Important: From 1 January 2012, information on this website is being reviewed and must be read in conjunction with the Work Health and Safety Act 2011.

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General risk and workplace management

The following information is published to provide industry with an overview of the changes to work health and safety laws.

First aid
Personal protective equipment (PPE)
Remote and isolated work
Hazardous atmospheres
Storage and ignition sources
Falling objects

General risk and workplace management includes training, information and instruction, general working environment, first aid, emergency plans, personal protective equipment, remote and isolate work, managing risk from contaminants, hazardous atmospheres, storage and ignition sources and falling objects.

A duty holder to ensure that the following is provided and maintained, as far as reasonably practicable, without risk to a persons health and safety:

a means of entry, exit and movement within workplace
a work space
floors and surfaces designed, installed and maintained
adequate lighting to enable each person to carry out work, move within workplace and evacuate in an emergency
ventilation
control of risks associated with extremes in temperatures
control of risks associated with essential services
adequate facilities for workers (inc include toilets, drinking water, washing and eating facilities).

First aid

A duty holder must ensure provision and access to first aid equipment, facilities, and an adequate number of trained workers to administer first aid:

adequate number of trained workers is determined by the nature of the work, the hazards, the size, location and nature of workplace, and the number and composition of workers
the duties regarding first aid are not qualified
the model Code of Practice for First Aid will provide detail on possible control measures
the regulation is consistent with Queensland regulation.

Personal protective equipment (PPE)

Where PPE has been identified as an applicable control measure, the duty holder who directs the work to be undertaken must ensure the worker is provided with the PPE by either the duty holder or another persons conducting a business or undertaking (PCBU).

The PPE provided must be:

suitable to the risk, work and worker
maintained, repaired or replaced to ensure it is in good working order, clean, and hygienic.

The worker must be provided with, and must use the PPE in accordance with, information, training and instruction in relation to the safe use of the PPE.

Remote and isolated work

A duty holder must implement control measures that include effective communication with remote and isolated workers:

remote or isolated work, in relation to a worker, means work that is isolated from the assistance of other persons because of location, time or the nature of the work
assistance includes rescue, medical assistance and the attendance of emergency service workers
there is no equivalent duty in the Queensland regulation
the model Code of Practice for Workplace Management will provide detail on possible control measures.

Providing an effective means of communication for those workers that are remote and isolated that is, they're remote from the assistance of emergency services. For example a community nurse working in the middle of the city at midnight doing some clinical visits. It might be appropriate or reasonably practicable for her to have a duress alarm on her that she can contact her employer in case she gets in trouble. She could be considered a remote and isolated worker.

In contrast, you could have a hundred workers in a base camp out in the back of Queensland. They would also be considered remote and isolated workers, even though there would be a hundred of them. In that situation those workers would require access to a satellite phone and need to ensure that workers do have access to it and that they're trained and given some information and advice on how to use and access it. This will be supported with details in the model Code of Practice for Workplace Environment.

Hazardous atmospheres

A duty holder must manage risks associated with a hazardous atmosphere.

An atmosphere is a hazardous atmosphere if:

the atmosphere does not have a safe oxygen level; or
the concentration of oxygen in the atmosphere increases the fire risk; or
the concentration of a flammable gas, vapour, mist, or fumes exceeds five percent of the lower explosive limit for the gas, vapour, mist or fumes; or
a hazardous chemical in the form of a combustible dust is present in a quantity and form that would result in a hazardous area.

A duty holder must manage risks associated with an ignition source in a hazardous atmosphere.

Storage and ignition sources

A duty holder must ensure that, if flammable or combustible substances are kept at the workplace, the substances are kept at the lowest practicable quantity for the workplace.

Flammable or combustible substances include:

flammable and combustible liquids, including waste liquids, in containers, whether empty or full; and
gas cylinders, whether empty or full.

Falling objects

The new Regulation covers fallling objects across all workplaces and all industries.

A duty holder must manage the risk of an object falling on a person if the falling object is reasonably likely to injure the person.

Where elimination is not reasonably practicable the duty holder must minimise the risk by providing adequate protection against the risk.

Adequate protection means providing and maintaining a safe system of work, including doing the following:

preventing an object from falling freely, so far as is reasonably practicable
if it is not reasonably practicable to prevent an object from falling freely, then providing, a system to arrest the fall of a falling object.

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