AS 4801 and the new safety harmonisation laws
AS/NZS 4801 helps organisations:
- implement, maintain and improve a safety system;
- comformance to a stated OHS policy;
- demonstrate such conformance to others;
- seek certification/registration of its safety system by an external organisation; or
- make a self-determination and declaration of conformance with the Standard.
All the requirements in the Standard are intended to be incorporated into any safety system. The extent of the application will depend on such factors as the OHS policy of the organization, the nature of its activities and the conditions in which it operates.
Effective implementation of a safety management system should seek to ensure the organisation complies with relevant OHS legislation, standards and codes of practice. However, the implementation of any of the requirements of this Standard, whether or not the organisation has gained certification from a third-party certification body or is otherwise recognized, does not in any way assure compliance with all legal requirements, or other obligations placed upon the organization by a statutory body. Hence, the implementation, either actual or intended, of this Standard, or parts thereof, would not preclude any action by a statutory body.
Safety Certification is recognition from an accredited, independent third party, that your organisation complies with a recognised standard detailing good safety management system principles. Certification is a public demonstration of the organisation's commitment to reduce and ultimately eliminate workplace injury.
