Transcript Work Health and Safety and Risk Management

Big Brother is Watching
Adapting to Work Health & Safety Reform
Local Government Roads & Works Conference 2014
Big brother? Oh, bother!
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Legislative framework
Regulations
Approved
Codes of
Practice
Work Health
& Safety Act
Australian
Standards
Other
information
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Work Health & Safety Act 2012
Object:
To secure the health and safety of workers and workplaces by:
– …protecting workers and other persons against harm to
their health, safety and welfare through the elimination or
minimisation of risks arising from work or from specified
types of substances or plant…
– …promoting improvements in work health and safety
practices…to achieve a healthier and safer working
environment…
– …providing a framework for continuous improvement
and higher standards of work health and safety…
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Workers… and Employers
• Workers are no longer just employees
• Employers are no longer just employers
• Primary duty of care is owed to all workers to ensure, so
far as is reasonably practicable, the health and safety of
– workers engaged, or caused to be engaged by the
person; and
– workers whose activities in carrying out work are
influenced or directed by the person
while the workers are at work in the business or
undertaking.
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Other Persons
• A PCBU must ensure, so far as reasonably practicable,
that the health and safety of other persons is not put at
risk from work carried out as part of the conduct of the
business or undertaking
• A person at a workplace must
– take reasonable care for his or her own safety; and
– take reasonable care that their acts or omissions do
not adversely affect the health & safety of other
persons; and
– comply, so far as they are reasonably able, with any
reasonable instruction that is given by the PCBU
to allow the PCBU to comply with the Act.
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The Three Cs
Coordination
Co-operation
Consultation
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Construction Work
• “Any work carried out in connection with the
construction, alteration, conversion, fitting out,
commissioning, renovation, repair, maintenance,
refurbishment, demolition, decommissioning or
dismantling of a structure”
• Does not include:
– Manufacture of plant
– Offsite prefabrication, construction or assembly
– Testing, maintenance or repair work of a minor nature
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High Risk Construction Work
• Regulation 291 defines, but includes
construction work that:
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Involves a risk of a person falling more than 3 metres
Involves, or is likely to involve, disturbance of asbestos
Is carried out in or near a confined space
Is carries out on or near energised electrical
installations or services
– Is carried out on, in or adjacent to a road, railway,
shipping lane or other traffic corridor that is in use by
traffic other than pedestrians
– Is carried out in an area at a workplace in which
there is any movement of powered mobile plant
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Asbestos
• Requirement to prepare and maintain asbestos
register
• Requirement for written asbestos management
plan
• Must be reviewed at least every 5 years, or:
– When further asbestos is identified at the workplace
– When asbestos is removed from, disturbed, sealed or
enclosed at the workplace
– When plan is no longer adequate for managing risks
– If HSR requests a review
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Penalties
• Monetary
– Individuals & body corporates
– For breach of health and safety duty, depends on
severity (3 Categories)
– Specific breaches
• Imprisonment
– Up to 5 years
– May be in addition to, (not instead of,) monetary
penalty
• Enforceable undertakings
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Other changes
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National high risk licensing
Work zone traffic management
Codes of practice
Guidance material & fact sheets
Return to Work Bill 2014
Code of Conduct for Self Insurers
WHS Act currently under review
(submissions close 5pm today!)
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So what are we doing to help?
• Revision of all model policies and procedures –
including “one-pagers”, flow-charts & some
templates
• New procedure for asbestos management
• WZTM DVD
• Code of Practice information sessions
• Tailored Implementation Program
• Monitoring progress of proposed changes to
legislation & keeping members updates
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Safety is something that happens
between your ears, not something
you hold in your hands.
Jeff Cooper
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