Everyone has the right to work in a safe and healthy workplace. Both employers and employees have a role in preventing work related injury or illness. Our useful guide provides you with information to help you understand your responsibilities. JobAccess also has information on:
Employee responsibilities
As an employee, you have responsibilities under occupational health and safety law. You must act responsibly, take care of yourself and others, and cooperate with your employer in matters of health and safety. This applies to all workers, whether they have a disability or not.
If you don’t do these things, you could be disciplined by your employer under your conditions of employment, or you could be prosecuted under the occupational health and safety laws in your state or territory.
In addition, under the Commonwealth Disability Discrimination Act 1992 your ability to work safely is an inherent or essential requirement of any job. If your disability could reasonably be seen to cause a health and safety risk for other people in the workplace, then failing to disclose that risk could be a breach of your obligations under occupational health and safety legislation.
Employer responsibilities
Employers are required to provide a safe and healthy workplace to protect employees against potential health and safety risks. Your employer has a responsibility to ensure that all employees are covered by workers compensation insurance and, in the event of a workplace injury, they must assist an injured employee return to work safely.
Australian Safety and Compensation Council
The Australian Safety and Compensation Council works with state and territory governments, employers and employees to prevent workplace death, injury and disease and to improve workers compensation arrangements and rehabilitation and return to work of injured workers.
State and territory Occupational Health and Safety authorities
If you want to find out more about occupational health and safety, or you want to ask for assistance, contact the workplace safety authority in your state or territory (these links will take you to an external site in a new window):
Australian Capital Territory—ACT WorkCover
New South Wales—WorkCover NSW
Northern Territory—NT WorkSafe
Queensland—WorkCover Queensland
South Australia—WorkCover South Australia
Tasmania—WorkCover Tasmania
Victoria—Victorian WorkCover Authority
Western Australia—WorkSafe