Workplace safety is a key issue for employers and employees alike. Everyone has a responsibility to ensure the safety of themselves and others affected by their work activities in the workplace.
Occupational health and safety law in Australia has three sources:
- common law duty of care
- criminal law and
- each state and territory in Australia has its own occupational health and safety legislation.
Occupational health and safety law requires employers, employees, contractors and the self employed to ensure their own health and safety as well as the health and safety of others affected by their work activities.
Employers are also required to provide you with access to information about reasonable adjustments where needed, in addition to training for any equipment required for reasonable adjustments:
Your responsibilities
As an employee, you have responsibilities under these laws. You must 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.
So when you are at work you must:
- act responsibly
- perform your work according to the safety standards applied and follow the directions given by your employer
- take reasonable care to protect the health and safety of yourself, your co-workers and others
- work and behave in ways which are safe and do not endanger the health and safety of anyone in the workplace.
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 Disability Discrimination Act (1992) your ability to work safely is an inherent requirement (i.e. an essential requirement) of any job (see Related Links). 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.
Australian Safety and Compensation Council
The Australian Safety and Compensation Council (ASCC) 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 your rights and responsibilities, or you want to ask for assistance, contact the workplace safety authority in your state or territory (note that 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—Workplace Health and Safety
South Australia—WorkCover South Australia
Tasmania—WorkCover Tasmania
Victoria—Victorian WorkCover Authority
Western Australia—WorkSafe Western Australia