Work health and safety

Work health and safety (WHS) means managing risks to the health and safety of everyone in your workplace. That includes your:

• workers
• customers
• visitors
• suppliers.

WHS is sometimes known as occupational health and safety (OH&S).

You are legally required to provide a safe work environment. It will also help you:

• keep staff
• improve staff productivity
• reduce the costs of injury and workers' compensation.

It can cost money and time to implement WHS practices and install safety equipment. But not taking action can result in prosecution, fines and loss of staff.

Psychosocial hazards

WHS includes managing psychosocial hazards. These are work factors that can cause stress, which could lead to psychological or physical harm. Examples of psychological hazards are bullying or unclear job roles.

Psychological injuries can have longer recovery times, higher costs, and need more time away from work than physical injuries.

Psychosocial hazards can arise from:

• the way your business designs and manages work
• the work environment
• workplace machinery, tools or fittings
• interactions and behaviours in the workplace.

You must put health and safety practices in place as soon as you start your business. Under Australian WHS laws your business must:

• ensure the health and safety of your workers
• not put the health and safety of other people at risk.

To do this you must:

• provide a safe work environment
• provide and maintain safe machinery and structures
• provide safe ways of working
• ensure safe use, handling and storage of machinery, structures and substances
• provide and maintain adequate facilities
• eliminate or minimise risks from psychosocial hazards
• provide any information, training, instruction or supervision needed for safety
• monitor the health of workers and conditions at the workplace.

Workers compensation laws also require you to have a workers compensation insurance policy for your employees.

People working in your business also have WHS obligations. They must:

• take care of their own health and safety
• not do anything that could hurt others
• follow WHS instructions
• follow the workplace’s WHS policies and procedures.

Each state or territory has its own WHS laws and a regulator to enforce them. The WHS framework for each state or territory includes:

• an Act that outlines your broad responsibilities
• regulations that set out specific requirements for particular hazards and risks, such as noise, machinery, and manual handling
• codes of practice that provide practical information on how you can meet the requirements in the Act and Regulations.
• a regulating agency (regulator) that administers WHS laws, inspects workplaces, provides advice and enforces the laws. Some states have a different regulator for workers compensation.

Your business’s WHS requirements depend on the risks in your workplace. Check our industry information pages to find the requirements for your industry.

You should also consider getting independent advice on WHS requirements for your business.

Part of WHS is being ready to respond if an accident or emergency happens. To help minimise workplace risks and be better prepared for emergencies:

• have an emergency plan
• do a first aid assessment of your business
• have enough trained first aiders to cover unplanned staff absences
• make sure the first aid equipment in your workplace is easy to find and access
• run emergency drills in your workplace
• evaluate your business activities to identify areas with higher risk.

Extreme weather (such as extreme heat, cold, hail or strong winds) may affect your business. Under WHS laws you must provide a safe working environment and keep your workers safe in extreme weather.

Extreme heat is an issue in many parts of Australia. Make sure you’re aware of the signs of heat-related illness and how to manage the risks.

Some employers must provide leave if their employees can’t work because of extreme weather. Check if your employees have these entitlements under their award or agreement. If you’re not clear on your rights and responsibilities as an employer, you can either:

• visit the Fair Work Ombudsman website
• contact the Fair Work Infoline on 13 13 94.

Parties and functions are a great way to celebrate and thank your staff for their hard work. But you're still responsible for your staff's health and safety at the event, even if they are not being paid. 

Before the event, make sure your internal policies and procedures are up to date. These include your policies for acceptable behaviour and bullying and harassment.

You can send a friendly email to staff reminding them that:

• while the party is a time to relax, it's still a work function
• the usual rules still apply, including those around sexual harassment
• they should be careful if consuming alcohol.

At the event:

• if you serve alcohol, make sure it's served legally and responsibly
• ensure enough food and non-alcoholic drinks are available
• make arrangements for staff to get home safely afterwards. For example, organising a bus, pre-ordering taxis or arranging designated drivers.

Your WHS obligations still apply when staff are working remotely or from home.

If you employ remote staff, make sure your policies and procedures include them. You may have to update your policies to account for your employees' remote work environments.

When considering WHS for remote workers, think about:

• how staff can report incidents or injuries while working at home
• providing guidance on safe home office environments
• letting workers borrow equipment from the office if available
• how you can support their mental health and wellbeing.