Maintaining a safe workplace is everyone’s responsibility. Regular communication between management and workers is crucial to keeping health and safety top of mind in your workplace. Add it as an item to your regular team meetings so workers feel comfortable bringing up any issues as they arise.
Employer responsibilities
Employers should:
- regularly carry out workplace inspections
- ensure equipment and tools are safe to use, regularly serviced (if required) and maintained in good working condition
- provide workers with easy to understand information and training on how to do their job safely
- have a hazard, near miss and injury reporting process – see sample Incident and Hazard Report Form
- talk to their workers about ideas for promoting a healthy workplace
- communicate expected workplace behaviours and conduct for the prevention of bullying, harassment and violence
- plan and test emergency procedures
- keep workers informed of any changes, and provide training opportunities when anything new at work is introduced
- have an injury notification system, with everyone aware of it so that if something happens the process can be followed
- assess new and emerging hazards and identify the effectiveness of existing control measures
Business owners / employers also must notify SafeWork SA of all notifiable work-related incidents. See Safe Work Australia's incident notification information sheet which provides information on mandatory reporting requirements.
Worker responsibilities
Workers should:
- report hazards, near misses and injuries
- participate in workplace inspections
- notify if there are any problems with machinery, equipment and tools.
Maintaining a safe workplace checklist
Check the safety of your business by completing our work health and safety checklist to identify hazards at your workplace and determine which areas you may want to start with for improvement.
| Always | Sometimes | Never | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Regular safety checks/inspections are carried out | |||
| Tools and equipment are kept in good condition, and regularly serviced and maintained | |||
| An Incident and Hazard Report Form is used to report hazards, accidents, incidents, injuries and near-misses | |||
| The information on the Incident and Hazard Report Form is analysed and actioned where practicable | |||
| Do you plan and test for emergencies? | |||
| All notifiable incidents are reported to SafeWork SA | |||
| Do you place importance on the health of workers? |
