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OH&S - Questions and Answers


The following questions and answers are an extract from the WorkCover NSW website. You can also download these questions and answers as an Adobe PDF file here.


1. What are my occupational health and safety responsibilities?

Section 8(1) of the Occupational Health and Safety Act 2000 (OHS Act 2000) states that as an employer you ‘must ensure the health, safety and welfare at work of all the employees’. To meet your responsibilities under the OHS Act 2000, you must provide:

  • Safe premises;

  • Safe machinery and substances;

  • Safe systems of work;

  • Provision of information, instruction, training and supervision; and

  • Suitable working environment and facilities.

The Act also states that you are responsible for the health and safety of people other than your workers, who may be present at the workplace.

Note: The obligations on individual employers vary, and employers should seek independent legal advice if they need assistance on the application of the law to their situation.


2. What is Risk Management?

An employer has an obligation to identify and assess foreseeable hazards. If it is not reasonably practicable to eliminate the risk, the employer must take steps to control the risk.

Risk management is covered in detail in Chapter 2 of the OHS Regulation 2001. Other chapters also refer to obligations of risk management as they apply to specific hazards, activities or places of work.

Risk management involves assessing the harm of those hazards. It is the process of:

  1. Identifying any foreseeable hazard - anything in the workplace that has potential to harm anyone at the workplace, e.g. moving parts in machinery, toxic chemicals, manual handling tasks.

  2. Assessing the risk from the hazard - finding out how significant the risk is e.g. will it cause a serious injury, illness or death and how likely is this to occur.

  3. Eliminating the hazard or if this is not possible, controlling the risk from the hazard - implementing strategies to eliminate or control the hazard e.g. design equipment differently, add machine guards, use safer chemicals, providing lifting devices to minimise manual handling or use personal protective equipment.
    (Note: This phase is more commonly referred to simply as risk control but the possible elimination of the hazard(s) must be considered before risk control is undertaken.)
  4. Reviewing risk assessment – to monitor and improve control measures and find safer ways of doing things. (Clause 9 of the OHS Regulation.


3. Who is responsible for risk management?

The employer must undertake risk management for all foreseeable hazards in their workplace that may arise from work activities and that have the potential to harm employees and any other person at that workplace.

In particular the employer must take reasonable care to identify hazards arising from (but not limited to):

  • Work premises and practices, systems and shift working arrangements (including hazardous processes, psychological and fatigue related hazards);

  • Equipment (including the transport, installation, erection, commissioning, use, repair, maintenance, dismantling, storage or disposal of equipment);

  • Presence of asbestos;

  • Manual handling (including potential for occupational overuse injuries);

  • Layout and condition of the workplace (e.g. lighting and workstation design);

  • Physical working environment (including the potential for any one or more of: electrocution; drowning; fire or explosion; people slipping, tripping or falling; contact with moving objects; exposure to noise, heat, cold, vibration, radiation, static electricity or a contaminated atmosphere);

  • Potential for workplace violence; and

  • Biological hazards.

4. Who should be involved in risk management?

The employer must consult with employees about any OHS matter that affects them. This includes the risk management process (see Chapters 2 and 3 of the OHS Regulation 2001).

Consulting with employees about the hazards and how to eliminate or control them will help:

  • To comply with the law;

  • To get the whole team involved in the process;

  • To give you many different points of view; and

  • To encourage safe thinking.

5. What if the employer uses a supervisor or employee or consultant to undertake the risk management on their behalf>

Obligations for risk management remain the responsibility of the employer regardless of any delegation or contracting arrangements that may be made in carrying out the risk management process.


6. What is a hazard?

A hazard is anything (including work practices or procedures) that has the potential to harm the health or safety of a person. (Clause 3 of the OHS Regulation 2001.)

Hazards can arise from:

  • The workplace environment;

  • The use of plant and substances;

  • Poor work design or practices;

  • Inappropriate management systems and procedures; and

  • Human behaviour.


7. What is risk?

Risk is the significance of the hazard in terms of likelihood and severity of any possible injury or illness.


8. I have a number of hazards that are the same but occur in difference places (e.g. other practices). Do I have to do a separate risk assessment for each of them?

A general risk assessment of the hazard is enough, however you will need to examine the different places or circumstances in which the hazard occurs and make sure that your risk assessment outcomes are applicable.

You will also need to check that the risk is eliminated or effectively controlled for each place or circumstance.


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