Work health and safety (WHS) is an important part of your work providing care in aged care, disability, community and home-based care environments. WHS applies to the safety of your clients, their family, your work colleagues and yourself. 

Image by smolaw, Shutterstock, Shutterstock licence

Workplace policies and procedures

Workplace policies and procedures help direct you to safe work practices and avoid incidents in the workplace. These documents reflect workplace health and safety legislation and support regulations and codes of practice.

Examples of WHS policies and procedures for direct client care include:

• emergency procedures 
• handling hazardous/dangerous materials and goods, including completing safety data sheets (SDSs)
• hazard identification and control systems
• housekeeping
• infection control
• incident reporting
• manual handling
• personal protective clothing and equipment (PPE)
• staff development and training programs
• waste management
• WHS personnel.

Policies

Policies outline how the organisation wants staff to act at work. As well as the WHS policies listed above, the organisation may also have policies about behaviour, dress code and other expectations for staff, such as those around personal appearance at work.  

 Select to learn more

Select the items on the image to reveal more information about dress code policies.

Image by Wavebreakmedia, Shutterstock, Shutterstock licence

Procedures

Procedures describe how to complete tasks. This can be the order of work, equipment to be used and safety precautions to follow. A procedure can have numbered steps or items to check. An example of this is a procedure for showering clients.

 Select to learn more

Select each bar to expand and reveal further information on the recommended steps for showering a client.

Adapted from Ausmed: ‘Showering, bed-bathing and hygiene for caregivers’. 

Care workers use workplace procedures to ensure they and their clients remain safe and the risk of harm to them is minimised.

 Select to learn more

Select each bar to expand and reveal further information about WHS procedures.

Workplace safety laws

Everyone at work has a legal obligation to ensure the safety of themselves and others in the workplace. 

In 2012, the government introduced the Work Health and Safety Act 2011 (Cth) to harmonise WHS laws across Australia. Every state and territory in Australia has WHS legislation, managed by a regulator. 

Health and Safety Legislation by State/Territory

State/Territory	Health and Safety Legislation	Regulator Responsible for Implementation
Commonwealth of Australia	Work Health and Safety Act 2011 (Cth)	Comcare
Australian Capital Territory	Work Health and Safety Act 2011 (ACT)	WorkSafe ACT
New South Wales	Work Health and Safety Act 2011 (NSW)	SafeWork NSW
Northern Territory	Work Health and Safety Act 2011 (NT)	NT WorkSafe
Queensland	Work Health and Safety Act 2011 (Qld)	WorkSafe QLD
South Australia	Work Health and Safety Act 2012 (SA)	SafeWork SA
Tasmania	Work Health and Safety Act 2012 (Tas.)	WorkSafe Tasmania
Victoria	Occupational Health and Safety Act 2004 (Vic.)	WorkSafe Victoria
Western Australia	Work Health and Safety Act 2020 (WA)	WorkSafe WA

Regulations and codes of practice

The WHS Act is supported by several tiers of law, including:

• regulations
• codes of practice
• guidance notes.

These guide organisations to meet the requirements of the WHS legislation.

 Select to learn more

Select each bar to expand and reveal further information about these tiers of law.

Industry standards

Industry standards describe the accepted way of doing things in a particular industry, such as client care. 

Some WHS regulations and codes refer to Australian Standards for working in particular jobs and technical advice about particular aspects of work, such as the safe operation of equipment used at work. 

Visit Standards Australia to view information relating to Australian Standards. 

In the community services and health sector, there are standards for services providers of mental health, residential aged care, home care and disability.

 Read to learn more

Visit the Australian Government Aged Care Quality and Safety Commission website for information about each of the Aged Care Quality Standards.

Visit the Australian Government Department of Social Services website for information about the National Standards for Disability Services. 

Duty of care

Everyone in an organisation has a responsibility to provide a duty of care.

Employers have a legal obligation to provide a safe workplace for their employees. Employees have a legal obligation to familiarise themselves with WHS law and their organisation’s WHS policies and procedures.

A duty of care exists when someone’s actions could reasonably be expected to affect another person. It describes the moral or legal obligation to ensure the safety and wellbeing of others. This includes anticipating and acting on possible causes of injury and illness that may exist in their work environment or because of the actions of others. A person or employer must do everything they can to remove or minimise the possible cause of harm.

 Read to learn more

The Work Health and Safety Act explains workers’ obligations under law.

Sec. 28 – Duties of workers

While at work, a worker must:

a) take reasonable care for his or her own health and safety

b) take reasonable care that his or her acts or omissions do not adversely affect the health and safety of other persons

c) comply, so far as the worker is reasonably able, with any reasonable instruction that is given by the person conducting the business or undertaking to allow the person to comply with this Act

d) cooperate with any reasonable policy or procedure of the person conducting the business or undertaking relating to health or safety at the workplace that has been notified to workers.

 Watch the video

Watch ‘Duty of care in aged care settings’. You only need to watch from the beginning to 2:38 minutes for this activity. 

Reflect on the following questions:

• Why is duty of care important for people receiving care?
• When has duty of care been important in your past work roles? 
• What steps should you take if you are unsure about your duty of care responsibilities? 

Understanding safety instructions

In any workplace, it is critical that you understand all the workplace procedures – particularly emergency procedures. Evacuation information for emergencies should be available in plain English, and your employer must ensure all their workers understand the information. 

Workplace emergency procedures are a set of instructions outlining responsibilities and what to do in the event of a workplace emergency. If you are with a client, then you have a duty of care to assist them in the event of an emergency. 

Emergencies can include:

• serious injury events, such as a broken arm or leg due to a fall
• a physical threat to staff by a client or other visitor 
• fires and explosions that require evacuation
• hazardous substances and chemical spills that require evacuation
• explosions and bomb alerts that require evacuation
• security emergencies such as armed robberies, intruders and disturbed persons
• internal emergencies such as loss of power or water supply and structural collapse
• external emergencies and natural disasters such as floods, storms and traffic accidents impacting the organisation.

Identifying signals and alarms

Recognising and reacting to a safety signal or alarm can save lives.

Part of a workplace WHS induction will include instruction on identifying and responding to emergency signals and alarms. The exact type and nature of alarms, signals and emergency announcements will vary according to the workplace. Emergency signals include safety symbols and their meanings, as well as the correct use of emergency equipment and PPE.

Types of emergency signals and alarms include:

• fire alarms
• evacuation alarms or announcements
• emergency lockdown alarms.

Providing an immediate response

In the case of an emergency, you must act quickly to protect your personal safety and the health and safety of other people around you. 

A part of your response to any emergency is to report the emergency to the appropriate person. Your workplace policies and procedures will advise you on the correct person to contact in specific emergency situations. 

Here are some examples of appropriate people to contact:

• emergency services (such as police, ambulance or fire services)
• fire warden or floor warden
• first-aid officer
• health and safety representative (HSR)
• supervisor, team leader or coordinator.

Emergency procedures and workplace drills

The response to different emergencies may vary according to the type of situation, the organisation and the location of the emergency, such as in a home-based environment or in a residential care facility or day centre. 

Emergency responses will include information like:

• the number and locations of exits
• the location of fire extinguishers and smoke detectors
• emergency signage and lighting
• assembly points.

Image by Oluwaseun Duncan, Pexels, Pexels licence

 Select to learn more

Select each bar to expand and reveal further information on emergency procedures.

Emergency procedure for a fire

This table shows an organisation’s workplace fire emergency policies on the left. On the right are the correct procedures to be followed by all workers in the event of a fire.

Emergency Policies and Procedures

Policy	Details	Procedure
Participate in emergency training	All new workers will receive emergency training within one week of beginning work.	In case of fire: Stay calm Follow the directions of the team leader/fire warden Activate the nearest fire alarm Assist any person in immediate danger, if safe to do so Close doors and windows Notify other staff and call code red if applicable Call 000 and tell them: your name and phone number the exact location of the fire what is on fire if there are any chemicals/gases nearby and what they are if there are any people injured or trapped Put out the fire if you are trained and it is safe to do so Assemble at designated area Wait until you are given the authority to return
Follow emergency procedures	All staff must follow procedures when there is an emergency such as a fire, bomb threat or accident.	Same as above (In case of fire).
Participate in fire drills	Practice emergency evacuations (drills) will be conducted every 6 months.	Same as above (In case of fire).
Aids to be available for use in the event of a fire	The following aids will be available: duress buttons in each room 3 emergency exits a fire extinguisher and blanket in each area	Same as above (In case of fire).

 Check your understanding

Fill in the blanks by dragging the words into the correct place then select ‘Check’ to see if you are correct.