A healthy and safe workplace prioritises employee wellbeing and takes steps to prevent psychological harm.
As a Victorian public sector employee, your approach to occupational health and safety (OHS) must align with:
The Occupational Health and Safety Act (OHS Act) 2004 is a law designed to keep Victorian employees safe at work.
The OHS Act recognises that work environments must be safe and without risks to the health of all employees so far as reasonably practicable. This includes contractors.
The objectives of the OHS Act are to:
WorkSafe Victoria is the government agency responsible for workplace health and safety laws in Victoria.
Their purpose is to:
You can find more resources on the WorkSafe website.
Under the Occupational Health and Safety Act 2004 (OHS Act), an employer must provide a safe working environment without risks to employees' physical and mental health so far as is reasonably practicable. This includes contractors.
You're an employer if you have one or more employees.
An employer can be a person or a:
Employers are responsible for the health and safety of the workplaces they manage. They must, so far as is reasonably practicable, provide and maintain:
Under the OHS Act, employers also have specific obligations to, or in relation to, Health and Safety Representatives (HSRs).
All employees have OHS responsibilities.
An employee is a person who works under a contract of employment or apprenticeship. This can include full-time, part-time, temporary and casual workers and some independent contractors. Volunteers are not employees.
Employees are hired to perform tasks or services for the employer.
Under the Occupational health and safety act 2004 (OHS Act), employees must:
To do this, employees should:
Health and safety representatives (HSRs) help promote and maintain a safe work environment.
Under the Occupational Health and Safety Act 2004, HSRs have certain powers and play a role in raising and resolving OHS issues with their employer. They have the right to attend approved training courses to fulfill the responsibilities of their role.
HSRs may use these powers to:
In certain circumstances, a HSR may issue a:
Learn more about the role of health and safety representatives from WorkSafe Victoria.
Managers have additional obligations under the Codes of conduct and the Public Administration Act 2004.
This includes providing a safe, encouraging and supportive work environment.
If you're a manager, your role may include: