Work Health and Safety: Managing hazards and risks in an AMS

In Australia, Work Health and Safety (WH&S) requirements are based on a set of ‘model’ laws designed by Safe Work Australia. The laws include a WH&S Act, WH&S regulations, and Codes of Practice. These laws have been implemented by the Commonwealth and most states and territories (except Victoria and Western Australia). This means that most WH&S legislation is the same across the country. The purpose of WH&S legislation is to protect the health and safety of workers and workplaces.

This module provides a guide to risk management in Aboriginal Medical Services (AMSs). It is aligned with the Safe Work Australia’s model Code of Practice for How to manage work health and safety risks.

It is designed for any employees who may be responsible for identifying hazards and is particularly important for managers and supervisors who are responsible for managing .

At the end of this module participants will be able to:

• Identify a hazard.
• Describe the four steps of managing risk: Identify the hazard, Assess the risk and identify any known controls’ Control risks, Review control measures.
• Identify when a risk assessment is required.
• Understand how to undertake a risk assessment using a risk matrix