.
Due diligence (officer)
Officer due diligence is the personal duty owed by officers (directors, CEOs, executives) under s27 of the model WHS Act. It is six steps: acquire knowledge, understand operations, ensure resources, ensure incident response, ensure compliance with duties, and verify all the above.
Primary duty of care
The primary duty of care (model WHS Act s19) is a PCBU's overarching duty to ensure, so far as is reasonably practicable, the health and safety of workers and other persons at the workplace. It is the foundation duty from which most other WHS obligations flow.
Reasonably practicable
Reasonably practicable is the qualifier on almost every WHS duty: it means doing what can reasonably be done in the circumstances, having regard to the likelihood of harm, the degree of harm, what is known about the hazard, the availability and suitability of controls, and the cost of controls. Cost is always the last factor.
Platform pillars
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47 WHS and HSWA terms with legal context, FAQs and regulator references.