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Workplace health and safety

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Formwork Code of Practice 2006


Notice regarding Codes of Practice

From 18 November 2004 the Workplace Health and Safety Act 1995 (PDF, 766 KB) was amended so that all Advisory Standards and Industry Codes of Practice were continued as Codes of Practice and expire 10 years after their commencement date.

Every effort was made to ensure that the information contained within a Code was accurate when the Code was made and commenced. Codes of Practice are not routinely updated to reflect legislative change.

It is your responsibility to be aware of and familiar with legislative changes that have been made since the commencement of any Code of Practice.

Important information about the Formwork Code of Practice 2006
  1. The code was made on 2 August 2005.
  2. The code commenced on 1 January 2006.
  3. The code was amended on 28 April 2006.
  4. The code expires 10 years after it commenced.

What is this Code of Practice about?

The purpose of the Formwork Code of Practice 2006 is to give practical advice about ways to manage exposure to risks associated with work involving the erection, alteration and/or dismantling of formwork.

Workplace health and safety obligations and the Workplace Health and Safety Act 1995

The Workplace Health and Safety Act 1995 (PDF, 766 KB) imposes obligations on certain persons to ensure workplace health and safety. Workplace health and safety is ensured when persons are free from death, injury or illness (and the risk of death, injury or illness) created by workplaces, relevant workplace areas, work activities, or plant or substances used at a workplace. Ensuring workplace health and safety involves identifying and managing exposure to risks at your workplace.

How can l meet my obligations?

Under the Act, there are three types of instruments to help you meet workplace health and safety obligations – regulations, ministerial notices and codes of practice.

If there is a regulation or ministerial notice about a risk, you MUST do what the regulation or notice says .  

If there is a code of practice about a risk, you MUST either –

  1. do what the code says; or
  2. do all of the following–

If there is no regulation, ministerial notice or code of practice about a risk, you must choose an appropriate way to manage exposure to the risk and take reasonable precautions and exercise proper diligence to ensure that your obligations are met.

Note:

There may be additional risks at your workplace that have not been specifically addressed in this Code of Practice. You are still required under the Workplace Health and Safety Act 1995 to identify and assess these risks and ensure that control measures are implemented and reviewed to eliminate or minimise exposure to these risks.

The Risk Management Code of Practice provides a process to help you meet your workplace health and safety obligation by identifying and managing exposure to the risks at your workplace.

Last updated September 15, 2006