October: Safe Work Month – working together to manage risks at work

Throughout October we will be sharing with you information from Safe Work Australia’s National Safe Work Month campaign. 

Week 1 – Working together to manage risks at work 

Week 2 – Working together to protect workers’ mental health 

Week 3 – Working together to support all workers 

Week 4 – Working together to create a safe and healthy workplace 

AVA Veterinary Business Group members can also access comprehensive veterinary specific workplace health and safety guidelines. 

Week 1 – working together to manage risks at work 

Under Australia’s Work Health and Safety (WHS) laws, persons conducting a business or undertaking, such as employers, have a primary duty for managing work health and safety risks. 

Risk management involves thinking about what could happen if someone is exposed to a hazard – things and situations that could harm a person – and how likely it is to happen.  

Identifying hazards means finding the things or situations that could cause harm – physical, psychological or both. It’s a requirement to consult workers and their health and safety representatives throughout the risk management process, including when identifying hazards in the workplace. 

Once hazards have been identified, assess the risks they create. Undertake a risk assessment when there is uncertainty about how a hazard may result in harm or something changes, for example, when new equipment is introduced or the workplace layout is changed.  

WHS risks must be eliminated if it is reasonably practicable to do so. If not, risks must be minimised so far as is reasonably practicable using control measures. 'Reasonably' means doing everything you are reasonably able to do to ensure health and safety. 

When planning to implement control measures it’s important to consider what information, training, instruction or supervision is required for workers, to ensure the control measures are effective. 

Reviewing the effectiveness of control measures is important to ensure they are working as planned. Control measures should be reviewed regularly and must be reviewed if a new risk is identified, before any changes at the workplace, and if a review of the measure is requested.  

Safe Work Australia has a number of resources available to help with risk management, including risk assessments, common hazards and working in extremes.