Diploma of Work Health and Safety Case Study Analysis

This case study, prepared by a student for the Diploma of Work Health and Safety, examines the legal framework governing workplace health and safety within the Australian construction industry. It begins with an introduction to the diverse professions and the varying safety measures required. The case study then delves into the relevant legislation, including the Work Health and Safety Act of 2012, regulations, and codes of practice, as well as related acts such as the Fair Work Act and the National Construction Code. The analysis provides advice to an organization on WHS Act compliance, emphasizing the importance of informing workers about safety policies and potential hazards. It also details two specific legislation compliance measures implemented by the organization. Furthermore, the case study explores the relevant regulations and standards, codes of practice, and guidance notes. The document highlights the role of risk management, the importance of safe work method statements, and the requirements for contractors and employers to ensure worker safety and comply with all legal obligations.

DIPLOMA OF WORK HEALTH AND SAFETY
Student’s name
Insert course
Insert date

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Introduction
There are diverse professions here in the Australian jurisdiction. Some of these jobs are
blue collar jobs while others are white collar jobs. As such, the safety of the workers in that
particular job varies from the safety of another worker in a different profession. In this article, we
shall be discussing the safety measures that arise in my profession, which is in the construction
sector.
1. The legal framework that applies in my workplace
Legislation often plays a huge part to how you run your business. It is for this reason that
it is important for the business owner to be aware of the laws that apply to his or her industry.
The key legislation that may affect businesses in the construction industry here in Australia
includes the following. These laws are the likes of the Work Health and Safety Act of 2012, the
Work Health and Safety Regulations of 2012, and the SA Codes of Practise. Other legislations
are the Return to Work Act of 2014, Returns to Work Regulations of 2015, Fair Work Act of
2009, and the Workplace Gender Equality Agency. There are other regulations that include the
Fair Act (Registered Organizations) Act of 2009, the Disability Standards of 2010, the National
Construction Code, the Heritage Protection, and the Environment Protection and Biodiversity
Conservation Act of 1999.
However, here in Australia, the Work Health and Safety Act (WHS) of 2011 regulates all
the work-related issues with any object to secure the rights and interest of the workers.
According to this act, a person who is conducting any business, or has undertaken a certain

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business, needs to follow the guidelines of the act including all the other related provisions such
as the Fair Work Act, SA Code of Practice, and Workplace Gender Equality Agency1.
The efficient duty of care has been imposed on the employers so that every businesses
can continue with their businesses by following all the mandates for keeping the workplace
health and safe for the workers. According to this act, all the risks are required to be identified
and assessed by the employers. Later, the employers need to make all the decisions wisely for the
benefit of their workers. These employers’ already-made decisions should monitor the health and
safety policies for their workers and conduct the training sessions as well if necessary. Avery
employer is required to follow the laid out legal obligations and practical guidance regarding the
same is providing by the Codes of Practice.
There are certain provisions regarding the hazardous works and process of managing all
the risks regarding the tasks that has also been presented by the Codes. One of the most common
provisions for the workplace related matters is the Fair Work Act 2009.2
The act provides a balanced framework and assists in the promotion of the national
economic prosperity for the Australians. In any case of the construction business, there are
certain additional rulings that are required to be maintained such as the Building Code, National
Construction Code, Disability Standards 2010, Environmental protection and Biodiversity
Conservation Act 1999 and Heritage Protection. These legislations provide the standard for the
constructed objects as they have clearly prescribed the rules effectively.3
1 Billett, Stephen, et al. "Towards More Effective Continuing Education and Training for Australian
Workers." National Centre for Vocational Education Research (NCVER) (2015).
2 Moriarty, Sandra, Nancy D. Mitchell, William D. Wells, Robert Crawford, Linda Brennan, and Ruth Spence-
Stone. Advertising: Principles and practice. Pearson Australia, 2014
3 Evans, Phil. "The building and construction industry code of conduct (WA)." Brief 44.6 (2017): 22.

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The requirement for concocting a building has been prescribed under the National
Construction Code. It is of no doubt to state that the construction of the building causes serious
damage to the environment. Environmental protection and Biodiversity Conservation Act of
1999 provide all the protective guidelines to maintain a sustainable biodiversity. All these rules
and regulations must be maintained and followed by the employers in every corner of the state.
2. My advice to my organization on the WHS act compliance
The employers of any business are required to abide by all the guidelines mentioned for
the specific work in relevant legislation. It is the duty of the employer to inform the workers
regarding all the health and safety policies available to them and should make them aware of the
potential hazards related to the said work. By performing this action, the employers stand no
chance of being sued to the negligence of the rights of their employees to understand their rights.
However, if a business owner, such as my organization, remains silent on the matter, he or she
becomes liable to being sentenced to a court of law for further questioning4.
The employers are advised to call for meetings related to the proper implementation of
safety guidelines in the workplaces.5 Apart from this action, the employers should talk to the
employees regarding their problems or requirements. This action not only increases transparency
of employers to their employees but also enhances the work relationships between the two.
In the case of proper implementation of the work health and safety policies, all the legal
assistance will be provided to the employers including the drafts and development policies with
an intention to reduce the legal risks. If the employer fails to comply with all or any of the
guidelines mentioned by the specific legislation, the organization of the alleged employer can be
4 Straker, Leon, David Dunstan, Nicholas Gilson, and Genevieve Healy. "Sedentary work. Evidence on an emergent
work health and safety issue." (2016).
5 Board, Australian Building Codes. National Construction Code. ABCB, 2015.

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exposed and the necessary penalties can be imposed on them. The same action could create
impacts on the premiums of workers.6 However, it is a common problem for the employers that
the provisions of the workplace safety Act and regulations are quite clear, but they made various
complaints against the policies so as to favor themselves.7
In such cases, the employers can seek for help from the advocates so that they can review
the conducts of the employers and provide necessary suggestion to them. Proper investigations
are necessary in case of any complaints and measures should be taken to manage the problems of
the affected workers. The employers are required to assess the proactive risk management
criteria and should be concerned about safety and hazardous issues.8 They should act in
accordance with supportive manners and with due care in case of any injury or illness has
reported.
All the injury-related claims should be resolved on urgent basis. The employers are
required to provide necessary support to the employees with an intention of bringing back the
normal working environment in the workplaces.
3. Two legislation compliance measures installed in the organization
The nature of the discussed organization is construction-based and there is a certain
legislation that regulates the workplace safety mandates such as the Building Code, National
Construction Code and the Heritage Protection Policy. Construction works may include the
forms of alteration, conversion, renovation, demolition, and/or coordination. According to the
6 Bailey, Tessa S., Maureen F. Dollard, and Penny AM Richards. "A national standard for psychosocial safety
climate (PSC): PSC 41 as the benchmark for low risk of job strain and depressive symptoms." Journal of
occupational health psychology 20, no. 1 (2015): 15.
7 Colvin, Alexander JS. "Book Review: Rediscovering Collective Bargaining: Australia's Fair Work Act in
International Perspective." (2014): 274-276.
8 Cain, Peter. "A history of Australian legal education [Book Review]." Ethos: Official Publication of the Law
Society of the Australian Capital Territory 246 (2017): 61.

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building code, before constructing a structure, planning permission should be obtained from the
local authority. Without such permission, the construction may be considered unfit both for
commercial and residential purposes.
The purpose of the legislation provided is to review the health and safety welfare of the
building and to investigate whether all the general requirements have been fulfilled or not. The
provisions of the Building Code are not only providing guidelines to the contractors or architects
but assisting the safety inspectors and the facility managers also. It has been suggested by the
Code that the engineers or the employer should have to maintain the rules laid down in Fire
Code.
The nature of the construction works is hazardous and therefore, the buildings should be
well planned and sufficient arrangements should be taken to avoid the possible risks. The
employers or the developers are required to perform certain acts and all the practical guidelines
regarding the acts are mentioned under the National Construction Code. The provisions of the
Code are legally binding on the employers and the contractors. Apart from the Codes, the Work
Health, and Safety Acts are also provided certain guidelines.
According to section 19 of the Act, it is the primary duty of the contractor to take all the
care of the safety provisions.9 Further, the Act has provided certain duties for the workers too.
Part 3 of the Act has provided about the notifications regarding any injury report and part 2
divisions 2.5 is stating about the penalties in case of any breach of duty made by the parties. A
contractor is required to appoint health and safety representative to investigate the works and any
loopholes presented in the work.
9 Weimer, David L., and Aidan R. Vining. Policy analysis: Concepts and practice. Taylor & Francis, 2017.

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4. The legislation and guideline material relevant to the organization with the relevant
regulations and standards, codes of practice, and guidance notes
The code of practice regarding the construction work has mentioned all the related
provisions that are helpful to secure the health and interest of the workers. The related definitions
have been prescribed in the introduction part of the Code. The risks management issues are
prescribed under part 3 of the Code.10
The code has concentrated over the identification of the risks to reduce the gravity of the
hazardous works. According to this Code, the layout, location, and accessibility of the work or
the construction should be maintained with the highest priority. It has been stated by the Code
that the contractors should take reasonable care regarding the erected equipment’s, penetrations
and voids, unprotected decks and fiberglass roofs to avoid any hazards or risks.11 The possible
outcomes of the structural collapse should have to be removed with ultimate priority. Further, the
contractors should assess the risks for analyzing the effectiveness of the same on the workers and
on the environment as well.
The WHS regulation has not made the risk assessment process mandatory but in case of
asbestos, assessment of risks is mandatory.12 The reasons for the risks are required to be assessed
and proper methods are required to be adopted to eliminate the risks. According to regulation
299 (2), a statement on safe work method should identify the construction-related risks and
should specify the high-risk construction hazards. Certain processes are also mentioned under the
Code regarding the implementations of the policies and reviewing the works.
10 Moriarty, Sandra, Nancy D. Mitchell, William D. Wells, Robert Crawford, Linda Brennan, and Ruth Spence-
Stone. Advertising: Principles and practice. Pearson Australia, 2014.
11 Glendon, A. Ian, Sharon Clarke, and Eugene McKenna. Human safety and risk management. Crc Press, 2016.
12 Billett, Stephen, Sarojni Choy, Darryl Dymock, Ray Smith, Amanda Henderson, Mark Tyler, and Ann Kelly.
"Towards More Effective Continuing Education and Training for Australian Workers." National Centre for
Vocational Education Research (NCVER) (2015).

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The contractors or the developers are required to maintain a safe work method statement
to point out all the risk factors relating to the workplace and the primary purpose of the statement
is to reduce the chances of the risks.13 It is the duty of the contractors to inform the workers
regarding the risks and proper notice is to be served to them regarding the same.
According to section 3.4 of the Code, all the information relating to the health measures
should be reviewed. There is a provision regarding the hazardous manual has been mentioned
under the Code of Practice that monitored the performance of the workers and proper equipment
handling. There are four types of forces mentioned under the hazardous manual such as
repetitive force, sustained force, high force and sudden force.14 The contractors are required to
follow all the necessary guidelines for this aspect.
5. The legal requirements of various workplace parties including the duty of PCBU’S care and
workers among others
The provisions of the Work Health and Safety Act are applied to the persons who are
attached with the workplaces such as the PCBUs, officers, workers and the others.15 Apart from
these, there are certain other persons such as the contractors, subcontractors, importers,
manufacturers, and suppliers who play an important role in these cases.
PCBU is the abbreviated form of the Person Conducting Business or Undertakings.16
They are primarily responsible for the safety requirements of the construction and they will be
13 Brown, A. J., and Sandra A. Lawrence. "STRENGTH OF ORGANISATIONAL WHISTLEBLOWING
PROCESSES–ANALYSIS FROM AUSTRALIA." (2017).
14 Holt, Allan St John, and Jim Allen. Principles of health and safety at work. Routledge, 2015.
15 Hale, Andrew, David Borys, and Mark Adams. "Safety regulation: the lessons of workplace safety rule
management for managing the regulatory burden." Safety science 71 (2015): 112-122.
16 Chan-Mok, Janet O., Carlo Caponecchia, and Chris Winder. "The concept of workplace bullying: Implications
from Australian workplace health and safety law." Psychiatry, Psychology and Law 21.3 (2014): 442-456.

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held responsible for any types of health-related issues of the workers. The officers are
investigating the situations and processes of the building.
Workers are one of the main components of the building construction and they are
responsible for their safety and that of the construction. This action can be achieved through
looking after all the proceedings of the building and then having specific legal duties to perform.
Manufacturers and suppliers are playing an important role in the case of building
construction, as all the hazardous substances are supplied by them. Therefore, they are required
to take all the precautions regarding the delivery of the equipment. They are required to provide
all the safety-related information to the employers regarding the tools and machines to the
PCBU’s and to the workers so that the risks can be minimized with the highest priority. The
machines are installed in the building with the help of the installers and they have also certain
legal duties. According to section 13 of WHS Act, the nature of the duties of the construction-
related persons is legal in nature and the duties are non-transferable.17 Section 19 of the Act
provides all the legal requirements of the PCBU’s. According to this section, it is the duty of the
PCBU’s to provide a safe environment to the workers and should provide necessary facilities and
supervise the works so that the health of the workers can be secured. Section 27 of the Act is
dealing with the legal requirements of the officers.18 As per the provision, the officers are
required to update the workplace related knowledge and should provide training and instruction
to the workplace-related persons regarding the health and safety mandates.
17 Nossar, Igor, Richard Johnstone, Anna Macklin, and Michael Rawling. "Protective legal regulation for home-
based workers in Australian textile, clothing and footwear supply chains." Journal of Industrial Relations 57.4
(2015): 585-603.
18 Stuart, Katharine. "Methods, methodology and madness: Digital records management in the Australian
government." Records Management Journal 27.2 (2017): 223-232.

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The workers are required to take all the possible care to secure them under section 28 of
the Act and need to follow all the provisions of the Act. The WHS Act has imposed certain legal
requirements on the other persons under section 29 of the Act.
6. Two safety issues relevant to my workplace
There are several safety issues that are of key concern in my workplace. However, I will
specifically focus on two of them that are the most fatal of all. They include the falls that are
accidental and electrical accidents. Below is a detailed description of each safety issue.
Starting with the accidental falls, there have been so many issues regarding the workers
in the construction structures falling off resulting in both major and minor injuries. Since the
construction of the high story building, the workers are highly exposed to this hazard. The causes
of such falls included unstable surfaces, ignorance by the safety team, and divided attention of
the workers19. Other causes include improper training of the employees and the use of very
dangerous equipment.20 However, there are several measures that have been weighed and put
into action regarding the prevention of this accident. It must be noted that these measures are in
line with the Building Code and National Construction Code. Such measures include the
following as explained the section below. The first measure that has been considered is the
covering up of all holes in the construction site. Through covering these holes up, the chances of
the workers falling through them reduces by a high rate. This fact is because many constructors
tend to focus on the problem at hand such as the correct alignment of walls and roof rather than
where they are standing. As a result, most of them become victims of falls resulting in deaths or
19 Zhou Zhipeng, Yang Miang Goh and Qiming Li, 'Overview and analysis of safety management studies in the
construction industry', Safety science, 72 (2015), 337-50.
20 C F Chi, 'Accident Causes and Prevention Measures for Fatal Occupational Falls in the Construction Industry',
Fall Prevention and Protection: Principles, Guidelines, and Practices, 2016, 443.

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serious injuries. Secondly, the fall arrest system has aided a lot in the prevention of the falling
constructors from injuries. As a result, they may never have to worry about where to place their
feet as they are guaranteed of not falling. Thirdly, the safety nets measure has been put into
consideration where they act as catch agents to the falling constructors. In some instances, the
workers may have covered up the holes that exist on the floors they are working on. However,
the constructors become victims of falling from the edges of the flows, it is at this point that the
safety nets come into action and prevent such falls. The other measure that has been put into
place is the use of aerial lifts. These lifts perform the work that the workers were supposed to
perform on the high floors.
The electrical hazards
The electrical hazards happen when the electrical cables are left hanging and when
containing an electric current. In some other instances, the cables supplying the electric power to
the construction zone become loose making the place hazardous to work in21. Other reported
cases included the workers connecting these power cables without the knowledge to perform
such an action. When such cases of electrical accidents occur, the impacts associated with them
are so intense. Such accidents may result in causing a fire outbreak if the electrical cables come
into contact on a surface with fuel.22 In other instances, the electrical accidents may cause
electrical shocks to the workers at the construction site. Such an occasion results in the death of
the workers if the electrical current and voltage were high. However, the WHS Act has brought
21 Suárez-Cebador Manuel, Juan Carlos Rubio-Romero and Antonio López-Arquillos, 'Severity of electrical
accidents in the construction industry in Spain', Journal of safety research, 48 (2014), 63-70.
22 Zhao Dong and others, 'Control measures of electrical hazards: An analysis of construction industry', Safety
Science, 77 (2015), 143-51.

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into light some preventive measures including the installation of the power strip in the
construction points23.
7. Description of the situations that may occur at the place of work
Advice from Specialist
To: State Secretary
CC: Work Health and Safety Office
Address: South Tce, Adelaide
Date: 03/11/2018
Sub. Request for approval to proceed with safety of the building
Dear Sir,
There are certain risks identified in the building at 32 South Tce, named CFMEU, that is
located in your Adelaide Office and, therefore, your advice is urgently required in this case. As a
highly skilled officer, you can analyse the situation and then resolve the disputes in a systematic
way. However, there are certain risks identified regarding the security of the building and they
are posing a potential threat to the health and safety of the employees. However, the nature of the
hazards is being pointed out for your benefit.
It is a 3 storied building along with and a ground level parking lot. The first thing is that
there are no surveillance cameras in the parking lots or entrances to the building. It has been
observed that during the winter season, many strangers take shelters in such points. A possibility
23 Gharaie Ehsan, Helen Lingard and Tracy Cooke, 'Causes of fatal accidents involving cranes in the Australian
construction industry', Construction Economics and Building, 15 (2015), 1.