Policy Name Policy Number 1.10.1.1 Relevant procedures Work Health and Safety All procedures relating to the health, safety and well being of individuals in the workplace are relevant to this policy. Author Status & date ratified Responsible person Communication strategy Public /private NNC Management Team Version #003 Operational. Ratified 14 th December 2015 Chief Executive Officer Director Service Delivery Managers WHS Committee Representatives Managers meeting, NNC all staff meeting, Team Meetings, WHS Committee Meetings, Supervision Meetings (Employees, Volunteers and Students). CEO email communication, induction training. Public Policy Statement Newtown Neighbourhood Centre (NNC) aims to maintain the best possible standard of health, safety and welfare for all individuals in the workplace. NNC will comply with all applicable Work Health and Safety (WHS) legislation and relevant Codes of Practice, and all personnel have a responsibility to ensure a safe workplace by implementing safe systems of work. NNC strives for continual improvement of its health and safety performance and to this end has developed, and will maintain, a Work Health and Safety Management System that complies with the requirements of the Australian Standard 4801. The organisation is committed to regular consultation with workers and their representatives through agreed WHS consultation arrangements to ensure that work health and safety management is of the highest standard. Purpose and Scope This policy affirms NNC s commitment to the health and safety of all individuals: workers, volunteers, students, contractors, visitors and anyone else who may be put at risk by the work Page 1 of 7
conducted by NNC. It outlines the legal obligations and responsibilities of NNC for all individuals in the workplace as described in Work Health and Safety Act 2011. This policy and associated procedures applies to: all NNC workplaces including workplaces that are mobile and temporary; all NNC fleet vehicles and other physical resources; all NNC provided and funded services and programs, all NNC workers, service consumers, contractors and visitors to NNC workplaces. Work Health and Safety Principles Work Health and Safety (WHS) is the discipline concerned with protecting the health and safety of all individuals in the workplace from exposure to hazards and risks resulting from work environments and work activities. This is accomplished through ongoing consultation, planning, implementation, monitoring and review of Work Health and Safety Management Systems designed to, so far as is reasonably practicable: identify, assess and control workplace hazards; reduce the incidence and cost of occupational injury and illness; and provide a rehabilitation system for those affected by occupational injury or illness. Definition of Terms NNC adopts the following definitions of terms as stated in the Work Health and Safety Regulation 2011 (Effective 1 July 2015): PCBU means persons conducting a business or undertaking whether the person conducts the business or undertaking alone or with others, and whether or not the business or undertaking is conducted for profit or gain. Officer means a director or person who makes or participates in the decision making of the business or who has the capacity to significantly affect the business financial standing e.g. senior or operational management. An officer of NNC has a positive duty to exercise due diligence to ensure that NNC complies with its safety obligations. Page 2 of 7
Due diligence means the requirement on an officer to take reasonable steps to acquire and keep up to date knowledge of work health and safety matters and to ensure the NNC has, and implements, processes for complying with the Work Health and Safety obligations. Worker means a person who carries out work in any capacity for a person conducting a business or undertaking. A worker includes employee, apprentice, trainee, contractor or sub-contractor, an employee of the contractor or sub-contractor, employee of a labour hire company, work experience student, outworker and volunteer. Workplace means any place where work is carried out for NNC business or undertaking and includes any place where a worker goes, or is likely to be, while at work. Reasonably practicable means that, which is or was at a particular time, reasonably able to be done in relation to ensuring health and safety, taking into account and weighing up all relevant matters including: the likelihood of the hazard or the risk concerned occurring, and the degree of harm that might result from the hazard or the risk, and what the person concerned knows, or ought reasonably to know, about: the hazard or the risk, and ways of eliminating or minimising the risk, and the availability and suitability of ways to eliminate or minimise the risk, and after assessing the extent of the risk and the available ways of eliminating or minimising the risk, the cost associated with available ways of eliminating or minimising the risk, including whether the cost is grossly disproportionate to the risk. Work, Health and Safety Committee NNC WHS Committee consists of executive management and employee representatives. The WHS Committee will be the principal forum for consulting with employees on broad work health and safety policy related issues. NNC Work Health and Safety Responsibilities As a NSW Incorporated Association that employs workers to conduct business and undertakings, NNC is a categorised as a PCBU under Work Health and Safety Act 2011. Page 3 of 7
As the key decision makers on NNC business and undertakings, the NNC Board of Management (BOM), and Chief Executive Officer (CEO) have an absolute duty to exercise due diligence to ensure that NNC complies with its work health and safety obligations. The due diligence responsibilities of NNC BOM and CEO incorporates: acquiring safety knowledge and keeping up to date WHS issues and initiatives understanding business health and safety risks providing resources to identify and control risks receiving and considering business incidents, hazards and risks ensuring WHS legal compliance auditing and reviewing WHS processes and use of resources The CEO and Administration & Finance Manager have responsibility for: ensuring that all workplaces managed or controlled by NNC are suitably equipped and maintained to provide for all workers' health and safety while they are at work ensuring that all current and foreseeable workplace hazards are identified and assessed (including the potential for workplace violence or aggression), and that strategies are implemented to eliminate or control the risks associated with them ensuring that an appropriate workplace incident and injury reporting system is maintained that will provide workers with information to help them to prevent incidents and work related injury or illness in the future collecting, monitoring and analysing WHS statistics from the register of injury, incident or near misses relevant to the work areas. encouraging workers to report any suspected workplace hazard, work related injury or illness ensuring that investigations are conducted into all incidents and circumstances that may either expose a person to the risk of injury or illness, or result in injury or illness providing for the prompt management of injured workers and for their safe and timely return to work Page 4 of 7
ensuring that all contractors and subcontractors engaged to carry out work for NNC understand the safety standards expected of them and meet these standards when carrying out their work ensuring that suppliers of equipment and substances understand and meet NNC s safety standards The Director of Service Delivery (DSD) and Managers have responsibility for: ensuring NNC s WHS procedures are effectively implemented providing the necessary information, training and appropriate supervision to workers to enable them to understand and follow safe working procedures managing WHS issues on a day to day basis conducting workplace inspections on a regular basis and implementing corrective actions identifying, assessing and controlling hazards reviewing risk assessments and controls investigating and reporting on all incidents and accidents so that corrective action is promptly implemented supporting rehabilitation and return to work programs for individual employees consulting with workers on work health and safety issues consulting, co-operating and co-ordinating activities with all other persons who have a work health or safety duty in relation to the same matter, so far as is reasonably practicable. NNC Workers, regardless of the position they hold, has responsibility for: complying with their obligations under the WHS Act 2011, this policy and related WHS procedures taking reasonably practicable care for their own health and safety and that of other people on NNC premises, including service consumers and other visitors complying with any reasonably practicable health and safety instruction or direction reporting any safety hazard of which they are aware to their immediate supervisor or immediately rectifying the safety hazard where safe to do so attending and participating in any training or seminars arranged by NNC that support the WHS objectives of this policy Page 5 of 7
reporting and recording all hazards that may cause harm, injury or illness, including any damage or maintenance requirements affecting the workplace using the current Hazard/ Near Miss reporting form. reporting and recording all accidents or incidents that have resulted in harm, injury or illness, or any damage or maintenance requirements affecting the workplace using the current Accident/Incident reporting form. engaging with WHS Committee Representatives to consult on any WHS issues or information cooperating in any return to work plan developed for injured workers. Contractors and sub-contractors have responsibility for: ensuring they implement a safe system of work on NNC premises complying with NNC s WHS policy and procedures observing authorised directions in relation to health and safety. Other persons at the workplace have responsibility for: taking reasonably practicable care for their own health and safety taking reasonably practicable care that their acts or omissions do not adversely affect the health and safety of other persons complying, so far as is reasonably practicable, with instruction that is given by NNC to ensure compliance with the WHS Act 2011. Breach of this Policy Any breach of this policy may result in counselling and/or disciplinary action, which, in the case of employees, may lead to dismissal, or, in the case of volunteers, may lead to the cessation of their engagement. Any breach of this policy by a contractor may result in cancellation by Newtown Neighbourhood Centre of the services provided by that contractor. A breach by a visitor or service user may result in further actions as outlined in the Banning Policy. References, related documents & links Employer and Business WHS Obligations Work Cover NSW www.workcover.nsw.gov.au Guide to model Work, Health and Safety Regulations www.safeworkaustralia.gov.au Page 6 of 7
Code of Practice: Work health and safety consultation, co-operation and co-ordination Work Health and Safety Act 2011 www.legislation.nsw.gov.au Work Health and Safety Regulation 2011 www.legislation.nsw.gov.au Legislative and Policy Framework Work Health and Safety Act 2011 Work Health and Safety Regulation 2011 Workers Compensation Act 1987 Workplace Injury Management and Workers' Compensation Act 1998 Workers Compensation Regulation 2010 Australian/New Zealand Standard AS/NZS 4804:2001 Occupational Health and Safety Management Systems Policy authorised by: Name: Liz Yeo Position: Chief Executive Officer Signature: Date: 1 Page 7 of 7