OHS Management system and compliance

The University requires each major organisational unit (Faculties, Portfolios, and some Divisions and Institutes) to maintain an OHS Risk Register and annually sign a Compliance Statement. Please see the Risk and OHS planning guidance document from HWS for further information.

What do I need to do?

The first stage is to update your OHS Risk Register. This should involve input from, and consultation with, all your operational professional and academic managers. If you have a HWS Committee, they should also be involved.

Training or briefing sessions can be organised. Please contact Sam Parry to organise attendance.

Once the Risk Register has been reviewed, you should be in a position to complete the Compliance Statement. It is important to note that the Compliance Statement and Risk Register feed into each other. Many of the controls listed in the Register will be the same as the requirements listed in the Compliance Statement.

What happens to the completed Register and Compliance Statement?

You will need to upload both documents onto the HWS website by 1 March. Both documents will be reviewed by the HWS team and may be used as part of the annual OHS audit program. Compliance with the program and any major issues will be reported through the University HWS Committee to the University Executive. When the Compliance Statements and Risk Registers are reviewed or audited, all that will be expected is clear evidence of planning and progress towards achieving those standards. It is clear that some systems at the local and University level need improvement. The Risk Register and Compliance Statement create a foundation upon which we can move forward as they provide us with a way to identify and prioritise the improvements that are needed at both the local and University level.

What consultation has occurred in this change?

Comments have been sought from a range of staff across Deakin including your OHS professionals. Where practical their comments have been incorporated into the documents. We have appreciated and valued their constructive comments. However we have not incorporated every suggestion.

Do I need to tick off everything in the Compliance Statement?

One particular issue that has been raised is concerns about not being able to tick every question on the Compliance Statement. We want to assure you that not being able to tick every box will not result in criticism. Your answers will be treated with respect where you consider your current arrangements do not yet meet the expected standard. The expectation of course is that you are committed to actions that will enable your area to meet and possibly exceed the standard. The University as a whole is on the same road to improving OHS performance and outcomes. You can also refer to the How to comply with mandatory requirements

What other support can be provided?

In addition to the training (above), support will be provided by HWS team (HR) to ensure the quality of the content of the OHS Register is high. Please contact Sam Parry in the HWS team.

Why is this important to Deakin

The Register and Compliance Statement are important steps in further improving the resilience of and confidence in Deakin’s OHS Management system. It is also an essential part in ensuring Deakin meets its obligations under OHS legislation and is able to clearly demonstrate this.

Where can I get further information?

The OHS Management and Compliance section of the OHS website provides further information as well as the templates. You will also be contacted by a member of the HWS team in March to answer questions you may have or to arrange a meeting if you wish.

Heads of organisational units are required to complete and sign an OHS compliance statement at the start of each year by the 1 March. Once complete the Statement must be lodged on the HWS Sharepoint site.

The Risk Register informs and supports the Compliance Statement. The control measures in the Risk Register provide evidence and confidence for the matters covered in the Compliance Statement.

The How to comply with mandatory requirements document provides further advice on how to meet the requirements of the Compliance Statement.

The OHS Risk Register is a living document that records you areas operational OHS risks. The Register must be reviewed annually as a minimum. The review must involve relevant operational managers and preferably involves the whole management team. This ensures that there is full awareness of the risks the organisational unit faces and how those risks are being managed.

Find out more at the hazard and risk management Sharepoint site.

The Physical Hazards Identification and Control Prompt provides guidance on control measures. For further advice, or to enquire about Risk Register training, please contact Sam Parry in the HWS team.

Health, Wellbeing and Safety plan templates can be used by areas to support the Risk Register and Compliance Statement. From 2019 there is no requirement to submit these Plans. However without a Health, Wellbeing and Safety Plan or equivalent, senior managers will have difficulty in demonstrating due diligence on health and safety matters. This may expose the manager and the University unnecessarily to prosecution for failing to maintain a healthy and safe workplace.

The Health, Wellbeing and Safety Plan is a tool that enables organisational areas to manage their health and safety responsibilities effectively. The Plan will help the head of the organisational area meet in a systematic way their responsibility for the health, safety and wellbeing of staff. By completing a plan, managers will be able to judge how well their organisational area is meeting its responsibilities. It will also enable senior managers to effectively delegate authority to, and hold responsible local managers for the maintenance of health and safety standards within the area.

• HWS Plan Template
• HWS Activity Template

These documents or their equivalent planning documents may be requested as part of an audit against Compliance Statements or Risk Registers.

Workplace Inspections are carried out to ensure all work areas are kept free from hazards or potential hazards that may lead to injury, illness, near miss, property damage or adverse environmental impact. As noted in OHS responsibilities, inspections are an important part of the manager's toolkit.

Managers are required to conduct workplace inspections in all University workplaces occupied by their staff, students or contractors in consultation with the local Health and Safety Representative (if there is one). Booked spaces such as meeting rooms or lecture theatres are the responsibility of the FIOA that manages the bookings (in many cases Facilities Services Division).

Workplace Inspection Guideline and Procedure

Inspection checklists should be used as a prompt and recording template when carrying out an inspection. In most cases, the checklist will not be comprehensively completed for each room/area visited, rather it would be used to note the exceptions or defects and be used in the creation of an action list or report. The following templates can be used to develop your own:

• Office Inspection Checklist (DOC, 90.0 KB)
• Workshop Inspection Checklist (DOC, 116.5 KB)
• Laboratory Inspection Checklist  (DOC, 163.0 KB)
• Plant Room Inspection Checklist (DOC, 71.0 KB)
• Warehouse Inspection Checklist  (DOC, 125.0 KB)
• Chemical Store Inspection Checklist (DOC, 101.0 KB)
• Plant Inspection Checklist (DOC, 79.0 KB)
• Hospitality Checklist (DOC, 129.5 KB)
• Action List (DOC, 48 KB)

Designers of buildings and structures which are going to be workplaces are required to comply with section 28 of the OHS Act.

This duty is to make sure that the design does not pose risks to people when using the workplace for a purpose for which it was intended. The aim is for the designer to eliminate at the source, any risks to health and safety or welfare of employees and other persons who work in buildings and structures.

The Managing OHS risks in the design of buildings and structures standard (PDF, 121.5 KB) describes how this is managed at Deakin.

The Design safety risk assessment template (XLSX, 313.8 KB) will assist.

Each organisational area which completes a health and safety plan and an OHS compliance statement should maintain, at a minimum, the following central registry files (hard copy or electronically on TRIM) on which relevant records should be placed:

• health and safety plan and OHS compliance statement
• records of OHS induction, training and distribution of information to staff and others
• records of inspections and subsequent actions taken
• records of risk assessments including Work Safety Assessments (for research work, field trips and some undergraduate work)
• copies of accident reports and follow-up documentation
• records of staff consultations.

Staff can obtain assistance in the maintenance of central registry files by contacting the Records Unit.