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Your workers understand their role, and yours, in getting their work done safely.

Your responses indicate that safety roles, responsibilities and procedures have been defined.

Maintain commitment by:

• monitoring and reviewing your safety performance
• building safety into your future business plans
• promoting safety to your workers as a core business value
• providing feedback to your workers
• providing ongoing training so that everyone can enhance their skills
• making up to date information available to your workers so they improve their knowledge of safety issues and solutions.

Useful links

• Work health and safety policy template

Your consultation arrangements are effective and workers are involved in decisions regarding safety.

Your responses indicate that you have implemented effective consultation processes and that you actively encourage your worker’s participation and value their views.

What you can do to maintain this:

Review your consultation arrangements periodically with your workers and ensure the arrangements continue to work effectively

Ensure that all of your workers including young workers, workers from a non-English speaking background or workers with literacy difficulties are adequately represented in the consultation process and that their views are sought and valued.

Useful links

• Record of safety discussions template

You identify and control hazards and risks and your workers are using safe work procedures to help them do their job safely.

Your responses indicate that you are effectively managing safety risks in your workplace through your safe work procedures.

What you can do to maintain this:

Continuously review your hazards and risks as well as your safe work procedures

Changes in the workplace including new equipment, new ways of doing things and even new workers can render hazard and risk controls obsolete. Make sure you keep reviewing your hazards and risks to make sure your controls remain effective. In the same way your safe work procedures should be reviewed regularly to ensure their effectiveness.

Useful links

• Hazard list and risk assessment template
• Action plan template

Your organisation has started to address health and wellbeing and views it as important, however, there are no formal plans or programs in place.

Workers are encouraged to report psychological hazards/risks but it is likely that there is no formal mechanism to do this so it tends to be word of mouth. Whilst there is some education around the prevention of bullying and harassment, this can be improved by formalising procedures and ensuring all workers are aware of how to report unreasonable behaviour.

What you can do to improve:

Plan your approach

There is increased awareness of the importance of health and wellbeing in workplaces, however, sometimes workplaces are unclear on how it can be addressed in a planned and proactive manner. This can be achieved by developing a formal health and wellbeing action plan/program. Important steps include getting management on board, reviewing what you have and don’t have in place, asking staff what they think is important to their health and wellbeing and then developing a plan/program of health and wellbeing activities based on this information. It is important to communicate this plan to workers so they know what activities they can be involved in. In this way, health promotion activities such as mental health, healthy eating, physical activity, drug and alcohol, etc. are regular events during the year, and address the needs of the workforce.

If you are looking for further tools and resources in this area, go to the Heads Up Website and SA Health “How to create a healthy workplace “resources and toolkit.

Ensure your health and safety system includes managing psychological hazards and risks

The employer has a legal obligation to eliminate or minimise risks to the health and safety of workers (as is reasonably practicable). Under the WHS laws, the definition of “health” includes both physical and psychological health. Therefore, it is important that workers are encouraged to report hazards that can contribute to work-related stress, such as high workloads, exposure to traumatic events, work-related violence, fatigue and poor workplace relationships. This should be integrated into standard incident reporting procedures so workers know how to report these types of issues, the incidents can be appropriately investigated and suitable control measures can be put in place.

One psychological hazard which is important to address and prevent in workplaces is bullying and harassment. Whilst your workplace may conduct some education on what is acceptable and unacceptable workplace behaviour, it is important that your workplace’s bullying and harassment policy and procedures and any code of conduct is part of induction procedures, and is reinforced through refresher training. Workplace bullying behaviours should not be tolerated and early reporting of these behaviours should be encouraged. Workers should have a clear understanding of what is bullying and harassment and how to report unreasonable behaviour. The workplace’s procedures should also include how reports of bullying will be appropriately investigated and responded to. If a worker considers they are being bullied, they will be more likely to report it if they know there is a transparent reporting process in place and that it will be followed as soon as a report is received.

For more information on managing work-related psychological health and safety, go to a Safe Work Australia “Work-related psychological health and safety. A systematic approach to meeting your duties”.

For more information on the prevention of bullying, go to Safe Work Australia “Guide for Preventing and Responding to Workplace Bullying”.

Your workers are adequately trained and supervised to be safe at work.

Your responses indicate that you have good processes in place for education and supervision of your workers.

What you can do to maintain this:

Continuously review your process of training, induction and supervision

Changes in the workplace including new equipment, new ways of doing things and even new workers can render old processes obsolete. Make sure you keep reviewing your hazards and risks to make sure your education and supervision remains effective.

Useful links

• Induction checklist template
• Training plan template
• Training record template

You are providing and maintaining a safe workplace for your workers.

Your responses indicate that you are regularly checking workplace work health and safety and identifying any changes or issues that may require you to reconsider existing procedures or processes.

You have a regular documented preventative maintenance programme in place and you ensure your plant and equipment is in safe working order.

You have an effective incident and injury reporting process in place. Your workers are trained in the process and all are notified of any outcome.

Your workplace has appropriate emergency procedures in place and these are tested regularly.

What you can do to maintain this:

Continuously review your process of training, induction and supervision

Changes in the workplace including new equipment, new ways of doing things and even new workers can render old processes obsolete. Make sure you keep reviewing your hazards and risks to make sure your education and supervision remains effective.

Useful links

• Hazardous and risk register template
• Incident hazard report template

Your workers are reporting all incidents, they are investigated and corrective actions put in place as needed.

Your responses indicate that you have an established incident reporting procedure and that you investigate incidents as they occur. You also put in place and monitor corrective actions.

What you can do to maintain this:

Monitor and analyse your incident reports to identify any trends and help you to improve your safety

Use your incident reports and investigations to monitor your workplace safety and identify any gaps in your system. These reports can be a valuable tool in prevention by allowing you to address any emerging issues before they become too big or cause major injury.

Useful links

• Health and safety checklist template