HEALTH and SAFETY Manualpage 1

HEALTH AND SAFETY MANUALPage | 1

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HEALTH AND SAFETY MANUALPage | 1

Table of Contents

Introduction

Your Health and Safety Obligations

The legislation

Regulations

Codes of Practice

Standards

Employer Duties and Responsibilities

Employee Duties and Responsibilities

Penalties

What is Reasonably Practicable?

Workers Compensation and Rehabilitation

STEPS TO IMPLEMENT THIS SAFETY MANUAL

Implementing the Safety Manual

CHECKLIST WHS SYSTEMS IMPLEMENTATION

DOCUMENT CONTROL AND RECORD MANAGEMENT

CONSULTATION & COMMUNICATION

Consultation with workers

Consultation in A Real Estate Office

When should you consult?

Health and Safety Representatives and Committees

Health and safety committees

Wrap up – Consultation & Communication

HOW TO MANAGE WORK HEALTH AND SAFETY RISKS

Step 1 - Identifying Hazards

Training your workers in hazard identification

Working Alone

Step 2 - Assessing and Prioritising Risks

Step 3 - Controlling Risks

Field controls when working alone

Implementing controls for working alone

Implementing controls through Safe Operating Procedures

Step 4 - Reviewing Controls

Step 5 - Keeping Records

Training workers to identify, assess and control hazards/risks

Wrap up – Manage Work Health and Safety Risks

WHS POLICIES AND PROCEDURES

Prepare Your Policies

Distribute Draft Policies and Procedures for Consultation

Required Outcomes of Introducing Policies and Procedures

Wrap up – WHS Policies and Procedures

INDUCTION

TRAINING

Supervision

AUDITS AND INSPECTIONS

MANAGEMENT REVIEW

Introduction

Every business in Australia has its own unique set of business systems and models in place that guides the business operations.

Whilst most employers are aware of their health and safety responsibilities, many struggle to absorb the vast information contained within the legislation, regulations, codes, guides and standards and to apply the information in a practical way so as to achieve compliance and work towards the elimination or minimisation of health and safety risks in the workplace.

This manual is designed to assist businesses in the development of an effective safety management system with step by step guides on how to implement this system within their workplace.

Using the Plan Do Check Act (PDCA) method, this manual will step you through the activities that you will need to undertake to introduce a Safety Management System.

This manual addresses the key elements of a basic health and safety system requirements such as management commitment, consultation and communication, hazard and risk management, induction and training, emergency management, managing workplace injuries and return to work of injured workers whilst also providing a higher level support for the implementation of a Safety Management System.

Your Health and Safety Obligations

Employers have an obligation to ensure the health, safety and welfare of all workers including contractors and visitors in the course of their work. Each business is responsible for managing its work health and safety through appropriate management activities and by taking all reasonably practicable steps to comply with safety legislation.

In South Australiaand the Northern Territorythe legislative primary duty of care requires a person conducting a business or undertaking must ensure as far as reasonable practicable the health and safety of workers and as far as reasonable practicable that the safety of others is not put at risk. In addition a person with management or control of a workplace must ensure as far as is reasonable practicable the safety of people at that workplace.

The legislation

South Australia and the Northern Territory each have their own health and safety legislation that is based on national harmonisation of safety legislation across Australia.

South Australia - Work Health and Safety Act 2012

Northern Territory - Work Health and Safety (National Uniform Legislation) Act

In each state, the Safety Act is supported by Regulation, and in some cases incorporates Codes of Practice, Guides and Standards.

It is recommended that each business obtain a copy of the Act and Regulation and that any person with safety responsibility within the workplace familiarise themselves with the requirements set out in the legislation and regulations which are specific to their area of responsibility and the business.

If you are unsure about how the legislation, regulation to associated documents apply to your business contact REEF SA/NT on 08 8366 4310for assistance.

Regulations

Regulations are rules that are derived from legislation and generally provide detailed direction for legislative compliance. Compliance with regulations is mandatory.

South Australia -Work Health and Safety Regulations 2012

Northern Territory - Work Health and Safety (National Uniform Legislation) Regulations

Codes of Practice

Codes of Practice are not law but have the same force of law as a Regulation if it is expressly included.

Codes of Practice serve as a practical guide for employers to achieve compliance with the health and safety legislation.

Codes of practice that have been approved in each relevant state or territory should be followed unless an alternative system or action would provide better safety results (above and over the minimums in the Code of Practice). Codes of Practices are admissible in court proceedings.

If you believe an alternative action or approach outside of the Code of Practice would better achieve the health and safety results required, document why and we recommend you seek independent professional advice before proceeding.

Standards

Standards are documents that provide data, specification and procedures to ensure consistency and reliability in service and systems. Standards are not legislation although they have and may be referred to in legislation.

There are three different types of standards which are used in industries across Australia:

International Standards (generally ISOs and IECs)
Regional Standards (prepared for geopolitical regions)
National Standards (approved Australian Standards)

Employer Duties and Responsibilities

The most important duty in the safety legislation in the primary duty of a Person Conducting a Business or Undertaking (PCBU). The main responsibility for workplace health and safety ultimately rest on employers.

A PCBU includes:

A body corporate (company)
An unincorporated body
An association
A partnership (all partners are a PCBU)
Sole trader
Self-employed person

Primary duty of care of a PCBU

A PCBU mustso far as is reasonably practicable ensure the health and safety of workers and other persons.

A PCBU must ensure, so far as is reasonably practicable:

(a)the provisionandmaintenance ofa work environment without risks to health and safety; and

(b)the provision and maintenance of safeplant and structures; and

(c)the provision and maintenance of safe systems of work; and

(d)the safe use, handling and storage of plant, structures and substances; and

(e)the provision of adequate facilities for the welfare at work of workers in carrying out work for the business or undertaking, including ensuring access to those facilities; and

(f)the provision of any information, training, instruction or supervision that is necessary to protect all persons from risks to their health and safety arisingfrom work carried out as part of the conduct of the business or undertaking; and

(g)that the health of workersand the conditions at the workplace are monitored for the purpose of preventing illness or injury of workers arising from the conduct of the business or undertaking.

A self-employed person must ensure his or her own health and safety at work.

Directors and senior managers in a business are usually defined as officers in the safety legislation and have a personal duty to ensure the organisation complies with its health and safety duties.

An officer includes:

A director of a company
A secretary of a company
A person who makes, or participates in making decisions that affect the whole or substantial part of the organisation
A person who has a significant capacity to affect the financial standing of the organisation.

Duties not transferable

A duty cannot be transferred to another person. So if a duty of care rests with more than one person, they all become equally responsible. A person can have more than 1 duty by virtue of being in more than 1 class of duty holder.

More than one person can have the same duty

More than one person can concurrently have the same duty and each duty holder must comply with that duty.

Management of risks

(i)A duty holder must eliminate risks to health and safety so far as is reasonably practicable; and

(ii)If it is not reasonably practicable to eliminate the risk then the risk must be minimised so far as is reasonably practicable.

See the DEFINITIONS of what is “reasonably practicable”.

Can a PCBU or officer delegate tasks to workers?

A PCBU or officer can enlist the assistance of competent workers to help and assist but the PCBU or officer will always retain the responsibility for the WHS process or procedure. For example the PCBU could delegate the task to a competent worker to contact a training provider and make all the arrangements for fire warden and first aid training to have workers trained in the use of fire extinguishers but the PCBU will retain the responsibility that such training actually happens and the PCBU or officer has intimate knowledge of the processes or procedures.

Training for a PCBU and an officer

The PCBU and relevant officers of the business should arrange training for themselves as to their responsibilities under the WHS Act. REEF provides safety training from time to time, please refer to our training calendar.

Employee Duties and Responsibilities

All workers have a duty to co-operate with workplace policies and procedures, comply with reasonable instructions, to take reasonable care of their own health and safety and take reasonable care not to adversely affect the health and safety of other persons.

Labour-hire workers, contractor or sub-contractors,volunteers, and others in the workplace must comply with the workplace policies and procedures and generally share the same responsibilities as workers.

Penalties

Why must I comply with the WHS laws?

Other than a moral responsibility to protect the safety of workers under your responsibility, failure to comply with safety laws can result in various penalties. WHS inspectors under the safety legislation have express powers to enter workplaces to inspect the standards of health and safety. Should any non-compliance or risks be identified an inspector may issue a prohibition notice, improvement notice, non-disturbance notice, fines and initiate prosecutions.

Maximum penalties in SA & NT

Category 1 – Reckless conduct as defined:

•individual (other than a PCBU or an officer) $300,000 or 5 years gaol or both

•a person conducting a business or undertaking or an officer $600,000 or 5 years gaol or both

•a body corporate $3,000,000

Category 2 – failure to comply with health and safety duty as defined:

•individual (other than a PCBU or an officer) $150,000

•a person conducting a business or undertaking or an officer $300,000

•a body corporate $1,500,000

Category 3 – failure to comply with health and safety duty as defined:

•individual (other than a PCBU or an officer) $50,000

•a person conducting a business or undertaking or an officer $100,000

•a body corporate $500,000

What is Reasonably Practicable?

The summary below provides a guide as to what is reasonably practicable. Section 18 of both the Work Health & Safety Act 2010 (SA) and Work Health and Safety (National Uniform Legislation) Act (NT) provides a definition of what is reasonably practicable.

When considering what is reasonably practicable the legislator will take into account all relevant matters such as:

The likelihood of the hazard or risk occurring;
The extent of harm that has / will result from the hazard;
What the person knows or ought to have known about –

(i)About the hazard or risk; and

(ii)Ways to eliminate or minimise the impact of the hazard or risk; and

The availability and suitability of methods in which the risk could be eliminated or minimised; and
The costs associated with the available ways of eliminating or minimising the risk, including taking into consideration is the cost is grossly disproportionate to the risk.

Workers Compensation and Rehabilitation

If your business is not self-insured for workplace injuries and you employ workers you must register for workers compensation insurance. Penalties may apply if you fail to insure your business for workers compensation insurance.

Workers compensation insurance provides protection for your business in the event of a work related injury or illness. Employees are be entitled to compensation if they suffer a work related injury or illness. Each state and territory has its own set of legislation surrounding workers compensation. If your business operates across various states and/or territories, it is important you familiarise yourself with the requirements of that state and/or territory.

Although there may be some variances between jurisdictions, the key obligations are somewhat similar.

Employer obligations:

Obtain workers compensation insurance and keep it current at all times.
Make available to an injured employee the claim forms as soon as possible
Notify the insurer of a work related injury or illness as soon as practicable
Participate in the return to work program and make available suitable duties to the employee where practicable

Employee obligations:

Report a work related injury or illness to the employer as soon as possible
Complete and submit the claim form to the employer or directly to the insurer
Provide a prescribed work cover medical certificate to the employer or insurer and receipts for relevant treatment and medication
Participate in the rehabilitation and return to work activities (unless exempt), failure to participate may result in discontinuance of compensation benefits

HEALTH AND SAFETY MANUALPage | 1

STEPS TO IMPLEMENT THIS SAFETY MANUAL

Icons are used throughout this manual to provide quick and easy reference to matters that need attention. Below is a summary of the icons used through this manual.

Warning

This icon is a warning alert, be sure to read the warning so you understand the implications of the section or subject matter.

Checklist

This icon points you to the essential elements you need to address to successfully develop and implement your safety management system. The checklist is particularly useful in managing the implementation process as it breaks down key items that should be addressed for quick and easy reference.

Step By Step

This icon points you to the steps you need to take to successfully develop and implement the policies and procedures within this manual.

Information

This icon provides reference to any supporting information, legislation or applicable Australian Standards, the standards referred to are produced by Standards Australia an independent organisation. Visit for further information or to access copies of the standards.

SAFETY MANAGEMENT SYSTEM FLOW CHART

Implementing the Safety Manual

This manual is set out in four stages for action and implementation, Plan – Do – Check – Act (PDCA).

Stage 1 – Plan (Manual 1)

Planning and coordinating your approach to implementing this safety manual is necessary for the establishment of a successful and sustainable safety management system (see checklist on page 12). Pace yourself and develop a planned approach to implementing this safety manual. We estimate that by following the steps set out in this manual it would take 3 to 6 months to successfully implement it.

Implementing a safety management system is absolutely essential if management is committed to preventing workplace injuries and illness.

Stage 2 – Do (Manual 2)

At this stage, you would have already considered the needs of your business and developed a plan on what policies and procedures your business would need to establish a safety management system that meets the needs and objectives of the business. You will also have consulted with relevant stakeholders on the establishment of the safety management system.