Nicholas Beech

Special Counsel

Qualifications: BEc/LLB

Industries

Practices

Nicholas (Nick) is an experienced lawyer with specialist skills in workplace health and safety law. He has a particular focus on risk management, incident management, inquiries, incident related litigation, due diligence advice, and awareness and prevention matters.

Organisations in all industries, including mining, health, manufacturing, marine, construction, transport and retail, regularly call on Nick to urgently assist with all aspects of managing the response to workplace deaths and serious incidents from undertaking investigations and dealing with regulators through to defending prosecutions.

Nick has presented to many company boards on their work health and safety duties and the implementation of the modernised laws, published an article on the introduction of industrial manslaughter laws across Australia and guidance material on a range of WHS topics.

Experience

  • Acting in relation to work health and safety accidents and subsequent prosecutions including in relation to fatal accidents.
  • Advising on work health and safety incident and regulatory matters and compliance obligations, including in relation to psychosocial hazards and risks.
  • Acting in relation to an offshore incident investigation and Commission of Inquiry.
  • Advising organisations on the modernisation of work health and safety laws, including the changes to mining, petroleum and general industry laws under the Western Australian Work Health and Safety Act and Regulations.
  • Advising in relation to mine, rail, port and construction compliance matters.
  • Advising on and developing safety management systems, procedures, policies and training programs.
  • Undertaking safety audits and reviews.
  • Preparing and delivering in person and streamed training and guidance presentations on WHS duties and requirements to businesses and officers.

Awards and recognition

The Legal 500 Asia Pacific 2022
Recommended – Labour and employment
Doyle's Guide 2023 & 2024
Workplace Health & Safety – Western Australia

Professional Membership

  • Law Society of Western Australia

Latest thinking

Work Health & Safety | 15 Dec 2023

Engineered stone use to be banned from 1 July 2024

The use, supply and manufacture of all engineered stone will be prohibited, in most jurisdictions from 1 July 2024, following a meeting of Workplace Relations and Work Health and Safety Ministers.