Duty and execution are separate
The duty to comply sits with the employer and cannot be transferred. But carrying out the tracking is assigned to a role. Confusing the two produces errors in both directions: believing the duty was transferred, or expecting it to be discharged without anyone being assigned.
Who does what
| Area | Typical owner |
|---|---|
| OHS legislation | Safety specialist |
| Health surveillance | Occupational physician |
| Environment and waste | Environmental officer |
| Personal data | Legal / IT |
| Product and market requirements | Quality / technical |
The split varies by organisation; what does not vary is that it is written down.
Where an external service fits
A consultancy or subscription service makes tracking easier but does not close two steps: working out what it affects here and updating the affected records. Those happen inside, because only the organisation knows its own register and records.
Handover
When the owner leaves, tracking stops quietly. On handover the register, the open impact analyses and the list of watched sources should be transferred in writing.
Making it measurable
Two numbers show whether tracking works: how many changes were assessed in the period, and how many of them were closed. Zero assessments does not mean legislation stopped changing.