Application
This unit of competency describes the skills and knowledge required to facilitate meetings and document actions that relate to the consideration of work health and safety issues in the workplace.
This unit is applicable to nominated work health and safety representatives in a workplace.
All work must be carried out to comply with workplace and legislative requirements.
This unit applies to individuals who take responsibility for their own work. They provide and communicate solutions to a range of predictable and unpredictable problems.
NOTE: The terms 'occupational health and safety' (OHS) and 'work health and safety' (WHS) and occupational safety and health (OSH) are equivalent and generally either can be used in the workplace. In jurisdictions where the Model WHS Legislation has not been implemented RTOs are advised to contextualise the unit of competency by referring to the existing State and Territory OHS legislative requirements.
No occupational licensing, legislative or certification requirements apply to this unit at the time of publication.
Elements and Performance Criteria
Element | Performance criteria |
Elements describe the essential outcomes. | Performance criteria describe the performance needed to demonstrate achievement of the element. |
1. Provide information about work health and safety | 1.1 Explain, with accuracy and clarity, relevant provisions of work health and safety legislation and Codes of Practice to the work group 1.2 Provide information on enterprise work health and safety policies, procedures and programs in a readily accessible manner, and accurately and clearly explain the information to the work group 1.3 Regularly provide, and accurately and clearly explain, information about identified hazards, the outcomes of risk assessment and control procedures |
2. Facilitate the participation of workers in work health and safety observance and decision-making | 2.1 Implement and monitor enterprise procedures for consultation on work health and safety issues to ensure that all members of the work group have the opportunity to contribute 2.2 Describe, with clarity, procedures used by workers to report work health and safety hazards, assess risks, and take action to control risks, to the work group 2.3 Deal with and resolve issues raised through consultation or refer them to the appropriate personnel 2.4 Communicate, with promptness, the outcomes of consultation over work health and safety issues to the work group |
3. Implement procedures for identifying hazards and assessing and controlling risks | 3.1 Identify existing and potential hazards and report them to ensure the implementation of adequate risk assessment and effective control measures 3.2 Check that the work group implements procedures to control work health and safety risks and undertakes regular monitoring to ensure ongoing adherence and effectiveness of risk control 3.3 Identify inadequacies in existing risk control measures in accordance with the hierarchy of control and report inadequacies to designated personnel 3.4 Identify and report inadequacies in allocation of resources to management to ensure safe work practice 3.5 Monitor and regularly report existing risk control measures in accordance with workplace procedures |
4. Implement workplace procedures for dealing with emergencies and hazardous events | 4.1 Implement workplace procedures for dealing with work health and safety emergencies, where necessary, to ensure prompt and effective control action 4.2 Report work health and safety emergencies in accordance with established enterprise procedures 4.3 Implement control measures based on the hierarchy of control to prevent recurrence and minimise the risk of emergencies and hazardous events, or alternatively, refer measures to designated personnel for implementation |
5. Implement and monitor enterprise procedures for providing work health and safety training | 5.1 Identify work health and safety induction and training needs accurately, specifying the gaps between the required work health and safety competencies and those held by the work group 5.2 Make arrangements for meeting identified work health and safety training needs in both on and off-the-job training programs in consultation with relevant parties |
6. Implement and monitor enterprise procedures for maintaining work health and safety records | 6.1 Accurately and legibly complete work health and safety records for work area 6.2 Use aggregate information from work health and safety records to identify hazards and monitor risk control procedures within the work area in accordance with own responsibilities |
Evidence of Performance
The candidate must be assessed on their ability to integrate and apply the performance requirements of this unit in a workplace setting. Performance must be demonstrated consistently over time and in a suitable range of contexts.
The candidate must provide evidence that they can:
facilitate the participation of workers in work health and safety observance and decision-making
establish procedures to document the identification of hazards and assessment of risk covering the operations of the enterprise
identify work health and safety hazards and conducting the risk assessment process
implement enterprise emergency procedures and organise safety drills
provide staff with work health and safety training in risk assessment, and other areas nominated by risk controls
respond to emergencies and work health and safety issues in an appropriate and timely manner
facilitate meetings and document actions to consider work health and safety issues in the workplace
distribute information concerning work health and safety processes and requirements to staff
maintain work health and safety records
Evidence of Knowledge
The candidate must demonstrate knowledge of:
hazards in the workplace
relevant work health and safety legislation and Codes of Practice
hazard identification and risk control processes
the hierarchy of work health and safety risk control and its implementation for hazards in land-based industries
work health and safety training
communication and engagement strategies with workers
relevant enterprise management systems and procedures
accident and incident investigation
enterprise emergency procedures
participative work practices
Assessment Conditions
Competency is to be assessed in the work place or workplace and simulated environments that accurately reflect performance in a real workplace setting.
Assessors must satisfy current standards for RTOs.
Foundation Skills
Foundation Skills essential to performance are explicit in the performance criteria of this unit of competency.
Range Statement
Sectors
Work Health and Safety (WHS)