YOUR QUESTIONS ANSWERED
SAFETY
Master Electricians Australia’s Expert Field Support Advisors, tackles this frequently asked safety question.
What are the minimum legal requirements for providing safety information to workers?
There is no simple answer to this question.
In the most basic terms – It is up to THE PCBU to ensure that each worker is competent to undertake their work safely and in a technically compliant manner.
A PCBU can discharge this duty in a number of ways:
- Regular In-house Training
- Regular 3rd Party Training
- Regular In-house Competency Assessments
- Regular Toolbox/Safety Meetings (must be consultative)**
- Regular Communication via Emails as example
- Regular CPR/LVR
- Regular Auditing of Field Activities to check for Safety and Technical Compliance (i.e. is all of the above actually being done in the field)
**Consultation should be a collaborative process between the PCBU and workers. It involves sharing information about health and safety.
PCBUs must give workers who are, or are likely to be, directly affected by a matter relating to health and safety, a reasonable opportunity to express their views or raise issues.
Business operators need to consult with workers to:
- provide them with relevant safety information
- raise WHS matters
- get their input on:
– identifying hazards and assessing risks
– making decisions about ways to eliminate risks
– decisions regarding adequacy of facilities
– proposed changes that may affect health and safety
– decisions on health and safety procedures.
Employers must prioritise worker training and competency, beyond just licensing. Assessing and training new workers, especially those without experience, should be integrated into recruitment and induction. Ongoing mentorship by experienced workers is crucial for new employees to learn company practices.
Experienced workers need periodic competency assessments due to factors like infrequent tasks, role changes, or extended leaves of absence that can affect their skills. Employers must consider factors such as new technology, work practices, legislative changes, or standards requirements that may require additional training. Competency maintenance can be achieved through refresher training, internal audits, accredited training for new skills, or manufacturer-provided training. Toolbox talks and pre-start meetings keep workers informed about practice, legislation, and safety alerts. It is crucial for workers to be trained in both electrical and non-electrical safety, including rescue and resuscitation techniques such as CPR.
Worker consultation is crucial for maintaining a safe working environment. Ongoing communication through toolbox talks and pre-start meetings ensures that everyone is aware of business updates, job progress, staffing changes, workplace incidents, risks, and safety alerts. It also allows for refresher training on safety requirements and provides a platform for workers to voice concerns or raise safety issues, enabling proactive measures to address hazards and improve work procedures.
Excerpt from the Model Work Health and Safety Bill 2023
Part 5 Consultation, representation and participation
Division 1 Consultation, co-operation and co-ordination between duty holders
46 Duty to consult with other duty holders
If more than one person has a duty in relation to the same matter under this Act, each person with the duty must, so far as is reasonably practicable, consult, co-operate and co-ordinate activities with all other persons who have a duty in relation to the
same matter.
Maximum penalty: tier C monetary penalty.
Division 2 Consultation with workers
47 Duty to consult workers
(1) The person conducting a business or undertaking must, so far as is reasonably practicable, consult, in accordance with this Division and the regulations, with workers who carry out work for the business or undertaking who are, or are likely to be, directly affected by a matter relating to work health or safety.
Maximum penalty: tier C monetary penalty.
(2) If the person conducting the business or undertaking and the workers have agreed to procedures for consultation, the consultation must be in accordance with those procedures.
(3) The agreed procedures must not be inconsistent with section 48.
48 Nature of consultation
(1) Consultation under this Division requires:
(a) that relevant information about the matter is shared with workers; and
(b) that workers be given a reasonable opportunity:
(i) to express their views and to raise work health or safety issues in relation to the matter; and
(ii) to contribute to the decision-making process relating to the matter; and
(c) that the views of workers are taken into account by the person conducting the business or undertaking; and
(d) that the workers consulted are advised of the outcome of the consultation in a timely manner.
(2) If the workers are represented by a health and safety representative, the consultation must involve that representative.
49 When consultation is required
Consultation under this Division is required in relation to the following health and safety matters:
(a) when identifying hazards and assessing risks to health and safety arising from the work carried out or to be carried out by the business or undertaking;
(b) when making decisions about ways to eliminate or minimise those risks;
(c) when making decisions about the adequacy of facilities for the welfare of workers;
(d) when proposing changes that may affect the health or safety of workers;
(e) when making decisions about the procedures for:
(i) consulting with workers; or
(ii) resolving work health or safety issues at the workplace; or
(iii) monitoring the health of workers; or
(iv) monitoring the conditions at any workplace under the management or control of the person conducting the business or undertaking; or
(v) providing information and training for workers; or
(f) when carrying out any other activity prescribed by the regulations for the purposes of this section
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