Install this web app on your iPhone:
Tap and then Add to Home Screen.
Install WVHP app on your mobile by visiting this page on Safari (iOS) or Chrome (Android).

Hazard Assessment

Hazard Assessment summary and legislation

Summary

Hazard assessment is a process used to identify, assess, and eliminate or manage workplace hazards and the risks they present to workers. A hazard is a thing or condition that may expose a person to a risk of injury. Violence and harassment are hazards in any workplace, just like physical or chemical hazards. Hazard assessments help identify what controls or prevention measures are needed to keep workers safe.

Employer Duties

Employers are required to conduct a hazard assessment to identify violence and harassment hazards in their workplace. [WHS Regs, s. 1.03.01(1)]

The hazard assessment must be conducted in consultation with: [WHS Regs, s. 1.03.01(3)]

  • the committee or the health and safety representative (if applicable) or
  • in any other case, the workers in the workplace.

Hazard Assessment

Hazard assessment involves the following five steps.

  1. Identifying hazards—looking for the things that might harm someone.
  2. Assessing the risks—deciding how likely the hazards are to cause harm and how bad they could be.
  3. Controlling the risks—taking steps to prevent hazards from causing harm.
  4. Making sure workers understand and follow prevention measures that the employer has put in place.
  5. Reassessing hazards regularly.

When conducting a hazard assessment, the employer is required to consider the following: [WHS Regs, s. 1.03.01(2)]

  • any previous experience in the workplace, or similar workplaces, in relation to each identified hazard.
  • the location and circumstances in which work takes place in the workplace.

There are various risk factors that can contribute to workplace harassment and violence. Some of these risk factors could include:

  • working with customers or the public.
  • handling money, valuables or prescription drugs (e.g., cashiers, pharmacists, veterinarians).
  • working in premises where alcohol is served (e.g., food and beverage staff).
  • working alone, in small numbers, or in isolated or low-traffic area.
  • working during periods of intense organizational change (e.g., strikes, privatization, restructuring, downsizing).

The hazard assessment must be completed: [WHS Regs, s. 1.03.01(4)]

  • as frequently as is required to prevent the development of hazards
  • as soon as is practicable after a significant change occurs in the workplace, such as:
    • the location or circumstances in which work takes place,
    • the interactions that occur during the performance of work, or
    • the physical location or layout of the workplace.
  • as soon as is practicable after an employer becomes aware of an incident or injury in the workplace involving a hazard that was identified in a previous hazard assessment, or
  • when ordered to be conducted by a safety officer.

Hazard assessment is a process used to identify, assess, and eliminate or manage workplace hazards and the risks they present to workers. A hazard is a thing or condition that may expose a person to a risk of injury. Violence and harassment are hazards in any workplace, just like physical or chemical hazards. Hazard assessments help identify what controls or prevention measures are needed to keep workers safe.

Employer Duties

Employers are required to conduct a hazard assessment to identify violence and harassment hazards in their workplace. [WHS Regs, s. 1.03.01(1)]

The hazard assessment must be conducted in consultation with: [WHS Regs, s. 1.03.01(3)]

  • the committee or the health and safety representative (if applicable) or
  • in any other case, the workers in the workplace.

Hazard Assessment

Hazard assessment involves the following five steps.

  1. Identifying hazards—looking for the things that might harm someone.
  2. Assessing the risks—deciding how likely the hazards are to cause harm and how bad they could be.
  3. Controlling the risks—taking steps to prevent hazards from causing harm.
  4. Making sure workers understand and follow prevention measures that the employer has put in place.
  5. Reassessing hazards regularly.

When conducting a hazard assessment, the employer is required to consider the following: [WHS Regs, s. 1.03.01(2)]

  • any previous experience in the workplace, or similar workplaces, in relation to each identified hazard.
  • the location and circumstances in which work takes place in the workplace.

There are various risk factors that can contribute to workplace harassment and violence. Some of these risk factors could include:

  • working with customers or the public.
  • handling money, valuables or prescription drugs (e.g., cashiers, pharmacists, veterinarians).
  • working in premises where alcohol is served (e.g., food and beverage staff).
  • working alone, in small numbers, or in isolated or low-traffic area.
  • working during periods of intense organizational change (e.g., strikes, privatization, restructuring, downsizing).

The hazard assessment must be completed: [WHS Regs, s. 1.03.01(4)]

  • as frequently as is required to prevent the development of hazards
  • as soon as is practicable after a significant change occurs in the workplace, such as:
    • the location or circumstances in which work takes place,
    • the interactions that occur during the performance of work, or
    • the physical location or layout of the workplace.
  • as soon as is practicable after an employer becomes aware of an incident or injury in the workplace involving a hazard that was identified in a previous hazard assessment, or
  • when ordered to be conducted by a safety officer.

Legislation

Workplace Health and Safety Regulations

O.I.C. 2006/178

Part 1 GENERAL

Section 1.03.01 Hazard assessment

1.03.01(1) Every employer must conduct hazard assessments in accordance with this section and in relation to each of the employer’s workplaces, in order to identify existing and potential hazards in the workplace and to determine the extent of the risk of injury arising from those hazards.

(2) In conducting a hazard assessment in relation to a workplace, the employer must

(a) consider any previous experience in the workplace in relation to each identified hazard;

(b) consider any experience in similar workplaces in relation to each identified hazard;

(c) take into consideration the location and circumstances in which work takes place in the workplace; and

(d) assess the likelihood that each identified hazard presents or will present a risk of injury.

(3) Hazard assessments under this section must be conducted in consultation with

(a) the committee or the health and safety representative, if the employer is required under the Act to establish a committee or have a health and safety representative in the workplace; or

(b) in any other case, the workers in the workplace.

(4) Hazard assessments under this section must be conducted

(a) as frequently as is required to prevent the development of hazards;

(b) as soon as is practicable after a significant change occurs in any of the following:

(i) the location or circumstances in which work takes place in the workplace,

(ii) the interactions that occur in the course of the performance of work in the workplace,

(iii) the physical location or layout of the workplace;

(c) as soon as is practicable after an employer becomes aware of an incident or injury in the workplace involving a hazard that was identified when a previous hazard assessment was conducted; or

(d) when ordered to be conducted by the board.

[O.I.C. 2020/21, s. 3; 2022/118, s. 18]

Workplace Violence and Harassment Prevention main topics

Resources