WORKING AT HEIGHT ASSOCIATION OF AUSTRALIA
UNDERSTANDING RESPONSIBILITIES WHEN WORKING AT HEIGHTS Deborah Chick, strategic development and programs manager for The Working at Heights Association (WAHA), examines the roles and responsibilities of individuals and organisations relating to working at heights. STATISTICALLY, FALLS FROM HEIGHTS remain one of the biggest causes of death, disability and injury in workplaces in Australia. Any time there is a risk of a worker falling from one level to another, the worker is at significant risk of injury and needs to be protected. When each of us turn up to work, our employers have a legal obligation to provide us with a safe work place and we each have our own legal responsibility to ensure we take all reasonably practicable steps to make sure that everyone goes home at the end of the day. Understanding our responsibilities is vital to ensure there is consistency across our industry and every workplace. There are a number of documents available to aid in the safe undertaking of works and to maintain our legal obligations. Let’s work our way from the top down. An Act is legislation passed by parliament: a statue or law which in turn are supported by Regulations, Codes of Practice and Australian Standards. Acts set out the broad legal/policy principles. For example, the Workplace/ Occupational Health and Safety Acts provide a framework to protect the health, safety and welfare or all workers at work and of other people who might be affected by the work. Acts are known as primary legislation; and the term legislation itself and encompass a single law or a collection of laws. Regulations are documents that dictate how the provisions of the Act are applied. Workplace Health and Safety 88 / CAL November 2021
Deborah Chick, strategic development and programs manager for The Working at Heights Association (WAHA).
(WHS)/Occupational Health and Safety (OHS) Regulations specify the way in which some duties under the WHS Act must be met and prescribes procedural or administrative requirements to support the WHS/OHS Act. Further guidance for person(s) conducting a business or undertaking (PCBU) are Code of Practice or Compliance Codes. These establish and document a practical guide to achieving and maintaining standards of health, safety and welfare. Codes of Practice (COP’s) are developed with consultation with industry bodies, and are subject to review to ensure the content remains relevant and appropriately reflects current industry best practice and new equipment, technology and working practices are developed.
A code of practice applies to anyone who has a duty of care in the circumstances described in the code. For most cases, an approved code of practice would achieve compliance with the health and safety duties in the Workplace Health and Safety Act. Like regulations, codes of practice deal with specific issues and they do not cover all hazards or risks that may arise. Codes of practice are admissible in court proceedings under the Workplace Health and Safety Act and Regulations. Courts may regard a code of practice as evidence of what is known about a hazard, risk or control and may rely on the code of practice when determining what is reasonably practicable in the circumstances in which the code relates. SafeWork Australia has developed Code of Practice/Industry Codes to provide practical guidance on how to meet the standards required under the Workplace Health and Safety Act and Regulations: however, the Commonwealth, States and Territories are responsible for implementing, regulating and enforcing Workplace Health and Safety laws in their jurisdiction. The Working at Heights Association of Australia has also developed Industry Codes. The model laws developed by SafeWork Australia have been implemented in all jurisdictions except Victoria and Western Australia; Western Australia is currently consulting on options to implement elements of the model laws. In the jurisdictions where the model www.cranesandlifting.com.au
