1.6 Workplace Health and Safety

The Workplace Health and Safety Act 1995 and Regulation seeks to promote and secure the health and safety of everyone at the workplace. By focusing on the management of health and safety at work and emphasising accident prevention, the Act requires employers, employees and others to take appropriate measures to ensure a healthy and safe workplace.

Workplace health and safety can generally be managed by:

1. identifying hazards;
2. assessing these hazards to determine the possible risk of injury;
3. deciding upon and implementing control measures to remove or minimise the risk level of injury; and
4. monitoring and reviewing the effectiveness of these control measures.

Employer's responsibilities

An employer has an obligation to ensure the workplace health and safety of each of the workers at work.

The employer also has an obligation to ensure that their workplace health and safety and the health and safety of others is not affected by the way in which the employer conducts their business.

Employee's responsibilities

An employee or anyone else at the workplace has the following obligations:

1. to comply with the instructions given for workplace health and safety at the workplace by the employer;
2. to use personal protective equipment if the equipment is provided by the employer and the employee is properly instructed in its use;
3. not to wilfully or recklessly interfere with or misuse anything provided for workplace health and safety at the workplace;
4. not to wilfully place at risk the workplace health and safety of any person at the workplace; and
5. not to wilfully injure him or herself.

Contact Officer

Manager, Human Resources, Ministerial Services ph: 3224 4255

Identification of hazards

Employees are encouraged to participate in the development and maintenance of workplace health and safety in the office.

Employees are in the best position to identify health and safety hazards in the workplace. Examples of hazards that might be observed include:

• Blocked corridors and walkways;
• Uneven or wet and slippery walking surfaces;
• Access to fire fighting appliances obstructed;
• Access to emergency exits obstructed;
• Excessive use of power boards and extension leads;
• Computer and or electrical leads across the floor or hanging behind desks or from the ceiling etc;
• Sharp objects or edges exposed;
• The possibility of hands, hair or clothes etc getting caught in office machinery;
• Chemical hazards.

Employees are not only in the best position to identify problems in the workplace, in most instances they are most capable of identifying appropriate control measures such as:

• Elimination - this is the most effective control measure.
• Substitution - this involves replacing the hazardous material or process with a safer one;
• Redesign - work processes and equipment can often be redesigned to reduce or eliminate risk;
• Separation - control by Separation involves isolating the hazard from the person, or the person from the hazard.
• Administrative - involves limiting the duration or conditions of the exposure. (e.g. organise job rotations).

Any employee who has a concern with the health and safety of the workplace or any workplace activities is responsible for raising the concern with the Manager, Human Resources, Ministerial Services.

Procedures

All accidents/incidents, workplace injuries, work caused illnesses are to be notified immediately to the Manager, Human Resources, Ministerial Services using the Incident Report form. See Appendix 20 Workplace Health and Safety Report.

Last reviewed: 17 July, 2009

Last updated: 22 July, 2009

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