The document discusses key aspects of Work Health and Safety (WHS) laws in New South Wales, Australia. It defines important terms like Person Conducting a Business or Undertaking (PCBU) and workers. A PCBU has primary duty of care to ensure a safe workplace, while workers must take reasonable care for their own and others' safety. The WHS Act and Regulations establish compliance requirements, while codes of practice provide guidance on managing hazards. Manual handling, electrical safety, and equipment safety are some specific topics covered.

1. Maria Mowczan 1
CUFSAF01B
FOLLOW HEALTH, SAFETY AND SECURITY
PROCEDURES
Lesson 2 - OHS
3/18/2013

2. Work Health and Safety (WHS)
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 The new work health and safety (WHS) laws replaced the
occupational health and safety (OHS) laws in NSW on 1 January
2012.
 WHS laws provides greater consistency and clarity across
Australia, making it easier to understand your workplace health and
safety duties.
 Overall, the implementation of the WHS should not have a
significant impact on how NSW businesses operate and manage
work health and safety matters. Many requirements are
unchanged, or the same as in the Occupational Health and Safety
Act 2001 (OHS Regulation).
Maria Mowczan 3/18/2013

3. WHS Act
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 The new Work Health and Safety Act 2011
(WHS Act) introduces:
a new term for the employer, 'person
conducting business or undertaking' (PCBU)
(that expands the duty of care for work health and safety to all
persons who conduct a business or undertaking)
 a new definition of 'workers' (reflecting the diverse
employment arrangements in many workplaces).
Maria Mowczan 3/18/2013

4. Person conducting a business
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or undertaking (PCBU)
The new term 'person conducting a business or undertaking'
(PCBU) applies to individuals and organisations that are legal
entities conducting a business or undertaking and include:
 public companies
 private companies
 partners in a partnership
 sole traders and self employed people
 government departments and authorities
 associations if they have one or more employees
 local government councils
 independent schools
 cooperatives
 universities.
Maria Mowczan 3/18/2013

5. PCBU owes Primary duty of
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care
The PCBU must meet its obligations, so far as is reasonably
practicable, to provide a safe and healthy
workplace for workers by ensuring:
 safe systems of work
 a safe work environment
 accommodation for workers, if provided, is appropriate
 safe use of plant, structures and substances
 facilities for the welfare of workers are adequate
 notification and recording of workplace incidents
 adequate information, training, instruction and supervision is
given
 compliance with the requirements under the work health and
safety regulation
 effective systems are in place for monitoring the health of
workers and workplace conditions.Maria Mowczan 3/18/2013

6. Workers
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The definition of a ‘worker’ includes any person who carries out work
for a ‘person conducting a business or undertaking' (PCBU -
the new term that includes employers).
The term 'worker' includes any person who works as an:
 employee
 trainee
 volunteer
 outworker
 apprentice
 work experience student
 contractor or sub contractor
 employees of a contractor or sub-contractor
 employee of a labour hire company assigned to work for a PCBU.
Maria Mowczan 3/18/2013

7. Duties of a worker
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 take reasonable care for their own health and
safety
 take reasonable care for the health and
safety of others
 comply with any reasonable instructions
issued by the PCBU
 cooperate with any reasonable policies and
procedures of the PCBU.
Maria Mowczan 3/18/2013

8. Legislation
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 Work Health and Safety Act 2011
 Work Health and Safety Regulation 2011
 the codes of practice
 http://www.workcover.nsw.gov.au/newlegislatio
n2012/WHSlawandpolicy/Pages/default.aspx
Maria Mowczan 3/18/2013

9. Work Health and Safety Act
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2011
 The Work Health and Safety Act 2011 (WHS
Act) sets out the legal obligations that must be
complied with to provide for the health and
safety of workers.
Maria Mowczan 3/18/2013

10. Work Health and Safety Regulation
2011
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 The Work Health and Safety Regulation
2011 (WHS Regulation) expands on the
requirement of the Work Health and Safety Act
2011 (WHS Act) by providing further details on
how the WHS Act is to be complied with.
Maria Mowczan 3/18/2013

11. Codes of practice
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 A code of practice provides details on how to
achieve the standards required under the work
health and safety (WHS) legislation, by
identifying hazards and managing risks.
Maria Mowczan 3/18/2013

12. Exercise 1In groups of two students, select 1 of the new
WHS codes of practice and describe the purpose of the code.
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http://www.workcover.nsw.gov.au/lawpolicy/codesofPractice/Pages/default.
aspx
 Confined spaces
 Hazardous manual tasks
 How to manage and control asbestos in the workplace
 How to manage work health and safety risks
 Managing the risk of falls at workplaces
 How to safely remove asbestos
 Labelling of workplace hazardous chemicals
 Managing noise and preventing hearing loss at work
 Managing the work environment and facilities
 Preparation of safety data sheets for hazardous chemicals
 Work health and safety consultation, coordination and cooperation.
Maria Mowczan 3/18/2013

13. Manual handling
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Manual handling
 Any activity where you lower, push, pull, hold or restrain an item.
 Placing something on a shelf, painting, gardening, cleaning, writing
and typing are all examples of manual handling.
 More people are injured by manual handling than by any other
workplace hazard.
Some injuries include:
 Strains and sprains.
 Neck and back injury.
 Slips, falls and crush incidents.
 Cuts, bruises and broken bones.
 Occupational overuse syndrome also known as RSI (repetitive
strain injury).
Maria Mowczan 3/18/2013

14. Equipment - General safety
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 Inspect equipment regularly to keep it in good working order.
 Unplug broken appliances and have them repaired as soon as possible.
 Keep equipment away from water and wet areas.
 Always switch off equipment at the power point before pulling out the plug.
 Don’t overload circuits, fuses, and power points. Use a power board rather
than double adaptors.
 Inspect plugs and electrical cables for damage. Have broken power points
replaced by a licensed electrician.
 Keep electrical cords off the floor. This reduces damage and the risk of
tripping.
 Know the location of the main electrical supply or fuse box.
Maria Mowczan 3/18/2013

15. ELECTRICAL SAFETY
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Electric shock
 occurs when a person touches a live electrical cable or equipment that
has become ‘live’ due to- electrical fault, lack of maintenance, or a short circuit.
 The person electrocuted becomes part of the electrical circuit and the current flows
through an entire body.
Electrical burns
 are caused by the direct passage of electrical current through the body.
 A burn can also be caused by direct contact with a hot surface, such as a lamp.
 While the surface of the skin may not show evidence of burning, electrical burns may
affect deep tissue.
 Electrical burns are often slow to heal, and medical treatment should always be sought.
First aid
 The first few minutes are vital in the rescue and resuscitation of an electric shock victim.
 Contact expert help if it is readily available.
 What you can do: turn off power supply, call for help, administer first aid, if you can.
Maria Mowczan 3/18/2013

16. Test
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http://203.147.178.216/safeworksa/EducationAndTraining/ActivitiesAndTests/SafetyCheck/default.asp
Maria Mowczan 3/18/2013