Workers Compensation Insurance in Western Australia

Safety
madesimpleQBE Connect
QM2886-0613

Contents
An Introduction to ‘Safety made simple’ 3
Safety management system self assessment checklist 4
OHS risk management
What is a hazard? 5
Hazard register
Do you understand your risks? 9
Hazard register 11
Job Safety Analysis
What is Job Safety Analysis? 12
Job Safety Analysis 14
Pre-employment screening
What is pre-employment screening? 16
Application for employment 19
Pre-employment medical questionnaire 20
Job description and physical requirements 22
OHS induction
What is an OHS induction? 25
OHS induction checklist 27
Training
What is training? 28
Training matrix (Sample) 30
Hazard reporting
What is a hazard? 31
Hazard report form 33
Workplace safety inspection
What is a workplace safety inspection? 35
Workplace safety 37
Inspection checklist 37
Office-based workplace safety inspection checklist 41
Consultation
What is workplace consultation? 44
Safety meeting agenda 46
Toolbox meeting record 47
Incident reporting and investigation
What is an incident? 48
Part A–Incident report form 51
Part B–Incident investigation report form 53
Emergency response
What is an emergency? 55

QBEconnect®
3
An Introduction to ‘Safety made simple’
Good OH&S management is vital
Managing the Occupational Health and Safety risks within your business is just as important as managing any other aspect of your
business activities. Understanding the requirements in relation to Occupational Health and Safety risks can be daunting for many
employers and they will often ask, ‘where do I start?’
This ‘Safety made simple’ package is designed to provide you with guidance in relation to some of the important aspects of a safety
management system. The safety management system is simply the policies, procedures and processes that you have in place to
systematically manage your OHS risks.
The ‘Safety made simple’ package is inclusive of a number of ‘fact sheets’ and templates that can be used as a starting point to
develop your system. The fact sheets are intended to outline the requirements in easy to understand language and provide practical
guidance on how to develop and implement these processes within your workplace.
There are also a number of common OHS templates, which can be modified to suit your needs. Many of the fact sheets will outline
how these templates can be used in the workplace.
Please note that the fact sheets and the templates that have been provided are guidance documents only and do not fulfil all of your
OHS legislative requirements. They are designed as your starting point to managing OHS.
Where to start?
To know where you need to start, you need to know the status of how you currently manage OHS in your organisation. It is
recommended that your first step is completing the self assessment checklist. This will give you a quick overview of your safety
management system and assist you to identify the areas where gaps exists, and where improvements are required. Once you have
completed this, refer to the fact sheets and templates to assist you in addressing these gaps.
The hazards that exist in each workplace will differ and as such, ‘Safety made simple’ focuses on the overall management of safety
which applies to every workplace, rather than addressing specific hazards.
It is extremely important (and a legal obligation) to ensure that you have a good understanding of the hazards that exist in your
workplace. A hazard is anything that can lead to injury or harm to health. ‘Safety made simple’ will assist you to develop some of the
risk management processes to assist you in identifying and managing these workplace hazards.
Industry knowledge and experience, consultation with employees and accessing resources such as the Occupational Safety and
Health Act and Regulations (WA), codes of practices and guidance notes will assist you to accurately identify and address the
hazards in your workplace.
The commitment
For your safety management system to be successful you need to demonstrate a true commitment to OHS. You can do this by:
• Ensuring you invest adequate resources, such as time and money into managing your OHS risks,
• Consult with your staff and ensure they have input into the decisions that are made regarding OHS in the workplace,
• Ensure your staff have the required skills and knowledge to perform their jobs safely and;
• Ensure that your team leaders, supervisors and line managers have a good understanding of OHS and their responsibilities
in relation to this,
• Most importantly, lead by example, as the owner or manager of the organisation, your attitudes and behaviours will
influence others. The greatest impact you will have is in demonstrating a true commitment to your people and their safety
in the workplace.
Western Australia contacts
Perth +61 8 9213 6100 Bunbury +61 8 9721 9200
Disclaimer: The content of this information sheet is for distribution to clients and intermediaries of QBE. It provides general information only. It does
not take into account matters specific to your business. You should always seek independent professional advice before acting upon anything in this
document. No part of this publication can be reproduced without the written permission of QBE Insurance (Australia) Limited. ABN 78 003 191 035.

QBE Insurance (Australia) Limited ABN 78 003 191 035 AFSL 239 545
4
Safety management system
self assessment checklist
Safety management system self assessment checklist
This form is to be completed by the employer immediately after the occurrence and should be accompanied by the employee’s claim for
compensation and first medical certificate. Please read carefully the explanation on page three of this form regarding weekly compensation
calculation. To ensure early refund of compensation this area must be completed.
A. Details of applicant
Company name Date / /
Person completing Position
B. Checklist
1. There is a formal Occupational Health and Safety Policy, signed by Senior Management, that is displayed in
the workplace.
Yes No
2. OHS roles and responsibilities have been allocated, documented and communicated to all employees. Yes No
3. Prospective employees are required to complete an employment application form which includes questions
relating to their:
• Qualifications, training and experience
• Medical history
• Workers compensation history
Yes No
4. There is a formal process for risk management, which includes:
• the identification of hazards,
• assessment of the risk of those hazards,
• and the implementation of control measures for eliminating or reducing those risks.
Yes No
5. All hazards have been identified in the workplace and action has been taken to control risks. Yes No
6. There are processes in place for identifying and accessing legal and other requirements (such as industry
standards) relating to OHS hazards/risks associated with business activities.
Yes No
7. There is a formal induction process, which provides information on company OHS policies and procedures, as well
as the hazards specific to the business/job role.
Yes No
8. Job Safety Analysis (JSA) or Safe Work Procedures have been developed for work activities, and compliance with
these is monitored.
Yes No
9. Training needs have been identified (including internally and externally provided training), and a training program
has been established to ensure that all identified training requirements are met.
Yes No
10. Records of all induction and training are retained, and the currency of licences, certificates and qualifications
is tracked.
Yes No
11. Regular inspections of the workplace are undertaken, using an inspection checklist to identify hazards. Yes No
12. Employees are regularly consulted regarding safety matters, through forums such as toolbox meetings. Yes No
13. An inspection, service and maintenance program exists for plant and equipment to ensure that it is in safe
operating condition.
Yes No
14. Near misses, incidents and injuries are reported, recorded and investigated. Yes No
15. Adequate first aid facilities are provided and maintained, and there is a suitable number of trained first aid staff with
current first aid qualifications.
Yes No
16. Possible emergency situations have been identified, and an emergency evacuation plan and procedure has been
developed and is displayed in the workplace. Emergency evacuation drills are conducted on a regular basis.
Yes No
17. An injury management system has been established, which outlines the steps to be taken in the event of a
workplace injury.
Yes No
18. A person responsible for injury management and workers compensation has been nominated. Yes No
19. All chemicals used in the workplace have been identified, the Material Safety Data Sheets (MSDS’s) obtained, and the
MSDS’s reviewed to ensure that all safety pre-cautions have been followed.
Yes No

QBEconnectKeeping the focus on outcomes
®
5
factsheet Western Australia
OHS risk management
What is a hazard?
A hazard is a source or a situation with a potential for harm in
terms of human injury or ill health, damage to property, damage
to the environment, or a combination of these (Australian
Standard/New Zealand Standard 4801: 2001 Occupational
health and safety management systems).
What is risk?
Risk is the likelihood and consequence of injury or harm occurring (Australian Standard/New Zealand Standard 4801: 2001). Risk is
simply the potential for a hazard to result in harm.
What is risk management?
Risk management is the process of identifying hazards, assessing the risks of these hazards, and then putting measures in place to
minimise or eliminate the risk of these hazards.
Risk management legal requirements?
In Western Australia, as well as other OHS jurisdictions, it is a legal requirement for employers to, as far as practicable:
(a) identify each hazard to which a person at the workplace is likely to be exposed;
(b) assess the risk of injury or harm to a person resulting from each hazard, if any,
(c) consider the means by which the risk may be reduced.
[Section 3.1 Occupational Safety and Health Regulations 1996 (WA)]
Benefits of risk management
An effective risk management process should reduce the number and severity of workplace incidents and injuries. This can result in
improvements in staff retention, staff morale, productivity, and the potential for a reduction in workers compensation premium.
Risk management steps
Step one:
Identify hazards
Identifying hazards through hazard reporting,
developing a hazard register, developing job safety
analyses, conducting workplace inspections and
through incident reporting and investigation.
Step three:
Decide on control measures
Decide on and implement measures which will
eliminate or reduce the risk of identified hazards.
Step four:
Monitor and review
Regularly review implemented control measures to
ensure they have been effective in reducing the risk
of the hazard.
Step two:
Assesses risks
Develop a risk assessment process. Consider the
use of a risk matrix.

6
As outlined in the diagram,
risk management is a continuous
process involving four steps:
Step one:
Identify hazards
There are many different ways of
identifying hazards in your workplace.
Hazards can be identified proactively
and reactively. Proactively identifying
hazards is important as it can lead to
the identification of a hazard, and the
minimisation of the risk of that hazard,
before harm or injury occurs. Job safety
analyses, workplace inspections and
hazard reporting are all examples of
proactively identifying hazards.
Reactively identifying hazards involves
determining what hazards were
involved in incidents and injuries in the
workplace through incident reporting
and incident investigations. This is an
important activity as it can lead to the
prevention of future similar incidents
or injuries.
Step two:
Assessing the
risk of hazards
Risk assessment involves determining
the significance of the hazard
by reviewing:
1. Likelihood of the hazard resulting
in harm.
2. Consequences or severity of any
harm or injury.
Likelihood ratings are not based on
how often a hazard does result in harm,
but rather how often a hazard could
result in harm in most circumstances.
It involves considering how often
employees are exposed to the hazard,
how many employees are exposed to
the hazard, whether similar outcomes
(incidents/injuries) have resulted in
the past, and whether the outcomes
(incidents/injuries) are common
in the industry under the same or
similar circumstances.
Consequence ratings look at the
severity of the outcome if the hazard
was to result in harm. For example if
we were to consider a finger injury
sustained by a worker, would this
be a simple cut to the finger or a
finger amputation.
Risk assessment matrix
Likelihood
Consequence
Major (A)
Permanent injury or fatality, high
financial loss, significant property
or equipment damage, long term
environmental harm
Moderate (B)
Lost time injury or restricted
capacity for work injury, medium
financial loss, medium property
or equipment damage, short term
environmental harm
Minor (C)
First aid or medical treatment only
injury, low financial loss, minimal
property or equipment damage,
no environmental harm
Likely(1)
Could occur frequently
High risk High risk Medium risk
Moderate (2)
Could occur occassionally
High risk Medium risk Low risk
Unlikely (3)
Could occur at some time
Medium risk Low risk Low risk
Legend
Low risk: Acceptable risk and no further action required as long as risk has been minimised as much as possible
Medium risk: Further action required to minimise risk
High risk: Unacceptable risk and further urgent attention required to minimise risk
For example:
Brian reports to his supervisor that he witnessed a near miss incident in which an employee was nearly hit by a forklift in
the workshop.
Consequence Rating if hazard was to lead to harm Major (A)
Likelihood Rating of hazard leading to harm Moderate (2)
Overall Risk Rating A2 = High risk
If we refer to the legend at the bottom of the risk matrix, a risk rating of high risk indicates that this is an unacceptable risk and
urgent attention is required to minimise the risk.
There are numerous methods in which
a risk assessment can be undertaken
and a method should be adopted which
best suits your organisation. We have
included a sample risk assessment
method below. Review the consequence
and likelihood descriptions, and modify
these to suit your business if required.
The risk assessment process
1. Identify hazard.
2. Determine the consequence rating
of the hazard.
3. Determine the likelihood rating of
the hazard.
4. Using the risk matrix, find where the
consequence rating meets with the
likelihood rating on the risk matrix
table, to get the overall risk rating (of
low risk, medium risk or high risk)
5. Refer to the legend at the bottom
of the risk matrix to assist in
determining what action is required.

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Step three
Risk controls
Once you have conducted a risk assessment of the identified hazard, consideration needs to be given to how the risk of the hazard
can be eliminated or reduced. Risk controls are simply those measures that lead to the risk of a hazard being reduced or eliminated.
The hierarchy of control is a list of the categories of control measures, in priority order, that can be used to eliminate or minimise
exposure to the hazard.
It consists of two levels:
1. Consider elimination before all other options.
2. Minimisation options which substantially reduce the risk.
The hierarchy of control
Effectiveness Control measure Description of control measure
Most effective Elimination control measures Elimination controls involve completely eliminating a hazard by removing the
hazardous process altogether.
Substitution control measures Substitution control measures involve substituting the hazard for a safer
alternative (for example, using a less hazardous chemical).
Engineering control measures Engineering controls involve any engineering changes or physical modifications
which reduce exposure to the hazard (such as installing guarding across the
rotating parts of machinery).
Administrative control measures Administrative controls are administrative measures such as the provision of
training, safe work procedures, and supervision.
Least effective Personal Protective Equipment (PPE)
control measures
PPE controls are a short term or last resort control measure. It is used when
other means of controlling the hazard are not adequate or practicable. It
involves providing PPE to employees which can reduce the harm a hazard can
cause, such as hearing protection, safety boots, and safety glasses.
Administrative and PPE controls when used alone are the least preferred risk control method, as they rely on human behaviour and
compliance to be effective, rather than physically controlling the risk.
In most cases a combination of engineering controls, administrative controls and PPE are chosen to effectively control the risks. If
we return to our example of the near miss forklift incident, risk controls could include:
• Elimination discontinue use of forklifts.
• Substitution replace forklifts with pedestrian operated forklifts or walkie stacker.
• Engineering have a mechanic restrict the speed limit of all forklifts.
• Administrative develop a traffic management plan; line marking the workshop for forklift driving and pedestrian areas; and
establish safe working procedures for forklift use in the workshop area.
• Ppe purchasing high visibility workwear.
Once risk controls have been selected for an identified hazard, it is important that a plan is put in place to ensure that the risk control
is implemented. Responsibility for implementing the risk control should be allocated and a due date set for when the control must
be implemented by.
For example:
Control measures Person responsible Target completion date Date completed

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Step four:
Review and monitor
It is important that once risk controls
have been identified and implemented,
that these controls are regularly
reviewed. This is to ensure that:
• the implemented controls have
been effective in reducing the risk of
the hazard
• no new hazards have been
introduced as a result of the
implemented control.
Monitoring and reviewing of risk
controls can be completed in a number
of ways. This may range from discussion
at your toolbox meetings to monitoring
of incident and first aid reports.
Where to from here?
It is important that your organisation
develop procedures for risk
management.
Risk management procedures
should include:
• How hazards are identified in the
workplace (ensure you include
proactive methods).
• Howriskassessmentsareconducted.
• Responsibility for developing and
implementing control measures.
• Reviewing effectiveness of controls.
• Communicating the risk
assessments with employees.
References and other resources
Australian Standard/New Zealand
Standard 4801: 2001 Occupational
health and safety management systems
Occupational Safety and Health
Regulations 1996 (WA)
Related Safety made simple
documents
Hazard register fact sheet
Hazard reporting fact sheet
Workplace inspection fact sheet
fact sheet
Job Safety Analysis fact sheet
Job Safety Analysis template
Perth +61 8 9213 6100 Bunbury +61 8 9721 9200

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Hazard register
Do you understand your risks?
Risk management can sometimes seem overwhelming and the
most common question is “where do I start?”. To know where to
start you need to understand what your hazards are and where
your greatest risks lie.
What is a hazard register?
A hazard register is a record of the
hazards in your organisation, where
they occur, and the tasks, machinery or
situations in which they are associated.
The hazard register details the risk
assessment of these hazards, the control
measures already in place, and any
further control measures required to
minimise these risks. A hazard register
is a ‘live’ document that can be reviewed
and modified at anytime (for example,
when a new hazard is identified or when
work practices change).
Why develop a hazard register?
1. Minimise risk – identify those
hazards which are not well
controlled so that these can
be addressed.
2. Be proactive – control risks before an
incident or injury occurs.
3. Increase awareness – increase your
understanding of the hazards in the
workplace and the risk they present.
A hazard register, when done properly,
can also provide the basis of information
for several other OHS activities such
as determining your OHS legislative
requirements, identifying your
training needs, and developing quality
workplace inspection checklists.
What are the legal requirements?
It is a legislative requirement that
employers, as far as is practicable;
(a) identify each hazard to which a
person at the workplace is likely to
be exposed;
(b) assess the risk of injury or harm to a
person resulting from each hazard, if
any and
(c) consider the means by which the
risk may be reduced.
[Section 3.1 Occupational Safety and
Health Regulations 1996 (WA)]
A hazard register will assist you to
comply with these OHS legal obligations
and provide evidence that you are
working to minimise risk.
How to develop a hazard register
Please refer to the Hazard
register template.
1. Hazard identification
Review each task conducted across
the organisation and then identify
each of the hazards associated with
those tasks. Determine a system to
ensure that all work areas and job
activities will be included.
2. Hazard description
Outline how the identified hazard
could lead to harm. Sometimes,
there is more than one way a hazard
can lead to harm so be sure to
mention all of these. Be specific.
3. Document the existing control
measures already in place
Remember, control measures are
those factors which reduce the risk
of harm. A hazard register will assist
you in identifying those hazards for
which there are no controls in place.
4. Assess the risk of each
identified hazard
Refer to the OHS risk management
fact sheet for details on how to
assess the risk of each hazard.
The risk rating should take into
consideration your existing controls.
5. Identify those hazards which
require additional control measures
For those hazards which have no
control measures, or the existing
control measures are inadequate,
determine what additional control
measures are required and
document these. Re-assess the risk
rating of each identified hazard
Determine what your new risk rating
will be once you have implemented
your new control measures.
6. Allocate responsibility and
timeframes
It is recommended that an
individual is allocated the
responsibility for implementing
each new control measure within
an agreed timeframe.
7. Monitor and review controls
It is important that both new and
existing control measures are
regularly reviewed to ensure they
are effective in minimising risk.
Common misconceptions about
hazard registers
• Hazards are not just things that
HAVE gone wrong, they are things
that CAN go wrong. Remember a
hazard is anything with
a potential for harm.
• Hazard registers are not training or
warning devices.
• Generic hazard registers have
very limited use. The hazard
register needs to be specific to
your work environment.
Tips for doing it properly
(i) Spend quality time on developing
your hazard register:
Your hazard register is your most
important tool to assist in truly
understanding and minimising
your risks. Spend quality time
developing a useful, comprehensive
register that will actually help you
to reduce harm.

10
(ii) Involve employees at all levels of the organisation:
When developing you hazard register, consult with your workers. Those who do the work, know the work best, therefore
frontline employees are often the most knowledgeable on hazards and controls in the workplace.
(iii) Be specific about the hazards and control measures that you document.
Please see below for some poor and some better examples
Hazard Hazard description Existing controls Risk
rating
Additional controls
required
Risk
rating
Timeframe Responsibility
Glass Hand injury PPE 2B None 2B N/A N/A
Poor example
More detail required More detail
required
More needs to be
considered here (refer to
the hierarchy of controls)
Glass
Better example
Hand lacerations from
handling glass
All employees are
required to wear
protective gloves
2B Investigate automation
of the glass handling
process to reduce
handling requirements
3B 6 months Workshop
manager and
director
Manual handling
Poor example
Lifting
More detail required
None 2B Good manual handling
More needs to be
considered here (refer to
hierarchy of controls)
3B 1 month OHS manager
Manual handling
Better example
Repetitive lifting
and carrying of
archive boxes
None 2B Purchase a trolley for
transporting boxes to
eliminate carrying
Develop task specific
manual handling training
for all staff
3B 1 month
3 months
OHS manager
Occupational Safety and Health Regulations 1996 (WA)
Related Safety made simple documents
Hazard register template
OHS risk management fact sheet
Perth +61 8 9213 6100 Bunbury +61 8 9721 9200

11
Hazard register
Organisation details
Company name Completed by
Business area Activity Date / /
Job Safety Analysis Details
Area Location Hazard Hazard description Existing controls Risk
Rating
Additional controls required Risk
rating
Timeframe Responsibility
Office Shelving on
west wing
Manual handling Storage of heavy and
regularly used items above
shoulder height
None 2B Short term: Restack shelving so that regularly used items
are stacked at waist height
Long term: Redesign layout so that all shelving above
shoulder height is removed, and install more waist height
shelving to cover additional storage requirements’
3B ‘Short term =
1 month
Long term =
6 months’
OHS Manager
Workshop Loading bays Forklift collision
with person
or object
1) Limited work area and
high congestion;
2) Mix of people, forklifts
and trucks all operating
in the same area
3) Erratic driving
(including speeding)
Only licensed staff allowed to
operate forklift;
internal forklift training on
hazards specific to the workplace;
traffic and speed limit signs;
high visibility workwear for all
staff in the workshop
1B Short term:
(i) Introduce a training matrix which tracks the
qualifications and licenses of each staff member and
when they expire;
(ii) Develop and implement non-conformance
procedures for those operators who are witnessed
by management to operate outside of safe working
procedures for forklift operation (such as breaking
the speed limit)
Long term: Forklift route and people route to be line
marked (painted on surface).
2B Short term =
1 month
Long term =
3 months
Workshop
Manager

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Please read the OHS risk management fact sheet before proceeding
Job Safety Analysis
What is Job Safety Analysis?
A Job Safety Analysis (JSA) involves looking at a work task
and considering the safest way of performing that task. When
developing a JSA, a work team will outline the job steps involved
in the task, and the hazards associated with each step. They
will then determine and document the control measures
that they will put in place to eliminate or minimise the
risk of those hazards.
Job Safety Analyses are also commonly
referred to as:
• Safe Work Method Statements.
• Job Hazard Analyses.
• Standard Operating Procedures.
Why conduct a JSA?
A job safety analysis is a detailed form
of risk management for a specific work
task. Conducting a job safety analysis
ensures that:
• all hazards and risks are identified
• risk is minimised and the task is
performed in the safest way possible
• the number and severity of
workplace injuries is reduced.
It is a legal obligation for employers to:
be exposed;
person resulting from each hazard, if
any, and
[Section 3.1 Occupational Safety and
Health Regulations 1996 (WA)]
Under the Occupational Safety and
Health Act 1984 (WA), the employer is
also obligated to provide safe systems
(methods) of work and the JSA provides
documented evidence of your system of
work for a specific task.
How to plan and develop a JSA
Following the completion of your hazard
register, it will be easier to identify
your ‘high’ risk activities, and where a
JSA is required to be developed. When
prioritising those tasks that require a
JSA consider how often the high risk
tasks are performed and the number of
employees/persons who may be at risk.
It is essential that consultation with
your employees occurs during the
JSA process. Those that perform the
work, know the work best. Knowledge
of the hazards involved in a task, and
how these are currently controlled, is
best obtained from the employees who
perform these tasks on a regular basis. It
is also worthwhile obtaining input from
new and inexperienced employees who
perform the task as they will often see
things from a different perspective.
Prior to commencing the JSA process,
it is beneficial to research whether any
incidents or injuries have occurred
which are related to the task. This will
provide important information on
the hazards involved and the types of
incidents and injuries which can occur.
Steps in the JSA Process
1. Task analysis
Task analysis involves obtaining
as much information as possible
on how the work is performed.
This is achieved most commonly
by observing the work being
performed, consulting with
employees that perform the task,
and reviewing relevant documents
(such as operating manuals and
training manuals).
2. Task breakdown
The starting point of the task
needs to be defined and from
there, the task is broken down into
steps and the sequence of task
steps is outlined.
It is important not to get overly
detailed and only the general,
critical steps are listed. The task
step should include enough
information to describe each step
(again without getting overly
detailed) and note what is done,
rather than how it is done.
3. Hazard identification
Once the task has been broken down
into steps, the hazards associated
with each step need to be identified.
4. Risk assessment
Risk assessment involves
determining the significance of the
hazard by reviewing;
1. Likelihood of the hazard resulting
in harm.
2. Consequences or severity of any
harm or injury.
The risk assessment will outline
where the highest risk of harm/
injury exists. There are several
methods for conducting risk
assessments. Please refer to the
OHS risk management fact sheet for
a sample risk assessment method.
The person conducting the risk
assessment should have sufficient
knowledge and experience of the
task so as to accurately assess the
employees who may be at risk, how
often the hazard may lead to harm
and the potential severity of that
harm.
3. Risk controls
Risk controls are simply those
measures that lead to the risk of a
hazard being eliminated or reduced.

13
Please refer to the OHS risk
management fact sheet which outlines
the hierarchy of controls. The hierarchy
of controls is a list of the categories
of control measures, in priority order
which are used to eliminate or reduce
the risk of a hazard.
The JSA should reflect what risk controls
are currently in place at the time of
the work being performed, not those
risk controls that are planned to be
implemented down the track.
Document the JSA
It is important to document your JSA’s
to ensure your safe system of work
can be verified. Please refer to the
Job Safety Analysis template for an
indication of what information should
be documented.
Communicating the JSA
Once the JSA has been developed, it
is important to communicate the JSA
to the relevant employees. This might
include those performing the task, those
in the work area or those who may be
affected by the work involved. This
should be done prior to undertaking the
task in which the JSA relates.
Reviewing the JSA
Where the work to be performed, and/
or the work environment changes
regularly, the JSA should be reviewed
and updated for each job. Where the
work to be performed, and/or the work
environment remains the same, the JSA
can be scheduled for review less often.
A review of the JSA should also
be conducted:
• at the start of any new projects
• if there have been changes to
work practices, materials, plant
or equipment
• if there have been changes to
legislation, codes or practices, or
standards relating to the JSA
• if an incident occurs related to the
task covered by the JSA.
Important points on JSA’s
• The JSA should be a ‘live’ document
and should have the flexibility to be
modified when required.
• It is important that your JSA’s
are specific to the task you are
undertaking, the work methods
used and the work environment
(including different sites). Where you
are using generic JSA’s, these should
be adapted to suit.
• Training should be provided for
those employees who are required
to follow or develop a JSA.
• JSA’s are often the basis for ‘on the
job’ training for new employees.
Refresher training on JSA’s should
also be provided at appropriate
intervals. Safety alerts and refresher
training related to JSA’s can be
provided during toolbox meetings.
• Ensure records are kept of any
JSA training.
• The employer has a legal obligation
to adequately supervise employees.
This supervision is required to
ensure that the task is being
performed as documented in
the JSA. The level of supervision
required will increase for
inexperienced workers and/or for
higher risk work.
• Please note that your JSA’s may be
used as legal evidence if a serious
incident were to occur in your
workplace. It is therefore important
that care is taken in thoroughly
completing the JSA template and
ensuring that adequate risk controls
are in place.
Occupational Safety and Health Act
1984 (WA)
documents
Job Safety Analysis template
Risk management fact sheet
Perth +61 8 9213 6100 Bunbury +61 8 9721 9200

14
Job Safety Analysis
Organisation details
Organisation name Job supervisor contact name
Organisation address Contact phone number
Job Safety Analysis details
Work activity Location
Team members involved in the activity
Qualifications, licences, training and experience
required to undertake the task
Plant/Equipment required
Inspection or maintenance checks required Materials required
Personal protective equipment required
Certificates, permits and/or approvals required
Relevant standards, MSDS’s, operating manuals
etc. that apply to this activity
Likelihood
Consequence
Major (A) Moderate (B) Minor (C)
Permanent injury or fatality, high financial loss,
significant property or equipment damage, long term
environmental harm
Lost time injury or restricted capacity for work injury,
medium financial loss, medium property or equipment
damage, short term environmental harm
First aid or medical treatment only injury, low financial
loss, minimal property or equipment damage, no
environmental harm
Likely (1)
Moderate (2)
Could occur occasionally
Unlikely (3)
Legend
High risk: Unacceptable risk and further Urgent attention required to minimise risk

15
Step no. Job step description Potential hazards Risk rating Risk controls
Job Safety Analysis authorisation
This job safety analysis has been authorised by:
Name Position
Signature Date / /
This JSA has been developed in consultation with our employees and has been read, understood and signed by all employees undertaking the activity
Print names Signatures Date
/ /
/ /
/ /
/ /
/ /
/ /
/ /
/ /
/ /
/ /

®
16
Pre-employment screening
What is pre-employment screening?
Pre-employment screening processes are used to assess a
prospective employees suitability for the role for which they are
applying. This can include ensuring that applicants have the
required qualifications, skills and experience to undertake the
role, and ensuring that they are medically and physically able to
undertake the role safely.
Why undertake pre-employment
screening?
Pre-employment screening processes
aim to ensure that the prospective
employee can safely carry out the role
for which they are applying, without
risk of harm to themselves or others.
These processes are important tools
for maintaining a safe and productive
workplace. The impact of poor or non-
existent pre-employment screening
processes can be far reaching and very
costly to your organisation. The costs
can include serious workplace incidents
and injury, lost productivity, poor
reputation, staffing costs and workers
compensation (to mention only a few).
Employers have a duty of care to
provide and maintain a safe working
environment, so far as is practicable,
and to ensure employees are not
exposed to hazards (Occupational
Safety and Health Act 1984 WA).
When should pre-employment
screening processes occur?
It is important that your organisation
establishes a structured and
documented process for the screening
of applicants prior to the offer of
employment. It is very difficult to legally
retract an offer of employment once it
has been made.
What should you include in your pre-
employment screening processes?
There are various processes that can
assist in ensuring you employ the
right person for the job. The three
major factors to include in your
pre-employment screening processes
in order to minimise OHS risks are:
(i) background checks
(ii) character reference checks and
(iii) medical screening processes.
Other areas that may be applicable to
your organisations pre-employment
processes include criminal history
checks and working visa checks. These
areas are not covered in this fact sheet,
however, links to government websites
that can assist you have been included
in the resources section below.
(i) Background checks
Background checks involve
verifying the qualifications,
training and experience which
an applicant claims to have and
which are required for the position.
Unfortunately, the incidence of job
seekers who lie, ‘stretch’ the truth,
or omit information when applying
for jobs continues to increase.
This might include providing false
academic and training records and
overstating work experience.
Background checks should
therefore involve:
• Obtaining copies of education
and training awards, licences and
other qualifications.
• Contacting previous employers
to verify employment and
experience stated.
• For critical qualifications and
licences for the role, contacting
the training institution to confirm
successful completion.
(ii) Conducting a character
reference check
A character reference is a
recommendation from a previous
employer (or other person of
distinction) to vouch for the
applicants employability.
Character reference checks provide
valuable information on the
applicants character and suitability
for the position they are applying
for. It is also an important tool for
verifying the information contained
in the job application.
Note that the job applicant must
provide their consent for you to
contact any referees.
It is recommended that more
than one professional referee be
contacted, to check for consistency
of the information being sought.
It is suggested when you contact
any professional referees, that
information on how the referee
knows the person applying for the
position and how long they have
known the person, be obtained.
Typically, professional referees are
people that know the applicant
in a working capacity therefore
information on the following should
also be sought:
• Verification of employment details
such as the position, employment
dates and duties.
• Job performance and competency
in the role.
• Why the applicant left the job.
• Opinion on the applicants
character and suitability for the
position they are applying.
• Information specific to the role for
which they are applying.
QBE have developed an
‘Employment application form’
which may assist your organisation
with your recruitment processes.

17
(iii) Pre-employment medical
screening processes
Pre-employment medical screening
processes are about ensuring
the prospective employee is
medically and physically suited
to the role for which they are
applying. The more physical the
role, the more comprehensive the
pre-employment medical screening
process should be.
For pre-employment medical screening
processes to be effective, the following
steps should be taken:
1. Identify and document the physical
requirements of the job role.
2. Analyse those requirements
of the role which are essential
requirements (that is, the
inherent requirements of the
role) and those which are
non-essential requirements.
3. Identify the attributes required to
perform both the essential and non-
essential requirements of the role.
4. Provide this information to
prospective employees.
5. Provide this information to
health practitioners to ensure
that pre-employment medical
examinations take into account
the requirements of the job role.
QBE have developed a ‘Job description
and physical requirements form’ which
may be able to assist you in identifying
and documenting the job description,
duties and physical requirements of the
roles in your organisation.
Pre-employment medical
questionnaire’s
The purpose of a pre-employment
medical questionnaire is to identify
whether the applicant can meet the
inherent health requirements of the
position. An inherent requirement
is something that is essential to
the position. The questionnaire
may also assist the employer
in identifying any work related
adjustments that may be required.
It is important that pre-employment
medical questionnaires be fair,
consistent, non-discriminatory and
related to the job.
Pre-employment medical questionnaires
should be a standard organisational
procedure. It is essential that these are
completed and reviewed prior to any
offer of employment. The information
that should be requested includes:
• Information on any illness, medical
condition or injury that may impact
on the ability to perform the role for
which they are applying.
• Previous and current workers
compensation claims.
• Reference to Section 79 of the
Workers Compensation and Injury
Management Act 1981 (WA).
Under Section 79 of the Act, workers
who have wilfully misrepresented
themselves (by falsely declaring
they have not had previous workers
compensation claims or work injuries
when they have) may be denied future
workers compensation relating to that
claim or injury.
QBE have developed a ‘Pre-employment
medical questionnaire’ template that
may be of use for your organisation.
Please note that this is a generic
template that may require some
adjustment to make it more suitable to
the positions in your organisation.
examinations
Pre-employment medical examinations
are committed to assessing the
prospective employees capacity to
perform the critical physical and mental
aspects of the position. The medical
examination aims to clarify that the
applicant is fit to perform the task
without risk to their own safety and/or
the safety of others.
Pre-employment medical examinations
can be as comprehensive or as basic
as the positions requires. Along with
an examination of general health,
some of the more commonly used
pre-employment medical examination
options include:
• Functional capacity evaluations (a
series of standardised tests used
to evaluate a workers functional
capacities for work, for example,
lifting capacity).
• Musculoskeletal examination.
• Audiometry (hearing test).
• Spirometry (lung capacity).
• Vision testing.
• Drug and alcohol testing.
• ECG (electrocardiogram).
• Chest X rays.
Important considerations for
ensuring a non-discriminatory
pre-employment medical
screening process:
• Pre-employment medical screening
processes should be specific to
the physical and mental attributes
required for the role.
• Pre-employment screening
processes can only assess current
fitness to perform the work
role and not attempt to predict
future deterioration.
• An employer cannot refuse
employment to someone who has
a medical condition or disability
that has no impact on their
ability to perform the inherent
requirements of the job for which
they are applying.
• Employers should not make
assumptions on what applicants can
and cannot do based on a disclosed
medical condition or disability.
• Even if a prospective employee
does have a medical condition
or disability that may impact
on their ability to perform the
job, the employer needs to
consider reasonable ways of
accommodating them.
• Employment can only be refused to
someone with a medical condition
or disability that prohibits them from
being able to perform the ‘inherent
requirements’ of the role (that is, the
essential aspects of the role).
It is important to note that where a
decision is made to not employ on
the basis of pre-employment medical
screening, there must be sufficient
medical evidence that strongly supports
your reasoning.
Privacy considerations
Information in relation to
pre-employment screening processes
should be provided to the applicant on
why the organisation is collecting the
information, how the information will be
used, and how the employee/applicant
can access the information.
Under the Privacy Act 2000
(Cth), personal information such
as pre–employment screening
information, must be:
• stored securely and be safe from
unauthorised access
• used only for the purpose for which
it was sought; and
• not be disclosed to any other party
without the person’s consent.

18
1984 (WA)
Workers Compensation and Injury
Management Act 1981 (WA)
Privacy Act 2000 (Commonwealth)
“Do your workers have a valid visa
to work in Australia” (Department of
Immigration and Citizenship).
http://www.immi.gov.au/managing-
australias-borders/compliance/
employer-obligations/_pdf/booklet-
valid-visa.pdf
http://www.checkwwc.wa.gov.au/
checkwwc
http://www.police.wa.gov.au/
OurServices/PoliceChecks/tabid/1202/
Default.aspx
http://www.hreoc.gov.au/Human_Rights/
criminalrecord/Criminal_record.pdf
Perth +61 8 9213 6100 Bunbury +61 8 9721 9200
documents
‘Employment application form’ template
‘Job description and physical
requirements form’ template
‘Pre-employment medical questionnaire
form’ template

19
Application for
employment
Position applied for
Last name First name
Address
State Postcode
Telephone Date of birth Age
Country of birth Preferred language
Drivers licence number State Class Expiry date
Emergency contact Relationship Emergency contact telephone
Emergency
contact address State Postcode
Are you legally entitled to work in Australia?
Yes, I am an Australian/New Zealand citizen or permanent resident
Yes, I hold a valid work visa Type Expiry date / /
No
**Please note that you will be asked to provide evidence of citizenship, permanent residency, or working visa
Education, training and qualification
Name of institution Course name Year completed Qualification achieved
Details of previous employment or work experience
Date Company Position Duties Reason for leaving Contact details
Have you been previously employed by this company? Yes No
If so, dates employed Job position Reasons for leaving
List three professional referees
Name Company Address Position Telephone
**Please note that by providing the contact details of the above professional referees, you are also providing your consent for us
to contact the professional referee to discuss your suitability for this position. Where possible, the professional referee should be
someone who knows you in an work capacity.
Statement
In signing this application for employment, i solemnly declare that each and every answer above is true to the best of my knowledge
and belief. I understand that any false or misleading information may result in termination of employment.
Signature Date / /

20
questionnaire
Purpose
Our organisation has a duty of care to provide and maintain a safe working environment, so far as is practicable, and to ensure employees are
not exposed to hazards. This form allows us to obtain relevant medical information so we can ensure, as much as possible, that you are a suitable
physical and medical match to the role for which you are applying, and can carry out the role without the risk of harm to yourself or others.
Please note that it is discriminatory to deny a person employment solely because they have a disability or illness, and that is not the intention of
this questionnaire.
Important information:
• Please ensure you have read the accompanying job description and physical requirements form before proceeding
delete if you are not using this form.
• If you have any difficulties with any of the questions in this form, please discuss them with your treating doctor.
• All details provided on this form are treated as strictly confidential, and will be kept in a personal file.
Personal details
First name Last name
Address
State Postcode
Telephone Date of birth Age
Treating/Family doctor Doctor contact details
Drivers licence no. State Class Expiry date
Emergency contact Relationship Emergency contact telephone
Position applying for
Medical details
Note to employer – delete those that do not apply to the position, and add any extra that do apply
Please tick If ‘Yes’, please explain
Are you currently receiving any medical treatment for any illness, injury
or medical condition?
Yes No
Do you have any pre-existing/chronic/long term injuries or illness? Yes No
Have you been hospitalised and/or had any operations? Yes No
Are you taking any medications that can impact on your ability to work? Yes No
Have you had any prolonged time off work in the last year due to injury
or illness?
Yes No
Do you have a current workers’ compensation claim? Yes No
Have you had a workers’ compensation claim or a work-related injury
or illness in the past?
Yes No
Do you have any known allergies to:
Medication? Foods? Other?
Please tick (ü) in the box beside any condition/s that you have now or have had at any time in your life:
Note to employer – delete those that do not apply to the position, and add any extra conditions that do apply
Back pain/injury Neck pain/injury Knee pain/injury Repetitive strain/overuse
injury
Blood pressure Lung problems/Asthma/
Bronchitis
Tuberculosis Hernia
Fits/Seizures/Blackouts Persistent or frequent
headaches/migraines
Diabetes (sugar) Any joint problems/fractures
Dizziness/fainting Arthritis/Rheumatism Heart trouble/angina Speech impairment
Anxiety/depression Mental or nervous troubles Loss of hearing/ringing in
the ears
Visual impairments
Stomach problems/Ulcers Hepatitis/Jaundice/Liver trouble Skin disorders/Dermatitis Infectious disease

21
Please comment below on those you have ticked:
Please tick (ü) any activities listed below that you have difficulty with:
Note to employer – delete those that do not apply to the position, modify others to suit, and add any extra activities that do apply
Crouching/bending/
kneeling
Walking on uneven ground Standing for up to
30 minutes
Sitting for up to
30 minutes
Working above
shoulder height
Repetitive movements of the
hands or arms
Walking up or down stairs Lifting heavy weights
above 15kg
Wearing protective
personal equipment
Working in hot/cold extremes Climbing ladders Shift work
Working at heights Confined spaces Operating machinery Using hand tools
Please comment below on those you have ticked:
Have you had any exposure to the following in your past jobs? If ‘Yes’, please explain
Loud noise/explosives/gunfire Yes No
Asbestos Yes No
Toxic or hazardous chemicals Yes No
Radiation Yes No
Dust Yes No
Are you aware of any circumstances relating to your health or capacity to work, that have not already been mentioned, that would interfere with
your ability to perform the duties of the position? Yes No If ‘Yes’, please outline below:
Important notice
Section 79 of the Workers’ Compensation and Injury Management Act 1981 in Western Australia gives the Workers’ Compensation Dispute
Resolution Body discretion to refuse to award compensation which would otherwise be payable where it is proved that the worker has at the
time of seeking or entering employment, wilfully and falsely represented him/herself as not having previously suffered from the disability,
which is the subject of the claim for Compensation.
Declaration
I solemnly declare that each and every answer above is true to the best of my knowledge and belief. I understand that any false or misleading
information may result in termination of employment.
Signature Date / /

22
Job description and
physical requirements
Purpose
Our organisation has a duty of care to provide and maintain a safe working environment, so far as is practicable, and to ensure employees are not
exposed to hazards. The purpose of this form is to provide detailed information about the physical requirements of a specific job position. This
information may be used in conjunction with:
• pre–employment medical information to assist in determining your physical and medical suitability for the role
• medical information relating to injury or illness (whether work–related or not) to assist in determining whether we can accommodate an
injured or ill worker on a restricted return to work
• medical information to determine whether aids or equipments can be provided that may assist in the performance of work duties for injured,
ill or impaired workers.
In the case of injury, illness or impairment to an employee, this form may be provided to treating Doctors and health practitioners to assist in
determining capacity for work and developing a return to work program.
For pre–employment purposes, this form should be read carefully and fully understood before completing the pre–employment medical
questionnaire.
Job description
Position title
Job description and duties
Required education and training
Hours per day and days per week

23
Physical requirements of the role
On an average work day, employee is required to: please check applicable box
Activity Not at all Occasionally
(required less than
1/3 of the time)
Frequently
(required between
1/3 to 2/3 of the time)
Constantly
(required more than
2/3 of the time)
Ability to change posture regularly
(eg from sitting to standing)
Sit
Stand
Walk
Lift from floor height
Usually kg
But up to kg
Lift from waist height
Usually kg
But up to kg
Lift above shoulder height
Usually kg
But up to kg
Lift, carry, and/or move humans or animals
Usually kg
But up to kg
Carry loads
Usually kg
But up to kg
Push/pull loads
Usually kg
But up to kg
Lift and/or carry awkward sized loads
Squatting or kneeling
Work with arms above shoulder height
Work in awkward and/or constrained postures
Use stairs
Climb ladders
Bend or twist the back
Drive vehicles (such as cars, trucks or forklifts)
Use tools, machinery or vehicles which vibrate
Computer or other visual display unit use
Repetitive movements of the hands or arms
Repetitive movements of the feet
(such as operating foot controls)
Firm grasping (of objects, tools or controls)
Fine manipulation of hands/fingers

24
Other requirements for this role
(Note to employer – delete those that do not apply to the position, modify others to suit, and add any extra activities that do apply)
If ‘Yes’, please provide further detail
Working at heights Yes No
Working in confined spaces Yes No
Working with dusts, fumes, gases and chemicals Yes No
Operating heavy machinery Yes No
Working in extreme temperature and/or humidity conditions Yes No
Wearing of personal protective equipment Yes No
Travel by plane Yes No
Shift work Yes No
Working in noisy environments or with noisy machinery Yes No

®
25
OHS induction
What is an OHS induction?
An OHS induction involves introducing new workers to safety in
your organisation.
Why do I need to induct new workers?
It is well understood that new workers
are among the most vulnerable to
workplace injury. It is important not
to assume any prior knowledge of
new workers, even if they have come
from a similar job, similar workplace
or industry. This is because each
workplace, the plant and equipment
used, and the methods of work, will be
different. An assumption that a new
worker already knows about a key
safety issue or hazard in your industry
when they don’t, could lead to a serious
workplace injury or incident, for which
the employer could be held negligent.
What are the benefits of providing an
OHS induction?
An OHS induction aims to provide key
information, instruction and training
on the organisations OHS policies,
procedures and processes, along with
the known hazards in the industry
and organisation. The OHS induction
ensures new workers are familiar
with all relevant OHS information
prior to their commencement of
work activities, and this should prevent
many workplace injuries or illness.
By ensuring all new workers receive
the same OHS induction information
(relevant to their position), you will
ensure consistency of information,
knowledge and work behaviour.
Who should I induct into
the workplace?
All workers need to be inducted into
the workplace, including full time, part
time, casual, labour hire and seasonal
employees. Contractors, subcontractors
and visitors should also be inducted,
however the induction for these parties
can be modified and customised to suit
their level and customised to suit their
level of safety risk.
What are the legal requirements for
providing OHS inductions?
In accordance with Section 19 of the
1984 (WA), it is the employers duty
of care to provide employees with
adequate information, instruction,
training and supervision to enable them
to perform their work in such a manner
that they are not exposed to hazards.
It should also be mentioned that both
the labour hire agency and labour hire
host employer have a duty of care to
provide an induction for labour hire
employees (WorkSafe WA 2005). See the
resources section for a link to further
information on this topic.
What information should be included
in the Induction?
The information covered during
an induction will vary dependent
on the type of workplace and the
industry involved, however there
are three main components to any
workplace induction:
1. Organisation and job introduction
• Organisation staffing structure
and reporting lines.
• Job description and main tasks.
2. Terms and conditions
of employment
• Pay, superannuation, leave and
other entitlements.
3. OHS induction
• OHS policy (which emphasises
your commitment to provide a
safe workplace).
• OHS responsibilities of both the
employer and employee (Section
19 and 20 of the Occupational
Safety and Health Act 1984 WA).
• Specific staff OHS responsibilities.
• OHS communication and
consultation processes you
have in place (such as OHS
committees, safety and health
representatives, toolbox
meetings, OHS notice board).
• Hazards in the workplace and how
these are controlled.
• Safe work procedures and
instructions (or Job Safety
Analyses) relevant to the
workers job.
• Issue resolution processes
• Risk management procedures
(how you identify, assess and
control hazards).
• Hazard reporting.
• Injury/Incident reporting
and investigation.
• Injury management system.
• Emergency procedures.
• First Aid.
• Manual Handling.
• Training program.
• Housekeeping.
• Safety signage.
• How OHS documents can be
accessed (location of safe work
procedures, hazard reporting
procedures etc).
This is the basic information that should
be included in your induction. Further
areas of OHS information should be
included dependent on your business
activities and industry (for example,
personal protective equipment and
hazardous substances).
OHS induction checklist
It is advisable to develop an
OHS induction checklist. This will
ensure that all aspects of the OHS
induction are covered.
QBE have developed a sample
OHS Induction Checklist. This is a
simple and generic sample only and
should be modified and customised
to suit your organisation.

26
OHS induction delivery
Each organisation will deliver their OHS
inductions differently and delivery will
depend on the size of the organisation,
the available resources, and recruiting
processes. There are several ways
of delivering the OHS induction
information and some of these include:
Developing an OHS induction handbook
for the employee to read through
Developing an OHS induction Microsoft
PowerPoint (TM) or similar presentation
which can be read from a computer by
the new employee
• Developing an OHS induction
video(s).
• Developing an interactive classroom
type presentation (with a handbook
and/or power point presentation as
a resource).
• Outsourcing the OHS induction to an
online or other training provider.
You will need to determine which
method best suits your business.
If you bombard new workers with too
much information on their first day,
they may miss key safety messages.
Your OHS induction will cover a fairly
large amount of information, so it is
suggested that delivery of the OHS
induction be broken up with other
activities such as introductions to
key staff, worksite tours, provision of
personal protective equipment, and
observation of relevant work tasks.
It may be better to deliver some key
safety messages on the first day, and
then revisit over the next few days while
adding further OHS induction material
with each day.
Consider an annual induction refresher
for all workers, including contractors.
Things change!
OHS induction questionnaire
It is recommended that an OHS
induction questionnaire be developed
for employees to complete at the
conclusion of their induction. The
OHS induction questionnaire can
be multiple choice or short answer,
but does not need to be lengthy or
complicated. It should focus on the key
safety messages from the induction
and the key OHS issues and hazards
for your organisation.
The OHS induction questionnaire will
ensure that employees have developed
an awareness and understanding of the
content covered during the induction.
Similarly, any areas that are not well
understood will be identified and
can be revisited.
Language and literacy considerations
It is the employers responsibility to
ensure that employees understand the
content of the OHS induction, (and any
other OHS training). Where there are
language and/or literacy barriers, these
need to be taken into consideration
and accommodated to ensure that
employees have full understanding.
Some suggestions for overcoming
language and literacy barriers include:
• Outsourcing the OHS induction to an
online or other training provider.
• Developing induction handbooks
and questionnaires in other
languages.
• Use of an interpreter and/or scribe.
• Use of computer based/online
induction resources which can come
in several languages.
• Use of video and/or picture based
induction resources.
OHS induction record keeping
Records of all training undertaken,
including induction, should be kept
and archived for at least seven years.
The retention of occupational health
and safety records, such as induction
records, provide proof of compliance
with legal obligations and evidence that
actions have been undertaken.
1984 (WA)
Labour Hire Industry and Duty of Care
(WorkSafe WA 2005)
http://www.commerce.wa.gov.au/
Worksafe/PDF/Bulletins/Duty_of_Care-
Labour_.pdf
documents
Training fact sheet
Perth +61 8 9213 6100 Bunbury +61 8 9721 9200

27
Employee name
Position Date of commencement / /
Location
Person conducting induction
Topic Date completed Comments
1. Site tour
2.
Organisation staffing
structure and reporting lines
3.
Explanation of job
description and work tasks
4. OHS policy
5.
OHS responsibilities of both
the employer and employee
6.
Specific staff OHS
responsibilities
7.
OHS communication and
consultation processes
in place
8. Issue resolution processes
9.
Risk management
procedures
10. Hazard reporting
11
Injury/incident reporting
and investigation
12. Injury management system
13.
Emergency procedures
and location of emergency
exits, assembly areas and
emergency equipment
14.
First aid – location of
facilities and identification of
first aiders
15. Manual handling
16. Housekeeping
17. Safety signage
18.
How OHS information can
be accessed
19. Training program
20.
Known relevant hazards
to role
21.
Relevant safe work
procedures and instructions
Manager/supervisor Signed Date / /
New employee Signed Date / /

®
28
Training
What is training?
Training is an activity designed to assist the learning and
development of new and existing skills so as to improve the
performance of a specific task or role.
Why train your employees?
Training will provide employees
with the required skills and knowledge
to perform a task competently and
safely, therefore reducing the likelihood
of harm to themselves or to others in
the workplace.
An employer is obligated to provide
adequate training, information,
instruction and supervision to
enable their employees to perform
their work in such a manner that
they are not exposed to hazards
(section 19 Occupational Safety and
Health Act 1984 WA).
How do i determine what training
is required?
Each organisation will have its own
individual training requirements. The
first step in developing a training
program is to identify the training needs
of the organisation and its job roles.
To gain an understanding of where
training is required and what key
knowledge and skills need to be learnt,
as much information as possible
should be obtained on each job within
the organisation. This should include
information on both the operational and
safety requirements of the role.
Information on each job in the
organisation can be obtained through:
• Job descriptions.
• Observing employees in action.
• Consulting with employees,
supervisors and other stakeholders.
• Questioning employees on their
current level of knowledge.
• Reviewing existing training materials
and/or procedures.
• Reviewing existing job safety
analyses and risk assessments.
• Reviewing related incident/
accident reports and incident
investigation reports.
• Researching industry standards,
legally required training (such as
high risk work licences) and specific
safety training requirements (such
as for emergency procedures and
hazardous substances).
Once the job requirements have been
identified, this should provide the
basis for developing a formal training
program. The training program should
be aimed at getting a specific outcome
(such as the specific knowledge,
practical skills and abilities required to
perform the role adequately and safely).
Developing your training program
(i) Delivery of training
Once you have identified your
training needs, you must then
consider how this can be best
delivered to your workers.
It is essential that you identify
what training is legally required
for example,
• A High Risk Work licence is
required to operate a forklift truck.
• Construction Industry General
Induction (White Card); and
• responsible Service of Alcohol
(RSA) is required for work
involving the sale and service
of alcohol.
Training that is legally required
must be provided by a Registered
Training Organisation (RTO).
RTO’s are education institutions,
private providers and industry
bodies registered to provide
nationally accredited training
and qualifications.
Induction and on the job training
can usually be provided using your
internal expertise and resources.
There may be some occasions where
you require or choose to outsource
your training to an external provider
(or third party) that has expertise in
a specific subject area for example,
manual handling, health and
safety representative training or
hazardous substances.
Examples of training resources that
can be developed internally or by an
external provider include:
• Training handbook.
• Web-based or E–Learning.
• Training videos/DVDs.
• Demonstration and practical
application under supervision.
(ii) ‘On the job’ training
‘On the job’ training is usually a
key training method for many
organisations. A common mistake
made by employers is to implement
a buddy system which has no
structure for what employees are
required to learn.
It is important that ‘on the job’
training is provided consistently in
your workplace so that everyone
receives the same training. ‘On
the job’ training should also be
verifiable, and the content and detail
of what is covered documented and
readily available.
Consistency and verification
of training can be achieved by
developing checklists for the
knowledge and skills that will
be obtained through ‘on the job’
training, or by training to a JSA/Safe
Work Procedure. Importantly, only
someone who is already deemed
competent should be involved in
facilitating ‘on the job’ training.
(iii) What about experienced
employees?
There will be some instances in
which a new employee comes
with many years experience. Be
mindful of a few common errors

29
that employers can make here:
• Not all models of vehicles, plant,
machinery and equipment are
the same.
• Employee may have previously
learnt or developed unsafe
work practices.
• Employee may not have
undergone the necessary training
in their previous employment.
• All workplaces (even those in the
same industry) are different with
different hazards and risks.
It is therefore recommended that
assumptions of prior knowledge
not be made when training new
employees. At the very least, an
employee who claims to have the
required level of knowledge and
skill should be assessed as being
competent before being able to
proceed in undertaking the work
activity. Ensure that all key safety
and operational requirements
are assessed.
(iv) Occupational health and
safety training for Managers
and Supervisors
Managers and Supervisors are
responsible for implementing
and monitoring OHS policies and
procedures and for proactively
addressing OHS performance issues.
Managers and Supervisors should
therefore undergo OHS training
which outlines their OHS legal
responsibilities and their role in
implementing and monitoring
the organisations OHS policies
and procedures. There are several
training providers that regularly
conduct OHS training for managers
and supervisors and this may be a
preferred option depending on your
organisations available resources.
(v) Refresher training
It is important to provide periodic
‘refresher’ training and updates
at appropriate intervals. This is
particularly important in relation to
high risk hazards or job activities,
so that employees remain acutely
aware of their safety requirements.
Some examples for training that
should be regularly ‘refreshed’
include (but are certainly not limited
to) manual handling, emergency
procedures, risk assessment and
job safety analysis training. The
frequency of refresher training
should be outlined in your training
matrix (discussed further below).
Evaluation of learning
Following the delivery of training, it
is important to establish that your
participants have actually achieved the
required learning outcomes, they have
understood the content, and acquired
the necessary skills.
There are many ways to determine
whether learning has occurred from
training, for example demonstration of
the skill learnt, or completion of a simple
questionnaire/quiz.
Training matrix
It is important to document your
training program once it has been
developed. This is commonly
achieved by using a training matrix.
A training matrix outlines the training
requirements of each role, including
legally required training, and internally
and externally provided training. A
training matrix is also used to schedule
training, to track the training that
employees have completed, and to
outline the currency of licences and
certificates. Please refer to the Training
matrix template for an example.
Keeping records of training
It is recommended that records of all
training undertaken by employees be
retained. The retention of occupational
health and safety records, such as
training records, provide proof of
compliance with legal obligations
and evidence that actions have been
undertaken. It is recommended that
training records be kept for 7 years.
Examples of training records that should
be kept include:
• induction training
• on the job training (for example,
completed and signed checklists)
• refresher training
• training undertaken during
toolbox meetings
• copies of all certificates, licenses,
tickets and qualifications
• records of the evaluation of learning.
Reviewing your training program
As with any OHS process, policy or
procedure, it is important to continually
evaluate whether your current training
is achieving the learning required and
meeting the needs of your organisation.
It is recommended that a review of
training be taken annually to identify
where deficiencies may lie, and look for
areas of improvement.
Be sure to also review your training
when there are changes to legislation,
guidance notes, standards or codes
of practices, changes to technology,
changes to plant and equipment or
change to work practices.
1984 (WA)
documents
Training matrix template
OHS induction fact sheet
Perth +61 8 9213 6100 Bunbury +61 8 9721 9200

30
Training matrix (Sample)
Organisation Site/Branch
Employee
name
Position Date
commenced
employment
Essentialtraining
Induction Risk management
training
Manual handling
Training
Emergency response
Training
Chemical safety
training
How forklift
Licence
Traffic management
and forklift safety
training
‘Asrequired’training
First aid
Training
Fire warden
Training
Safety and health
Representative
training
Date
completed
Date
completed
Refresher
date
Date
completed
Refresher
date
Date
completed
Refresher
date
Date
completed
Refresher
date
Date
completed
Refresher
date
Date
completed
Refresher
date
Date
completed
Refresher
date
Date
completed
Refresher
date
Date
completed
Refresher
date
Joe bloggs
Forklift
driver 1/02/2011 2/01/2011 3/01/2011 1/01/2012 4/01/2011 1/01/2012 4/01/2011 1/01/2012 5/01/2011 1/01/2012 3/09/2009 1/09/2012
Not yet
complete TBC

®
31
Hazard reporting
What is a hazard?
A hazard is a source or a situation with a potential for harm in
terms of human injury or ill health, damage to property, damage
to the environment, or a combination of these (Australian
Standard/New Zealand Standard 4801: 2001).
Why report hazards?
An effective hazard reporting process
allows hazards to be identified and
addressed before they result in harm.
Remember, an organisation cannot
correct hazards that they are not
aware of. Reporting of hazards helps
to prevent workplace incidents and
injuries including personal injury,
property and equipment damage and
environmental damage.
How to report hazards
A formal process for the reporting of
hazards should be established. It is
recommended that you consult with the
workforce to determine what will work
best in your workplace. Often a hazard
report form is an effective way to record
hazards that have been identified.
Hazard reporting legal requirements
Please note the following legal
requirements in relation to hazard
reporting in the workplace in
Western Australia:
• Employees have a duty of care under
the Occupational Safety and Health
Act 1984 (WA) to report all hazards
immediately to the employer.
• The employer must, within a
reasonable time of receiving a
hazard report, investigate the
matter that has been reported
and determine the corrective
action required (section 23K of
the Occupational Safety and
Health Act 1984 (WA)).
• The employer must also inform
the employee who reported the
hazard, of the corrective action
to be undertaken.
It is also recommended that other
employees in the workplace be
informed of the hazard reported
and subsequent corrective actions
implemented, during a toolbox meeting
or safety meeting.
What you should include in your
hazard reporting process
Once you have decided how hazards
will be reported and addressed in your
business this should be documented.
This can be done by developing a
simple hazard reporting procedure
that includes:
1. A description of the types of
hazards that need to be reported.
Those hazards which can be
safely corrected by the employee
immediately, do not need to be
reported. For example, an employee
who notes that a box on the floor is
a tripping hazard does not need to
report the hazard if they are able to
store the box away safely.
2. Employees who identify hazards
which cannot be immediately
corrected, should take appropriate
action to make the situation as
safe as possible (for example, by
barricading any dangerous areas
and providing signage to advise of
the hazard).
3. The requirement for completing a
Hazard report form and submitting
to the relevant staff member (usually
a Supervisor/Manager).
4. Who is responsible for assessing the
hazard. This is usually done through
the completion of a risk assessment
by the supervisor or manager in
consultation with workers and
safety representatives.
5. The format of the risk matrix that will
be used to determine the risk rating.
The same risk matrix should be used
consistently throughout all your
safety procedures and templates.
6. How corrective actions will
be determined. Ensure that
consultation is considered when
deciding on your process.
7. The timeframes and responsibilities
for putting corrective actions
into place and ensuring these
are documented on the hazard
report form.
8. Information on how reported
hazards will be communicated to
employees. It is important to keep
employees informed throughout the
hazard assessment and resolution
process. Suggestions include
communicating the hazards and
any identified corrections during
toolbox meetings and displaying the
completed hazard report form on
the OHS notice board.
1984 (WA)
health and safety management systems
documents
Hazard report form template

32
Perth +61 8 9213 6100 Bunbury +61 8 9721 9200
document. No part of this publication can be reproduced without the written permission of QBE Insurance (Australia) Limited. ABN 78 003 191 035

33
Hazard report form
Hazard reported to
Job position Date reported / /
Hazard details
Date time hazard observed
Day Date Time am/pm
Exact location of hazard
Full description of hazard
**Please attach a photo or drawing of the hazard if this would help with your description or explanation
Immediate action taken
(Have you taken any action to correct the hazard; for example, lock out/tag out of faulty machinery or barricading the dangerous area)
Hazard report completed by
Name Position
Signature Date / /
Please submit this form to your supervisor, who will complete the rest.

34
This section to be completed by a supervisor
Likelihood
Consequence
Major (A)
environmental harm
Moderate (B)
environmental harm
Minor (C)
property or equipment damage, no
environmental harm
Likely (1)
Moderate (2)
Unlikely (3)
Legend
Using the above risk assessment matrix calculate the hazard risk assessment rating:
Recommended corrective actions
(Corrective actions are those actions which eliminate or reduce the risk of the identified hazard)
Corrective action Person
responsible
Target
completion date
Date
completed
Please note: Sign off from supervisor required once all corrective actions have been implemented
Name of supervisor Position
Signature Date / /

®
35
What is a workplace safety inspection?
Why are workplace safety
inspections important?
Workplace safety inspections are a
proactive form of risk management,
with the aim to identify and correct
hazards before an incident (including
serious injury) occurs.
legal requirements
Under the Occupational Safety and
Health Regulations 1996 (WA), it is a
legal requirement for employers to, as
far as practicable:
be exposed;
person resulting from each hazard,
if any,
Conducting workplace safety
inspections is one of the methods
to assist in meeting the above
legal requirement.
How to prepare for
workplace inspections
What to inspect?
Every workplace will differ and the
activities that are undertaken will
determine what needs to be included in
your inspection checklist.
Below is a sample of some items that
you may wish to include:
• Fire and emergency equipment.
• First aid facilities.
• Housekeeping and tidiness.
• Chemical storage.
• Provision and use of personal
protective equipment.
If your organisation has developed
a hazard register, this can assist you
in identifying those hazards which
A workplace safety inspection is a planned, documented and
comprehensive visual survey of the work area in order to
proactively identify hazards.
require regular monitoring (for example,
use of plant and machinery, high risk
processes/job tasks).
Where you do have high risk processes,
it is a good idea to develop a safety
checklist specific to that activity.
How often?
The frequency of workplace safety
inspections will depend on the size of
the organisation, the hazards involved
in the work processes and materials
used, the incident and accident history,
reported hazards and staff concerns.
A schedule should be developed and
accountability assigned for conducting
workplace safety inspections. For
example, low risk office environments
might only require a workplace safety
inspection once or twice per year,
whereas a factory environment might
require one every month.
Who should conduct them?
Inspections can be undertaken by more
than one person, with the participation
of Safety and Health Representatives
or other employee representatives
strongly encouraged so that their
skills in identifying and correcting
hazards can be developed. It may also
be appropriate for different personnel
to inspect different areas/sections of
your workplace (for example, the area
managers may each be responsible
for conducting a workplace safety
inspection of their own areas).
Where possible, the personnel designated
to undertake workplace safety inspections
should be able to demonstrate the following:
• knowledge of the existing hazards
and controls in the workplace
• good understanding of risk
management processes
• knowledge of the safe working
procedures and applicable
legislative requirements.
Developing a workplace
inspection checklist
It is recommended that a documented
workplace inspection checklist be
developed, which is specific to the
hazards and safety issues in your
workplace. The use of a workplace
inspection checklist will ensure
consistency and prompt the inspector
to foresee all of the possible situations
or events that may lead to harm.
Your workplace inspection checklist
should make room for:
• Prompts for identifying and
recording hazards.
• Recording of hazards that were
corrected during the inspection.
• Recording of any observations.
• Corrective actions required (that
is, the action required to rectify
the situation, who is responsible
for implementing that action
and by when).
• Risk ratings/score of
identified hazards.
Remember, your workplace inspection
checklist should be unique and tailored
to your workplace. If you already
have quality assurance or other types
of inspection requirements in your
organization, consider whether these
can be combined with the workplace
safety inspection.
QBE has developed the following
workplace safety inspection checklists
templates to assist you:
• Office-based workplace safety
inspection checklist.
• General workplace safety
inspection checklist.
Conducting workplace inspections
Preparation
Prior to conducting an inspection it
is useful to review or take a copy of

36
the previous report of the area to be
inspected. This review will highlight
areas previously identified as requiring
attention and allow the identification
of recurring hazards. It is also useful to
review any recent hazard reports and
incident reports, so that ‘problem’ areas
can be given due attention.
Conducting the inspection
When hazards are identified, ask
questions such as “why is that gas
cylinder unsecured?” or “why is that
box of files left in the passageway?”. The
purpose of these questions during the
workplace safety inspection is to help
the inspector identify the underlying
cause of the issue. Hazards that are
corrected during the inspection,
for example remounting of a fire
extinguisher, unblocking a fire exit, etc.
should still be recorded so the next
inspector can identify any recurrence.
Consulting with employees
Employers are legally obligated to
consult with workers on safety matters.
Ensure you undertake discussions with
employees that work in the area being
inspected, as they are likely to be able
to provide valuable information on the
hazards associated with their work
processes and area. They will equally
be able to provide valuable input into
identifying suitable corrective actions.
Identifying corrective actions
The identification of suitable corrective
actions for identified hazards is the
most important aspect of conducting a
workplace safety inspection. Ensure that
there is a process in place for identifying
and implementing suitable corrective
actions which will eliminate or minimise
the risk of the identified hazard. For
example, who will make the decisions on
what is a suitable corrective action?
To ensure that corrective actions
are implemented, it is good practice
to designate responsibility for
implementing the corrective action,
and to set a timeframe at which the
corrective action should be fully
implemented. Remember to then
review these corrective actions during
your next workplace safety inspection
to ensure they have been effective
in eliminating or reducing the risk
of your identified hazard, and that
the corrective action itself has not
introduced any new hazards.
Communicating inspection results
It is important that safety information
is communicated to the rest of your
organisation. It is recommended that the
results of workplace safety inspections
are discussed with employees (for
example, during toolbox meetings and
OHS committee meetings).
Records of workplace inspections
and safety records provide proof of
compliance with legal obligations
and evidence that actions have been
undertaken. We recommend that
workplace safety inspection records be
archived for a period of seven years.
These records may provide valuable
supporting evidence for you in the
event of a prosecution.
Review of workplace inspection
procedures and checklist
If there are any changes to your
workplace, ensure that your workplace
safety inspection procedures and
checklist are updated to capture
these. As a minimum, a review of the
workplace safety inspection procedures
and checklist should occur annually to
ensure it remains current.
Still don’t know where to start?
Check out WorkSafe WA’s ‘The First
Step’. They have a number of workplace
safety inspection checklists that you
may find useful. They focus on the
priority safety areas of:
• chemical safety
• electrical safety
• manual handling
• slips and trips
• working at heights
• machine guarding.
WorkSafe/PDF/Thinksafe/FirstStep.pdf
documents
Hazard register fact sheet
Perth +61 8 9213 6100 Bunbury +61 8 9721 9200

37
Workplace safety
Inspection checklist
Area inspected Date of inspection Time of inspection
Person(s) inspecting
1. 2. 3.
Instructions
1. Physically inspect the workplace for hazards using the checklist below for prompts. For any hazards not covered in the checklist,
add them to the blank section at the bottom of the checklist. Where a hazard exists, check the No box.
2. For those areas marked No, use the risk assessment matrix contained at the end of the checklist to determine the risk score.
3. Once the risk score is determined, use the legend of the risk matrix to determine what further action is required.
4. For hazards which require further action, identify and document corrective actions that will eliminate or minimise the risk of the hazard
(including the allocation of the responsibility for implementing the corrective action and the timeframe for completion).
5. Once corrective actions have been fully implemented, the workplace inspection can be signed off and then distributed to the
relevant parties.
Workplace inspection checklist
Fire/Emergency Yes No N/A Risk score Comments/actions required
Extinguishers mounted, clearly
marked for type of fire, serviced
within the last 6 months
Exit signs clearly visible
Exit doors operating correctly
Exits emergency equipment clear
of obstructions
Emergency procedures displayed
(including a diagram displaying the
location of emergency exits, escape
routes and assembly areas)
Emergency lighting operable
Electrical Y N N/A Risk score Comments/actions required
Switchboards are labelled correctly
and protected from damage
Unauthorised access to switchboard/
substation is restricted
Plugs, outlets and switches are in
good repair and free from damage
Electrical cords are in good repair and
free from damage (such as fraying)
Cords are protected from water, from
being damaged and from being cut
No unprotected leads in access ways
Portable power tools in
good condition
Electrical equipment is inspected
tagged
Fixed and portable electrical
equipment are protected by Residual
Current Devices (RCD’s) installed at
switchboards or into fixed sockets
Powerpoints are not overloaded (no
double adaptors or ‘piggy back’ plugs)

38
Walkways stairs Y N N/A Risk score Comments/actions required
Walkways and stairs are kept tidy and
free from obstruction
Floor surfaces are maintained in good
condition (no cracks or holes)
Floor surfaces are free from oil,
grease and spills
Floor surfaces are clear of trip
hazards such as electrical leads
and hoses
Floor surfaces are slip resistant,
where required
Pedestrian walkways adequately
marked
There is anti-slip tread on steps,
where appropriate
Handrails in place where required
(for example, stairs)
Walkways and stairs are adequately lit
Plant equipment Y N N/A Risk score Comments/actions required
Tools in good condition and free from
any visible damage (such as split
handles, mushroom heads)
Warning signs are clearly visible
Mobile plant and vehicles (including
forklifts) are fitted with seatbelts
which are in good condition
Starting stopping (incl. emergency
stops) devices appropriately
positioned, clearly marked and
within easy reach
Machine controls are protected to
prevent unintentional operation
There is adequate work space
around machines
There is adequate machine guarding
(all nip points guarded, and guarding
also protects the side and rear of
the machinery)
Lifting machinery, cranes,
slings chains have safe lifting
capacity displayed
Work environment/housekeeping Y N N/A Risk score Comments/actions required
Work areas uncluttered free
of rubbish
There are adequate provisions for
waste disposal
Drip pans are provided, where
required, to prevent spillages
Work areas well ventilated
Adequate lighting for the job
Safety signage is displayed
where required

39
Storage Y N N/A Risk score Comments/actions required
Items stored correctly neatly,
when not in use
Storage designed to minimise manual
handling problems, ie heavier/
frequently used items located
between knee shoulder height
Racks marked with Safe Load
Limits (SWL)
Racks pallets in good condition
All containers correctly labelled
Storage stacks stable
Storage clear of lights sprinklers
Storage above head height
secured to pallet
Chemical safety Y N N/A Risk score Comments/actions required
Material Safety Data Sheets (MSDS)
for all chemicals are obtained and
readily available
Chemical register has been
developed and is readily available
Containers clearly labelled
Decanted containers are labelled with
name, risk and safety instructions
Gas cylinders stored vertically
and secured
There is designated storage
for chemicals
Flammable storage:
– is clean tidy
– is locked
– is licensed (where required)
– is correctly signed
PPE provided as per MSDS
Emergency facilities and first
aid facilities are provided
where appropriate
First aid Y N N/A Risk score Comments/actions required
Appropriate first aid kit(s) available
First aid kits are adequately stocked,
and stock is within expiry dates
Emergency telephone numbers
names of first aiders displayed

40
Amenities Y N N/A Risk score Comments/actions required
Hygienic, clean and tidy kitchen
Fridge and cooking appliances are
hygienic, clean and tidy
Adequate supply of drinking water
Personal protective equipment Y N N/A Risk score Comments/actions required
Areas where PPE is to be worn is
signposted (and employees observed
in these areas are wearing the
required PPE)
PPE has been provided where
required, and is readily available to
employees
Other identified hazards Y N N/A Risk score Comments/actions required
Risk score = Consequence + Likelihood
Likelihood
Consequence
Major (A)
environmental harm
Moderate (B)
environmental harm
Minor (C)
environmental harm
Likely (1)
Moderate (2)
Unlikely (3)
Legend
Low Risk: Acceptable risk and no further action required as long as risk has been minimised as much as possible
Medium Risk: Further action required to minimise risk
High Risk: Unacceptable risk and further Urgent attention required to minimise risk
Recommended corrective actions for identified hazards
Hazard Identified Corrective action required Risk
rating
Management
approval
Person
responsible
Target
completion date
Date
completed
Workplace inspection closed
Please note: A workplace inspection can only be closed once the corrective actions have been implemented and monitored for a period
Name
Signature Date / /

41
Office-based workplace safety
inspection checklist
Area inspected Date of inspection Time of inspection
Person(s) inspecting
1. 2. 3.
Instructions
1. Physically inspect the workplace for hazards using the checklist below for prompts. For any hazards not covered in the checklist, add them
to the blank section at the bottom of the checklist. Where a hazard exists, check the No box.
2. For those areas marked No, use the risk assessment matrix contained at the end of the checklist to determine the risk score.
3. Once the risk score is determined, use the legend of the risk matrix to determine what further action is required.
4. For hazards which require further action, identify and document corrective actions that will eliminate or minimise the risk of the hazard
(including the allocation of the responsibility for implementing the corrective action and the timeframe for completion).
5. Once corrective actions have been fully implemented, the workplace inspection can be signed off and then distributed to the
relevant parties.
Office-based workplace inspection checklist
General work environment Yes No N/A Risk score Comments/actions required
Ambient temperature is comfortable
Lighting is adequate and lights
in good working order (consider
stairways, foyers and amenities)
There is sufficient ventilation (too
high will result in an uncomfortable
draft, while too little will result
in ‘stuffiness’)
Noise levels are not excessive
or uncomfortable
Stairs in good condition and anti-slip
tread on steps
Electrical cords are adequately
bundled and stored so as to prevent
tripping, and are in good repair
Electrical power points are in good
repair and not overloaded
There is adequate storage space to
prevent clutter around the workplace
Walkways, hallways and stairs are
kept tidy and free from obstructions
Area underneath workspaces/desks
is kept free from objects and clutter
so as to allow unrestricted movement
around the workspace
Filing cabinets and shelves are
secured to avoid tipping over
Storage designed to minimise manual
handling problems (that is, heavier/
frequently used items located
between knee shoulder height)
Step ladders and/or stools are
provided for accessing items above
shoulder height
Loud photocopiers and printers
are located in a separate room or
are a reasonable distance away
from workers
Photocopier and printer cartridges
are properly disposed (or recycled
where possible)

42
Workstation
**Note: This is not intended as an
ergonomic assessment
Y N N/A Risk score Comments/actions required
Ergonomic chairs with adjustable
height, back tilt and lumbar support
are provided for workstations
Desktop space is sufficient
Desktop set up allows the user to
sit directly in front of the computer
monitor without twisting/bending
Frequently used items are within
easy reaching distance without
overreaching
Computer monitors are positioned
away from direct glare (of sunlight,
reflections etc.)
Computer screens are clear, legible
and stable (that is, they do no ‘flicker’)
Laptop docking stations and/
or external keyboard, mouse
and monitors are provided for
laptop users
Telephone headsets are provided for
frequent telephone users
Document holders are provided for
those that regularly view documents
while keying, and it is positioned
directly in front of the user
Footrests are made available to those
that require them
First aid and amenities Y N N/A Risk score Comments/actions required
Appropriate first aid kit(s) available
and easily locatable for staff
First aid supplies and injuries
are monitored
Emergency telephone numbers
names of first aiders displayed
Trained first aider available at
all times
Hygienic, clean and tidy bathrooms
Hygienic, clean and tidy kitchen
Fridge and cooking appliances are
hygienic, clean and tidy
Adequate supply of drinking water
Fire/Emergency Y N N/A Risk score Comments/actions required
Extinguishers in place, clearly marked
for type of fire serviced within the
last 6 months
Adequate direction notices for fire
exits and exit signs are clearly visible
Exit doors operating correctly
Exits emergency equipment clear
of obstructions
Emergency alarms tested
(check log books)
Emergency procedures displayed
(including a diagram displaying the
location of emergency exits, escape
routes and assembly areas)

43
Risk score = Consequence + Likelihood
Likelihood
Consequence
Major (A)
environmental harm
Moderate (B)
environmental harm
Minor (C)
environmental harm
Likely (1)
Moderate (2)
Unlikely (3)
Legend
Recommended corrective actions for identified hazards
Hazard identified Corrective action required Risk
rating
Management
approval
Person
responsible
Target
completion date
Date
completed
Workplace inspection closed
Please note: A workplace inspection can only be closed once the corrective actions have been implemented and monitored for a period
Name
Signature Date / /

®
44
Consultation
What is workplace consultation?
Workplace consultation is the open exchange of information
between employers and employees about occupational health
and safety (OHS) matters in the workplace.
Why is consultation important?
Consultation is a key component to
providing and maintaining a safe
workplace. Consultative processes
enable employees to contribute to
decisions that affect their safety and
health, and ensure that employers and
employees work together to resolve
OHS issues.
Effective consultation is reliant on
senior management valuing the views
of their employees. When this occurs,
employees will feel comfortable to
raise safety concerns, contribute to the
decision making process and are more
likely to take ownership of OHS issues
and outcomes.
The benefits of workplace
consultation include:
• The opportunity to exchange
knowledge, experience and ideas
when making decisions related to
OHS matters.
• Assisting in the identification of
hazards before an incident or
injury occurs.
• Improving commitment to OHS
through employee involvement in
decision making.
• Proactively dealing with OHS issues.
What are the legal requirements
for consultation?
An objective of the Occupational Safety
and Health Act 1984 (WA) is to foster
consultation between employers and
employees. As such, employers are
obligated to consult with employees
and safety and health representatives
(where they exist), on safety and
health matters at the workplace. To
complement this, employees have a
duty to cooperate with their employer
on safety and health matters (Guidance
note: Formal Consultative Processes in
the Workplace 2006, Commission for
Occupational Safety and Health WA).
When should consultation occur?
Consultation should occur where any
decisions are being made that have the
potential to impact on the OHS in the
workplace. This may include;
• The identification of hazards,
assessment of risk and making
decisions about how to control risk.
• When making decisions about
procedures related to consultation
and the resolution of issues.
• When proposing changes to the
workplace in relation to plant,
equipment, substances or processes.
Methods of consultation
There is no right or wrong way
to consult with employees in the
workplace. Your process should
suit the complexity and structure
of your business. Consultation can
be both formal and informal with
examples including;
Informal
• Toolbox meetings.
• Pre start Meetings.
• Staff Meetings which include OHS
as a regular agenda item.
• Safety focus groups.
Formal
• Electing safety and health
representatives.
• Establishing an OHS committee.
• Developing issue resolution
procedures.
Discuss with your employees what is
best for your workplace and document
this as your consultation procedure.
Informal consultation
While you may decide to implement
informal consultative processes in your
workplace it is important to ensure
that these are effective and still allow
employees to contribute to the decision
making process.
Toolbox meetings
A common example of informal
consultation is the conduct of ‘Toolbox’
meetings. Toolbox meetings are
generally short, informal meetings of a
work group, where the employer and
employees can directly exchange their
ideas regarding OHS. Employee input
is essential in ensuring that the toolbox
meeting is effective, it is therefore
important to consider the format
of meeting that would best engage
your workers.
It is recommended that toolbox
meetings are conducted on a regular
basis and used to consult on matters
such as;
• the outcome of workplace
inspections
• incidents that have occurred in
the workplace
• hazards that have been identified
• new or reviewed OHS instructions,
procedures, forms etc.
Safety focus groups
While you may not wish to establish a
‘formal’ OHS Committee in accordance
with legislation, you may still want to
have a forum such as a ‘focus group’ or
‘work group’ where consultation can
occur. The make up of this focus group
can be tailored to your workplace.
This group can be utilised to perform
similar functions as an OHS committee
(please see functions of OHS committee
inserted below). While the safety focus
group may not be a formal committee,
to assist in their effectiveness members
may still benefit from attendance
at accredited safety and health
representative training.
When developing procedures in relation
to informal consultative processes
(for example toolbox meetings, staff
meetings, safety focus groups etc),

45
it is important to consider including
information such as:
• the frequency of meetings
• who has responsibility for ensuring
meetings are conducted
• what should be included as standard
meeting agenda items
• how meeting minutes will be
recorded and distributed.
Formal consultation
Formal consultative arrangements are
most commonly based on the election
of Safety and Health Representatives
and the establishment of Occupational
Safety and Health Committees. It
is important to note that there are
legislative requirements that surround
both of these areas. If you are intending
on establishing a committee or electing
health and safety representatives ensure
that you refer to the Occupational Safety
and Health Act 1984 (WA) to familiarise
yourself with these requirements.
Safety and Health Representatives
Safety and Health Representatives
(SHR’s) are employees elected by
co-workers to represent them in
consultation about safety and health
matters with the employer.
Their main function is to represent
employees in the consultative process
and be the liaison between employees
and the employer. SHR’s should
therefore communicate on their
activities to the employees that they
represent. It is a legislative requirement
that SHR’s attend an accredited safety
and health representative training
course. It is recommended that this
training is attended as soon as possible
after election to ensure that they have
the skills, tools and knowledge to enable
them to perform their role effectively.
Safety and Health Committees
Safety and Health Committees bring
both employers/management and
employee representatives together
in a planned forum for discussion
of OHS matters. At least half of the
OHS committee must be made up of
SHR’s and employee representatives.
The function of the safety and health
committee includes (but is not
limited to):
• Making recommendations
regarding OHS programs,
measures and procedures.
• Making recommendations
regarding hazards.
• Reviewing accident data.
• Staying informed of industry safety
and health standards.
• Considering matters referred
by employees.
• Enabling and assisting in the
development and implementation of
safety and health measures.
Features of effective consultation
• Provides an opportunity for
everyone to be directly or indirectly
involved in the decision making
process, taking into consideration
issues such as shiftwork, rostering
and work location.
• Recognises the needs of different
categories of participants, for
example, volunteers, contractors,
temporary staff and residents.
• The decisions that are made
regarding OHS matters genuinely
reflect employee input.
• Feedback on OHS issues is
continuous and employees do not
have to wait for a ‘meeting’ to raise
an issue.
• Consideration is given to literacy
level, language, and ethnicity.
• Meetings are conducted regularly
and actually take place. Where
there is a requirement to postpone
a meeting they are rescheduled as
soon as possible.
• There is a set agenda and all
employees have the ability to
contribute to the agenda prior
to the meeting.
• Meeting minutes are taken, clearly
recording action items and these
are displayed or made available
to employees.
QBE have developed some
templates that may assist you with
the recording of OHS Committee and
Toolbox meetings.
Records of consultation
and safety records provides proof
of compliance with legal obligations
and evidence that actions have
been undertaken. It is therefore
recommended that consultative
processes be documented, where
possible, and retained for 7 years.
While your consultative process
may be informal it is important to
ensure that you can demonstrate
that you consult with your workers.
Even when consultation is informal
it is recommended that meeting
minutes (and specifically action items)
are recorded and where practicable,
it is recommended that employees
attendance at these meetings
is recorded.
Guidance note: Formal Consultative
Processes in the Workplace 2006
(Commission for Occupational Safety
and Health WA)
Act 1984 (WA)
documents
OHS committee meeting
agenda template
Toolbox meeting record template
Perth +61 8 9213 6100 Bunbury +61 8 9721 9200

46
Safety meeting agenda
Meeting no. Date / / Time
1. Chairperson opens the meeting Note: The chairperson controls and directs the meeting. You may wish to have the same
person always chair the meetings, or rotate the responsibility for this.
2. Attendance/Apologies
3. Minutes of previous meeting reviewed
4. Outstanding actions from previous meeting
i.
Note: The status of action items should be reviewed and updatedii.
iii.
5. Standing items
i. Incident reports
Note: These items should be discussed at every meeting. The status of corrective actions/
control measures should also be discussed.
ii. Workplace safety inspection reports
iii. Hazard reports
iv. New safe work policies and procedures
v. Training
vi Planned changes to the workplace
6. General business
7. Close

47
Toolbox meeting record
Work group
Meeting venue
Meeting Date / / Time
Meeting conducted by Signed
Employee safety and health representative Signed
Agenda (Issues to be covered)
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
Meeting minutes
Follow up actions required
Action required Person responsible Due date
Attendance
Print name Signature

®
48
What is an incident?
An incident is any unplanned event resulting in, or having
potential for injury, ill health, damage or other loss (Australian
Standard/New Zealand Standard 4804: 2001 Occupational
Health and Safety Management Systems).
An incident can include:
• Near misses.
• Work-related injury or illness.
• Property or equipment damage.
• Environmental incident.
• Other.
A ‘near miss’ is defined as any
unplanned incident that occurred at the
workplace which, although not resulting
in any injury or damage in that instance,
it had the potential to do so (Australian
Standard 1885.1 – 1990 Workplace injury
and disease recording standard).
Work-related injuries and illness can be
further defined into categories:
Lost Time Injury (LTI): those injuries
or illnesses that have resulted in the
worker being medically certified as unfit
for work for one day or more.
Medical Treatment Injury (MTI): those
injuries or illnesses in which the worker
has received medical treatment off
site from a Doctor, Physiotherapist,
Chiropractor or other health provider.
First Aid Treatment (FAT): those injuries
in which the worker required first aid
treatment on site only.
Why report and investigate incidents?
The key objective for reporting and
investigating incidents is to determine
what has caused the incident, and
to take action to prevent this from
occurring again. To determine what
the cause of the incident is, you must
investigate to identify all contributing
factors. Taking action to address the
contributing factors will prevent further
similar incidents and/or injuries from
occurring, which may be much more
serious in nature.
Incident reporting also allows the
identification of trends, provision of
statistics on the frequency and severity
of incidences, and the targeting of poor
performing areas and activities.
Having incident reporting and
investigation procedures in place in
your organisation will ensure you learn
from your mistakes, and take action to
correct things when they have gone
wrong. If a serious incident should
occur, it is likely that your incident
reporting and investigation history will
be reviewed by WorkSafe WA, therefore
it is important that these procedures
exist and are implemented effectively.
legal requirements
All employees have obligations under
1984 (WA) to report hazards and
incidents immediately to their employer.
Employers equally have a legal
obligation to, within a reasonable time
of receiving a hazard or incident report,
investigate the matter that has been
reported and determine the corrective
action required (section 23K of the
1984 (WA)).
What should you include in your
incident reporting procedures
Your organisations incident reporting
procedures should outline:
• What types of incidents need to be
reported (it is recommended that
all incidents, including near misses,
be reported).
• What documentation needs to be
completed (such as an incident
report form, or incident register).
• State the staff member that incidents
should be reported to.
• Outline the process for determining
whether the incident requires
an investigation.
• How the incident report is closed
(or signed off) if no investigation
is required.
• How and where the incident report
form is to be stored/archived.
For some organisations it would be
unfeasible to investigate every single
minor injury and near miss, therefore
a means for determining whether an
investigation is required should be
established. The most effective means
for determining whether an incident
investigation is required is to conduct a
risk assessment of the incident. Using
the provided Incident report form
template, all incidents with a risk rating
of medium or higher and all near misses
with a potential risk rating of medium
or higher, should be investigated. It is
strongly recommended that all lost time
injuries and medical treatment injuries
be investigated. Refer to the Incident
report form and Incident investigation
form template for guidance.
What should you outline in your
incident investigation procedures
Your organisation’s incident
investigation procedures should outline:
• When the investigation
should occur?
Incident investigations must be
carried out as soon as possible
after the incident has occurred.
All efforts should be made to visit
and assess the scene before the
evidence is disturbed.
• Who should investigate?
The incident investigation process
should outline who should be
involved in incident investigations.
Those required to be involved in
the incident investigation may
differ depending on the nature
and severity of the incident. For
example, for minor incidents, it
may be sufficient for a supervisor
to undertake the investigation,
however for an incident which
resulted in a serious permanent
injury, someone in senior
management along with an
independent external consultant
may also be involved in the
incident investigation.

49
Investigators should ideally be a
group of people chosen by the
organisation who know the systems
of work and the organisational
standards and procedures.
Investigators can include Health and
Safety Representatives, Managers/
Supervisors, Safety Committee
members, and the OHS Coordinator.
• Carrying out the investigation
The incident investigation process
should outline how information
is to be obtained. Relevant and
objective information should be
obtained from:
• Injured person/s.
• Other employees/witnesses.
• Workplace supervisors
and managers.
The relevant and objective
information required may include:
• The sequence of events.
• Operating procedures.
• Training records.
• Emergency response
procedures and/or injury
management procedures.
• Maintenance and servicing
records.
• Inspection records.
Photos of the incident area, witness
statements, equipment maintenance
logs, training and induction records,
safe working procedures, reports
on similar incidents, and any other
evidence relating to the incident
should be obtained as required,
and copies attached as an appendix
to the Incident investigation
report form (this is particularly
important for serious incidents
and work injuries).
• Identify the contributing factors
Identifying the contributing factors
to a workplace incident is the most
important aspect of an incident
investigation. Failing to address just
one contributing factor is a missed
opportunity to prevent a future
similar incident. As such, prompts
should be included in the incident
investigation form for identifying
all of the contributing factors (such
as inadequate training, inadequate
supervision, personal protective
equipment, unsafe systems of
work/procedures, unsafe equipment
or equipment failure, human
factors, environmental factors,
poor housekeeping).
• Determining the corrective actions
Corrective actions are those actions
required to prevent a re–occurrence
of the incident and will be closely
related to the identified contributory
(or causal) factors. Every time
there is a contributing factor, a
corresponding corrective action
must be identified.
Please refer to the OHS and risk
management fact sheet for
information on the hierarchy of
controls, as the hierarchy of controls
should be applied when determining
corrective actions. The corrective
actions should be identified
and recorded on the Incident
Investigation Report Form by the
incident investigation team. The
person responsible for authorising
and approving corrective actions
which will be implemented should
be indicated.
The investigation team should
determine and document the
timeframes for implementation
of the corrective actions and
shall assign them to appropriate
personnel. Obviously, any identified
corrective actions should be
implemented as soon as practicable.
Some suggested corrective actions
may include:
• Replace a hazardous chemical
with a safer alternative.
• Install machine guarding.
• Upgrade machinery (for example,
with lower noise emissions).
• Substitute heavy items by
purchasing smaller packages.
• Provide lifting assistance such as
hoists and trolleys.
• Review and modify induction
and training.
• Conduct a job safety analysis and
modify safe working procedures.
• Introduce housekeeping
procedures to ensure work areas
remain tidy.
Please be aware that the above list
of suggested corrective actions
is not exhaustive and there are
several other corrective actions that
may exist. It is important that the
progress for the implementation of
corrective actions be monitored until
such time that the corrective action
has been fully implemented.
• Closing of incidents
The person with authority for
closing an incident investigation
should be nominated. The incident
investigation can be ‘closed’ once
it is signed off by this nominated
person. The incident investigation
should only be closed once the
corrective actions have been
fully implemented and monitored
for a period.
• Communication of incident
investigation findings
Details of all incident investigation
findings should be communicated
as soon as practicable to all
employees. The details on how this
communication occurs and who
is responsible should be stated.
Suggestions for communicating
these findings include the OHS
notice board, toolbox meetings and
safety alerts.
• Record keeping
It is recommended that all
completed Incident Report Forms
and Incident Investigation Forms be
archived for future reference for a
minimum period of 7 years. Indicate
the person responsible for archiving.
Notifiable incidents
Certain types of injuries and diseases
are required to be reported to the
Statutory Authority (WorkSafe WA).
Failure to report these incidents may
lead to prosecution. Refer to the
WorkSafe WA website for the most up
to date list of notifiable incidents (http://
www.commerce.wa.gov.au/WorkSafe/).
Some examples of notifiable incidents:
• Death of an employee or visitor to
the worksite.
• Injury resulting in lost time of more
than 10 days.
• Fractures to the skull, spine or pelvis.
• Fracture to the arms and legs
(excluding feet and hands).
• Loss of sight.
• Infectious diseases.
• Occupational zoonoses.
Health and Safety Management Systems
Australian Standard 1885.1 – 1990
Workplace injury and disease
recording standard
1984 (WA)
documents
Incident report form and Incident
investigation form template

50
Perth +61 8 9213 6100 Bunbury +61 8 9721 9200

51
Part A–Incident report form
Type of incident
Near Miss Property/Equipment damage Injury/Illness Environmental Other
Details of employee involved
Surname Date of birth / /
First name
Male female
Date first employed Job position
Employment status full-time part-time contractor
Witness details
Surname Company
First name Occupation
Incident details
Day/date incident occurred Time incident occurred Specific location of incident
Incident reported to Job position
Full description of incident (attach sketch if required)
**Please attach a photo or drawing of the incident if this would help with your description or explanation
Work-related injury/illness details
Part of body injured Type of injury/illness
Severity of injury: First Aid Treatment (FAT) Medical Treatment Injury (MTI) Lost Time Injury (LTI)
Date first attended Doctor or Hospital: / /
Property or equipment damage details
Property or equipment type and location details
Equipment operator Trained and authorised to use?
Yes No (If no, provide further details in section below)
Brief description of damage
Immediate action taken to reduce risk of hazards
(for example, barricading the hazardous area, chemical spill clean up, lock out/tag out of damaged machinery)
Incident report completed by
Name Position
Signature Date / /

52
*** Please submit this form to your supervisor, who will complete the remainder of the form***
Risk assessment (To be completed by supervisor only)
Likelihood
Consequence
Major (A)
environmental harm
Moderate (B)
environmental harm
Minor (C)
environmental harm
Likely (1)
Moderate (2)
Unlikely (3)
Using the risk assessment matrix above, calculate the risk assessment rating of the reported incident.
Incident risk rating (Low, Medium, or High):
Is full investigation recommended? Yes No
Please note: MTI and LTI injuries along with incidents with a risk rating of medium or higher, MUST be investigated
If a full investigation is required, please ensure that ‘Part B – Incident investigation report form’ is also completed.
If a full investigation is not required, please note any corrective actions which are required to prevent future re-occurrences of the incident.
Please note: Do not complete this section if you are undertaking an incident investigation as this will be noted on the incident investigation
report form.
responsible
Target
completion date
Date
completed
Property or equipment damage
Estimated cost of damage repair/replacement of property or equipment (if applicable):
Workplace injury or illness
Lost time incurred: Yes No Number of days lost (to date):
Has the injured/ill employee obtained a First WorkCover medical certificate? Yes No Unsure
Has a workers compensation claim been lodged? Yes No Unsure
Is WorkSafe WA notification of the injury/illness required? (See WorkSafe WA website) Yes No Unsure
Incident report closed
Please note: Incident report can only be closed by the supervisor who completed the above information, and only if no investigation is required,
and corrective actions have been fully implemented.
Name Position
Signature Date / /
If a full investigation is required, please proceed to Part B — incident investigation report form on the following page.

53
Part B–Incident investigation
report form
What were the events leading up to the incident?
Consider the system of work, instructions and training provided, any variation from instructions, workplace conditions, environment, exact
location of incident, materials being handled, type of transport or equipment in use, and whether adequate supervision was provided.
What are the facts of the incident itself?
Consider the state of the system, people directly and indirectly involved, tools, equipment, materials and fixtures, and the time of the incident.
What are the facts regarding what occurred immediately after the incident?
Describe the injuries or damage resulting from the incident, the people involved (including those providing aid), any problems dealing with
the injury or incident (eg faulty isolation switch), whether anything has been removed from the scene, and whether the scene has been
otherwise disturbed.
Appendixes
(For example, diagrams or photos relating to incident, witness statements, reports relating to previous similar incidents, applicable safe working
procedures, training records, equipment manuals/maintenance records etc)
Number Description of appendix

54
Contributing factors?
Contributing factors are any deficiencies, conditions, circumstances, behaviours or omissions, which, if corrected, eliminated or avoided, would
have prevented the incident from occurring.
Consider contributing factors relating to:
Induction and training
Supervision
Personal protective equipment
Safety of equipment
Safety of the procedures and/or
processes involved
Design and layout of workstation
Staffing levels and/or pace of
work required
Housekeeping/tidiness
Environment
Human factors (such as failure to
follow procedures or fatigue)
Other
Recommended corrective actions to prevent re-occurrences:
responsible
Target
completion date
Date
completed
Incident investigation report closed
Please note: An incident investigation can only be closed once the corrective actions have been fully implemented. Ensure you monitor the
effectiveness of the corrective actions.
Investigating person
Name Position
Signature Date / /
Manager approval if required)
Name Position
Signature Date / /

®
55
Emergency response
What is an emergency?
An emergency is a significant, generally unforeseen event
that threatens life, property and/or the environment.
Emergencies can include (but are not limited to) bomb threats,
natural disasters (earthquakes, floods, bushfires, cyclones),
fire, explosion, chemical spills, gas leaks (explosives,
flammable, toxic), off-site events (road accidents), hold ups
and terrorist attack.
Why is an emergency evacuation
procedure important?
An emergency is an incident that is
generally unexpected; they can happen
anywhere, at anytime and to anyone.
Few people can think logically in an
emergency, so it is best to prepare for
emergencies before they happen.
The purpose of the emergency response
procedure is to minimise the impact on
health, safety and the environment by
ensuring that emergencies are planned
for and dealt with effectively. Emergency
response procedures will ensure that
everyone knows what to do in the event
of an emergency, and this should reduce
the risk of significant injury, loss and
damage. This can only be achieved by
ensuring that everyone is familiar with
the emergency response procedures.
Under section 3.10 of the Occupational
Safety and Health Regulations 1996
(WA), the employer, main contractor,
self–employed person or person having
control of the workplace must ensure
that there is an evacuation procedure to
be followed in the event of a fire or other
emergency at the workplace.
The following points outline the legal
requirements relating to emergency
evacuations in the workplace:
• An evacuation procedure has
been prepared.
• The evacuation procedure is
clearly and prominently displayed
throughout the workplace,
inclusive of diagrams displaying
the emergency exits, location of
emergency equipment, escape
routes and assembly areas.
• Evacuation drills are conducted at
reasonable intervals.
• The workplace is maintained so that
emergency exits, walkways and the
means of access and egress are kept
free from obstructions.
• Emergency exits are clearly marked
and in good working order.
• Portable fire extinguishers are
provided and regularly maintained.
Where do I start?
It is important that emergency
evacuation plans are specifically
developed for a particular workplace,
and the specific hazards applicable to
that workplace.
Prior to developing your emergency
evacuation procedures it is important
to brainstorm the worst case scenarios
and what you would do in the event of
these identified potential emergencies.
Consider the activities that you
conduct in your workplace and also
those activities that are conducted
by neighbouring businesses that may
impact on you.
What needs to be included in your
emergency evacuation procedures?
The amount of detail required in the
emergency evacuation procedures
will differ based on the complexity
of the workplace and the range and
scale of potential emergencies that the
organisation is faced with.
In accordance with the WorkSafe WA
guidance note: preparing for emergency
evacuations at the workplace 2004,
it is recommended that the following
should be included in you evacuation
procedures:
• the range of emergency situations
that may arise
• activation of alarms
• emergency evacuation routes,
assembly areas and emergency
phone numbers
• consideration for all people who
may be at the workplace, including
visitors and tradespeople
• clear definition of roles and
responsibilities, including clear
reporting lines, communication of
information and who is in control of
a particular area
• selection of key people to
manage the evacuation procedures
(chief warden, floor warden, area
wardens etc)
• training of all staff and specialist
training for those with key roles
• employees or other people who
will require special assistance
to evacuate
• frequency and conduct of
evacuation drills
• access of emergency services to the
workplace (such as ambulances)
• processes for conducting head
counts and determining when it is
safe to return to work
• placement of instructions and maps
around the building or site
• use and maintenance of
fire extinguishers
• regular review of emergency
procedures and training.
Emergency wardens
The guidance note recommends that
emergency wardens (such as a chief
warden, deputy chief warden and
area/floor wardens) be appointed for
the workplace and trained to deal
with emergency situations. Wardens
are responsible for facilitating and

factsheet State
56
implementing the organisations
emergency evacuation procedures, with
the chief warden being responsible for
the overall leading and coordinating
of the emergency evacuation. There is
specialist nationally accredited training
available for emergency wardens.
Emergency warden training will ensure
that they can competently deal with an
emergency situation.
Training and review of emergency
evacuation procedures
Emergency evacuation procedures
should include provisions for the
training of all staff in emergency
evacuations, and the specialist training
of those with key roles in an evacuation.
Effective training of staff is essential in
reducing the risk of injury or loss of life
in an emergency.
Your training requirements will be
determined by the size and complexity
of your organisation, number of
employees, processes and materials
handled, and the available resources.
Your training should ensure that
employees are aware of:
• Individual roles and responsibilities
in an emergency.
• Types of emergencies they may face.
• How emergencies are reported.
• Alarm systems and communications.
• Evacuation procedure.
• Shutdown procedures (if applicable).
• Location and use of common
emergency equipment.
It is recommended that emergency
evacuation ‘refresher’ training be
conducted annually.
Emergency evacuation drills
Once your emergency evacuation
procedures have been developed and all
employees have received the necessary
training, emergency evacuations should
then be practised regularly through the
conduct of emergency evacuation drills.
After each drill, the effectiveness of the
emergency evacuation plan should be
evaluated so that deficiencies in the
plan can be identified and addressed.
It is recommended that records of
all evacuation drills are retained.
and safety records provides proof
of compliance with legal obligations
and evidence that actions have
been undertaken.
Emergency equipment
All required emergency equipment
must be properly located, installed,
and consistently maintained in good
working order. Regular maintenance
and servicing of emergency equipment
such as portable fire extinguishers is not
only legally required, but it will ensure
that the equipment remains in good
working order when it is needed most
(that is, in an actual emergency).
People must remain aware of the
location of, and correct use of
emergency equipment, and this should
be well signposted. It is recommended
that your emergency equipment
is included within your workplace
inspection checklist. This can include
ensuring that;
• portable fire extinguishers are
located and mounted correctly,
signposted and have been serviced
within the past six months
• exit signs are clearly visible
and illuminated
• emergency exit doors and fire
equipment are not obstructed
• emergency procedures, maps
and emergency contact numbers
are displayed.
Further information
For further information and guidance,
please refer to the WorkSafe WA
guidance note: Preparing for
Emergency Evacuations at the
Workplace (2004). This guidance
Perth +61 8 9213 6100 Bunbury +61 8 9721 9200
note also contains information on
emergency evacuation legislative
responsibilities for those in public
buildings, multi-tenanted buildings,
shopping centres, construction sites,
and sites in which people sleep on site
(such as accommodation).
1984 (WA)
WorkSafe WA guidance note: Preparing
for Emergency Evacuations at the
Workplace (2004)
WorkSafe/PDF/Guidance_notes/Guide_
evacuation.pdf)
documents
General workplace inspection checklist.

Workers Compensation Insurance in Western Australia

Workers Compensation Insurance in Western Australia

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