Application
This unit describes the skills and knowledge required for a worker to participate in safe work practices to ensure their own health and safety, and that of others in work environments that involve caring directly for clients. It has a focus on maintaining safety of the worker, the people being supported and other community members.
This unit applies to all workers who require knowledge of workplace health and safety (WHS) to carry out their own work, in both centre-based and home-based service provision.
The skills in this unit must be applied in accordance with Commonwealth and State/Territory legislation, Australian/New Zealand standards and industry codes of practice.
Elements and Performance Criteria
ELEMENT | PERFORMANCE CRITERIA |
Elements define the essential outcomes. | Performance criteria specify the level of performance needed to demonstrate achievement of the element. |
1. Follow safe work practices for direct client care | 1.1 Follow workplace policies and procedures for safe work practices 1.2 Identify existing and potential hazards in the workplace, report them to designated persons, and record them according to workplace procedures 1.3 Identify any client-related risk factors or behaviours of concern, report them to designated persons, and record them according to workplace procedures 1.4 Follow workplace policies and procedures to minimise risk 1.5 Identify and report incidents and injuries to designated persons according to workplace procedures |
2. Follow safe work practices for manual handling | 2.1 Follow manual handling procedures and work instructions for minimising manual handling risk 2.2 Identify manual handling hazards and report in line with workplace procedures 2.3 Apply control measures for minimising manual handling risk |
3. Follow safe work practices for infection control | 3.1 Follow standard precautions as part of own work routine to prevent the spread of infection 3.2 Recognise situations when additional infection control procedures are required 3.3 Apply additional precautions when standard precautions alone may not be sufficient to prevent transmission of infection 3.4 Identify risks of infection and report them according to workplace procedures |
4. Contribute to safe work practices in the workplace | 4.1 Raise WHS issues with designated persons according to organisational procedures 4.2 Participate in workplace safety meetings, inspections and consultative activities 4.3 Contribute to the development and implementation of safe workplace policies and procedures in own work area |
5. Reflect on own safe work practices | 5.1 Identify ways to maintain currency of safe work practices in regards to workplace systems, equipment and processes in own work role 5.2 Reflect on own levels of stress and fatigue, and report to designated persons according to workplace procedures 5.3 Participate in workplace debriefing to address individual needs |
Foundation Skills
The Foundation Skills describe those required skills (language, literacy, numeracy and employment skills) that are essential to performance. |
Reading – in order to accurately read and interpret workplace safety policies and procedures including safety signs, dangerous goods classifications and safety instructions The remaining foundation skills essential to performance are explicit in the performance criteria of this unit |