Google Links

Follow the links below to find material targeted to the unit's elements, performance criteria, required skills and knowledge

Elements and Performance Criteria

  1. Establish and maintain the framework for the WHS system
  2. Establish and maintain participative arrangements for the management of WHS
  3. Establish and maintain procedures for identifying hazards
  4. Establish and maintain procedures for assessing risks
  5. Establish and maintain procedures for controlling risks
  6. Establish and maintain organisational procedures for dealing with hazardous events
  7. Establish and maintain a WHS training program
  8. Establish and maintain a system for WHS records
  9. Evaluate the organisation's WHS system and related policies, procedures and programs

Range Statement

This field allows for different work environments and conditions that may affect performance. Essential operating conditions that may be present (depending on the work situation, needs of the candidate, accessibility of the item, and local industry and regional contexts) are included.

This competency is to be exhibited in accordance with all relevant WHS legislation, particularly:

Commonwealth/state/territory WHS Acts, regulations and codes of practice, including regulations and organisational codes of practice relating to hazards present in the workplace

General duty of care under WHS legislation and common law; requirements for the maintenance and confidentiality of occupational injury and disease

Requirements for provision of WHS information and training

Provisions relating to health and safety representatives and/or WHS committees

Provisions relating to WHS issue resolution

Civil Aviation Safety Regulations (CASRs), Manuals of Standards and associated Acceptable Means of Compliance and Guidance Material

WHS framework includes:

Policy development and updating

Determining the ways in which WHS functions will be managed. This may include distinct WHS management activities, or inclusion of WHS functions within a range of management functions and operations, such as maintenance of plant and equipment; purchasing of materials and equipment

Designing operations, work flow and materials handling; planning or implementing alterations to site, plant, operations or work systems; mechanisms for review and allocation of human, technical and financial resources needed to manage WHS, including defining and allocating WHS responsibilities for all relevant positions

Mechanisms for keeping up to date with relevant information and updating the management arrangements for WHS, for example, information on health effects of hazards, technical developments in risk control and environmental monitoring and changes to legislation

Mechanisms to assess and update WHS arrangements relevant to legislative requirements; a system for communicating WHS information to employees, supervisors and managers within the enterprise

Appropriate consultative processes for management of WHS include:

WHS committees and other committees, for example, consultative, planning and purchasing

Health and safety representatives; employee and supervisor involvement in WHS management activities, for example, WHS inspections, audits, environmental monitoring, risk assessment and risk control

Procedures for reporting hazards, risks and WHS issues by managers and employees

Inclusion of WHS in consultative or other meetings and processes

Procedures for identifying hazards include:

Workplace inspections, including plant and equipment; audits

Maintaining and analysing WHS records, including environmental monitoring and health surveillance reports

Maintenance of plant and equipment

Reviews of materials and equipment purchases, including manufacturers and suppliers information

Employee reporting of WHS issues

Procedures for assessing risks include:

Determining the likelihood and severity of adverse consequences form hazards

WHS audits; workplace inspections; maintenance of plant and equipment; purchasing of materials and equipment

Planning or implementing alterations to site, operations or work systems

Analysis of relevant records and reports, for example, injuries and incidents, hazardous substances inventories/registers, audit and environmental monitoring reports and WHS committee records

Procedures for controlling risks include:

Assessing the WHS consequences of materials, plant or equipment prior to purchase

Obtaining expert advice; appropriate application of measures according to the hierarchy of control, namely: elimination of the risk

Engineering controls

Administrative controls

Personal protective equipment (PPE)

Designing safe operations and systems of work; inclusion of new WHS information into procedures

Checking enterprise compliance with regulatory requirements

Organisational procedures for hazardous events include:

Making inventories of, and inspecting, high risk operations

Inspecting systems and operations associated with potentially hazardous events, for example, emergency communications, links to emergency services, firefighting, chemical spill containment, bomb alerts and first aid services

A WHS training program includes:

Arrangements for ongoing assessment of training needs, for example, relating to supervisors and managers

Specific hazards; specific tasks or equipment

Emergencies and evacuations

Training required under WHS legislation

Allocation of resources for WHS training, including acquisition of training resources, development of staff training skills and purchase of training services

Induction training; training for new operations, materials or equipment

WHS records include:

Identifying records required under WHS legislation, for example, worker's compensation and rehabilitation records

Hazardous substances registers; material safety data sheets (MSDS)

Major accident/injury notifications

Certificates or licences

Manufacturers and suppliers WHS information

WHS audits and inspection reports

Maintenance and testing reports

Workplace environmental monitoring and health surveillance records

Records of instruction and training

First aid/medical post records

Assessment of the effectiveness of the WHS system and related policies, procedures and programs includes:

Reviewing the effectiveness of the WHS management system

Regular review of operating procedures

Regular analysis of WHS records

Audits against WHS legislative requirements

Knowledge Evidence

Evidence required to demonstrate competency in this unit must be relevant to and satisfy all of the requirements of the elements and performance criteria and include knowledge of:

provisions of relevant WHS legislation

principles and practice of effective WHS management

management arrangements relating to regulatory compliance

enterprise hazards and risks, control measures and relevant expertise required

characteristics and composition of workforce and their impact on WHS management

relevance of enterprise management systems to WHS management.