Understanding Workplace Health and Safety

Health and safety at work – there’s no compromise.

Did you know that in Australia, most work-related injuries are caused by body stress, falls, slips, trips, and being hit by moving objects? And that work-related mental health conditions are on the rise, with time off work in these cases being more than four times longer than for physical injuries?

In Australia, everyone has the right to a healthy and safe workplace, so it’s essential that you’re aware of your responsibilities and obligations as an employer. Whether you’re in charge of a small business or work in a large corporation, health and safety is an area that should always be taken seriously.

For additional guidance, our webinar on Understanding Workplace Health and Safety in Australia provides a comprehensive overview.

Disclaimer: The information in this webinar is relevant as at 14 March 2024, and has been prepared by Employment Hero Pty Ltd ABN (11 160 047 709) (Employment Hero). The views expressed herein are general information only and are provided in good faith to assist employers and their employees. The Information is based on data supplied by third parties. While such data is believed to be accurate, it has not been independently verified and no warranties are given that it is complete, accurate, up to date or fit for the purpose for which it is required. Employment Hero does not accept responsibility for any inaccuracy in such data and is not liable for any loss or damages arising either directly or indirectly as a result of reliance on, use of or inability to use any information provided in this webinar.

What is workplace health and safety (WHS) and how does it work in Australia ?

Workplace health and safety is the process of ensuring your people’s health and safety are protected from any risks while they’re at work. The aim is to prevent the occurrence of work-related injuries and accidents in the workplace.

In Australia, the model workplace health and safety legislation is the (Work Health & Safety Act 2011) (‘WHS Act’) and has been adopted by all states and territories, except Victoria.

Safe Work Australia is the national policy body, tasked with improving health and safety at work in all states and territories. Their role isn’t to regulate WHS laws, but work to improve workplace health and safety and workers’ compensation arrangements through creating healthier, safer and more productive workplaces.

At a jurisdictional level, each state and territory has their own regulator who works with their community to reduce work-related accidents, illnesses and injuries.

• In New South Wales, the WHS regulator is SafeWork NSW
• In Victoria, the WHS regulator is WorkSafe Victoria
• In Queensland, the WHS regulator is Workplace Health and Safety Queensland
• In South Australia, the WHS regulator is SafeWork SA
• In Western Australia, the WHS regulator is WorkSafe WA
• In Tasmania, the WHS regulator is WorkSafe Tasmania
• In the Northern Territory, the WHS regulator is NT WorkSafe
• In the ACT, the WHS regulator is WorkSafe ACT

What are the WHS Act duties?

The WHS Act confers duties on different people, including employers, managers and workers. These duties ensure that anyone, regardless of whether they’re directly involved in performing work, is kept safe at the workplace. This includes customers, visitors or members of the public, and also includes all workers, whether they’re engaged as an employee, contractor or volunteer.

Employers

• Have a duty of care to eliminate risks in the workplace, or if that is not reasonably practicable, to minimise the risks as far as is reasonably practicable.
• Must consult workers (and other duty holders).

Officers (directors, senior managers, etc.)

• Must exercise “due diligence” to ensure the business complies with WHS laws.
• This includes taking steps to understand hazards and risks (e.g. risk assessments), and ensuring there are appropriate resources and processes to eliminate or minimise risks (e.g. policies, training, etc.).

Workers

• Must take reasonable care for their own health and safety.
• Cannot adversely affect the health and safety of other persons.
• Must comply with reasonable instructions and WHS policies / procedures.
• Have a right to cease work with a serious risk to health and safety.

The importance of implementing an WHS management system

Implementing a WHS management system can help protect you, your business and your employees. From a compliance perspective, a WHS management system sets out in document form the set policy, procedure and plan that is used to help reduce the risk of injury or accidents in the workplace.

When creating a WHS management system or policy, it’s important to include:

• Management commitment to WHS
• Emergency procedures
• Access to first aid
• Training and inductions
• Policies and procedures for safe working
• Risk assessments
• Incident reporting
• Safety reviews / continuous improvements
• Consultation

Having a robust WHS management system in place is the first part, but getting your team to read, understand and acknowledge it is the most important part. To ensure everyone stays protected at work, you’ll need to have records of your employees having read your WHS policies.

For practical tips on enhancing workplace safety, consider our article on 6 tips for improving workplace health and safety in 2023.

How to manage risks and carry out risk assessments

Even if you work in an office, there are still things that can go wrong (ever burnt your hand using the boiling water tap? We rest our case…)

You need to think through all those things that could go wrong and what the potential consequences could be. You should also consider how serious those consequences could be and the likelihood of this scenario playing out.

For example, in the hospitality business, accidents in the workplace such as cuts and burns will occur a lot more regularly.

In construction, you have a lot of people working with very heavy tools and dangerous equipment on-site which could pose a huge range of health and safety risks if not used correctly.

For any potential WHS risk, you should carry out a risk assessment and document it – starting with the current highest risk area(s) in the business.

To create a risk assessment, here’s the basic process for getting started.

Step 1: Identity hazards

To understand and be aware of the WHS hazards at work, you must identify the risk. You can do this by:

• Talking with and listening to your employees
• Inspecting your workplace for risks and hazards
• Taking note of how your team interact with one another
• Reviewing reports and records
• Using a survey tool to gather information from your team

Step 2: Assess the risks

Once you’ve identified any potential WHS hazards at work, consider the implications of what would happen if your team were a part of a hazard and risk.

It’s important to be aware that some risks may be visible and well-known, whilst others are more difficult to identify and may require a formal assessment process.

Step 3: Control risks

Once you’ve identified and assessed the risks, you want to try to eliminate the risk. However, a good way to eliminate a specific risk is to prioritise forward-planning and prevention strategies.

Step 4: Review control measures

The risk management process doesn’t end once the risk is identified and eliminated. It’s essential to continually monitor, maintain and review control measures. This will ensure that everyone keeps across processes to help reduce WHS hazards at work.

Psychosocial hazards

In April 2023, amendments were made to the Work Health and Safety (WHS) laws to include regulations on managing psychosocial risks and hazards at work. These changes mean that employers are now legally obligated to ensure the psychosocial safety of their team.

According to Safe Work Australia, a psychosocial hazard is anything that could cause or contribute to psychological harm in the workplace (e.g. harm someone’s mental health).

A psychosocial hazard in the workplace may be:

• High and low job demands
• Low job control
• Poor support 
• Lack of role clarity
• Poor organisational change management
• Inadequate reward and recognition
• Poor organisational justice
• Traumatic events or material
• Remote or isolated work
• Poor physical environment 
• Violence and aggression
• Bullying
• Harassment, including sexual harassment, and
• Conflict or poor workplace relationships and interactions

To understand more about these hazards and your obligations, read our detailed blog on Understanding Psychosocial Hazards.

Incident reporting

Despite your best efforts, accidents can, and do, still happen. With that in mind, you should also include in your WHS policy what to do if there is an incident or accident at work.

This will ensure if the worst case does arise, everyone is prepared on what to do. You will need to specify:

• Any injury sustained in the workplace (no matter how minor), as well as serious incidents and near misses
• What immediate actions should take place
• Who in the business needs to be notified and when
• Who has responsibility for investigating incidents and taking appropriate action
• When you need to notify Safe Work Australia (if appropriate)

You should also have a process on how employees can record incidents, and you should regularly review these events to make sure the workplace remains safe.

Stay across WHS with our top tips

• Make sure you have a robust WHS management system reflected in a WHS policy and ensure you have adequate emergency procedures and access to first aid
• Make sure WHS is included in all staff induction
• Ensure your team have read and signed their WHS policies
• Carry out periodic risks assessments
• Show you are consulting with workers by having safety as a standing item in meetings
• Make sure you are reporting incidents and taking corrective action
• Review safety matters periodically (at least annually)

How can you use Employment Hero to help manage WHS in your business?

Safety at work is one of the most important areas to prioritise – and Employment Hero can help you manage it with ease.

Our safety incident report feature acts as a secure space with all your employee information and HR details, making it easy to log any safety incidents quickly. Employees can submit incidents directly into the platform with all the required information. This makes it easy for HR to thoroughly understand what has occurred, whilst incorporating all relevant information to start an insurance claim if required.

Overwhelmed at the thought of creating a WHS policy? All of our admin users have access to a policy library that covers a range of topics, from WHS policy, drug and alcohol policy to a code of conduct.

Have your WHS ready to go? A dashboard on Employment Hero shows administrators how many employees have signed off on specific policies, and who still needs to complete their acknowledgements. Managers can check through the list and follow up with whoever is still outstanding.

This is really useful for health and safety as a way of demonstrating that you’re completing your responsibilities as an employer, but also showing that your employees are aware of the responsibilities they hold too.

Support your team with an employee assistance program (EAP). With Employment Hero’s EAP, you’ll be able to offer your team access to 24/7 confidential counselling, either in person or via phone.

For those managing remote teams, ensure your employees’ workstations are set up safely with our Working From Home Safety Checklist.

Get a first-hand look at how Employment Hero supports health and safety management

Our all-in-one HR, recruitment and payroll platform makes workplace health and safety easy.

Find out how our platform can transform your organisation and make WHS processes better by booking a demo with one of our team today.