Frequently asked questions

What is duty of care?

The Occupational Health and Safety Act 2000 is based on the principle of Duty of Care and covers all workplaces in NSW except mines.

Implementing the duty of care principle means planning for the prevention of workplace accidents, injuries and illnesses.

There is a general duty of care on employers of the workplace to ensure the health, safety and welfare at work of all employees and others who come on to the workplace.
It is the employer’s responsibility to ensure that all reasonably practicable measures have been taken to control risks against all possible injuries arising from the workplace.
The employer's duty of care applies to all people in the workplace, including visitors, contractors etc.
There is a general obligation on designers, manufacturers and suppliers of plant and substances for use by people at work to ensure that their products are not a risk to health and safety when properly used, and to provide information on the correct use and potential hazards associated with the use of the products in the workplace.
There is a general obligation on employees to take care of others and cooperate with employers in matters of health and safety An employee must also co-operate with the employer or other person so far as is necessary to enable compliance with the OHS Act 2000 and OHS Regulation 2001 (section 20, OHS Act 2000).
As employers are in control of the workplace and workplaces can have significant risks to health and safety, employers are required to organise their workplace and their work systems to ensure people at work are not put in harm’s way.

Why must I inspect, test and maintain my electrical equipment?

If you are an employer, you have a duty of care to ensure that employees and visitors to the workplace are safe from injury and risks to health. You must therefore manage any safety risks surrounding electrical hazards, in accordance with the requirements of the OHS Act 2000 and OHS Regulation 2001.

You must apply a systematic risk management approach to eliminate or control the risk of electrical hazards. After the risk assessment, you can then implement a range of control measures including:

routine visual checks
regular inspection
maintenance
repair
replacement
use of residual current devices (RCDs)
and, where warranted, testing of identified electrical equipment.
To support the application of a risk management approach to electrical safety, you must also comply with the specific legislative requirements outlined in clauses 64 and 65 of the OHS Regulation 2001.

clause 64 (2) of the Regulation requires that an employer must ensure that all electrical installations, electrical articles and associated equipment at a place of work are safe to use and are regularly inspected, tested and maintained to ensure they remain safe for use and are repaired or replaced if unsafe clause 65 of the Regulation requires that an employer must ensure that a record is made and kept of all inspections and tests made and maintenance carried out on electrical articles and electrical installations.

What is a Portable Appliance Tester (PAT)?

A PAT is an electronic testing instrument designed to perform a range of automatic tests on plug-in type electrical equipment as outlined in AS/NZS 3760:2001.

The results indicated by a PAT require no technical interpretation, however the instrument must still be used by a ‘competent person’ trained in its use.

What is the current legislation on lifting/manual handling?

The current legislation relating to manual handling is contained in the OHS Regulation 2001.

Chapter 2 imposes obligations on the employer to:

identify (existing and foreseeable) hazards that may arise from the conduct of the employer’s undertaking\
assess the risks associated with those hazards
eliminate or control those risks.
These obligations extend to manual handling.
Chapter 4 imposes obligations on the employer to eliminate and control risks in relation to the manual handling of loads. The factors that the employer must take into account when assessing risks in relation to the manual handling of loads are also specified.

There is also guidance material available.

The National Standard for Manual Handling [NOHSC:1001 (1990)] and the National Code of Practice: Manual Handling [NOHSC:2005 (1990)] are published by the National Occupational Health and Safety Commission (NOHSC). These documents are available from NOHSC or the Commonwealth Government Bookshop.

The National Standard aims to prevent the occurrence of injury and/or reduce the severity of injuries resulting from manual handling tasks in workplaces [section 2.1(a)].

The National Code of Practice: Manual Handling provides practical advice in meeting the requirements of the National Standard for Manual Handling in relation to the identification, assessment and control of risks arising from manual handling in the workplace.

What is the new WorkCover Construction Induction Certificate?

From 29 March 2004 WorkCover will issue a Construction Induction Certificate in a credit card sized format to participants on completion of the OHS General Induction for Construction Work in NSW Course.

The certificate has been introduced so that there a is single, consistent and portable proof of safety induction training.

This certificate will be the compulsory for each person trained after 29 March 2004 undertaking construction work as proof of completion of construction induction training.

What legislation governs first-aid in a workplace?

The information on first aid is found in Clause 20 of the OHS Regulation 2001.

The Regulation requires employers at each place of work, to provide first aid facilities and (where more than 25 people are employed) trained first aid personnel.

Under Clause 20(2)(a) and (b):

an employer must provide first aid facilities that are adequate for the immediate treatment of injuries and illnesses that may arise in the workplace, and if more than 25 persons are employed at a place of work the employer must provide trained first aid personnel.
It is recommended that access to first aid personnel is available whenever there are more than 25 persons at a workplace, regardless of whether or not those persons are employees e.g. schools.

An employer must have regard to the location, the number of employees and the type of work being undertaken in determining the nature, number and location of first aid facilities that will be provided, including the number of first aid personnel. Subclauses (4)-(7) of Clause 20 prescribe the minimum facilities and personnel required at various sites or places of work.

Trained first aid personnel means:

a person who holds a current first aid certificate issued after successful completion of a WorkCover approved first aid course; or
a person who holds a current occupational first aid certificate issued after successful completion of a WorkCover approved
occupational first aid course; or
a level 3 or greater New South Wales ambulance officer; or
a registered nurse; or
a medical practitioner (Clause 20 of the OHS Regulation 2001).