OHS News

Under Australian WHS law, every business has a duty to provide workers with the information, training, instruction, and supervision they need to do their job safely. A workplace induction is where that duty starts - and for a lot of small businesses, it's the first obligation they get wrong.

Ask most small business owners if they do risk assessments and they'll say yes. They think about the job before they start. They spot the obvious hazards. They tell their workers to be careful. They've been doing this for years and, so far, nothing bad has happened. Here's the uncomfortable truth: informal hazard thinking is not the same as a risk assessment. And under Australian WHS law, only one of them satisfies your legal obligation. This guide explains what risk assessment actually means...

Right now, WHS regulators across Australia are ramping up enforcement on a category of workplace hazard that most small businesses have never documented - and many haven't even considered.