Elements and Performance Criteria

The range statement relates to the Unit of Competency as a whole. It allows for different work environments and situations that may affect performance. Bold italicised wording, if used in the performance criteria, is detailed below. Essential operating conditions that may be present with training and assessment (depending on the work situation, needs of the candidate, accessibility of the item, and local industry and regional contexts) may also be included.
Workplace health and safety legislation
Workplace health and safety legislation varies in different states and will include:
National Work Health and Safety Model
current relevant State/Territory workplace health and safety legislation
relevant state/territory Manual Handling Code of Conduct.
Standards
Standards include documents produced by national bodies, workplace health and safety regulators or industry bodies, that prescribe preventative action to avert occupational deaths, injuries and diseases.
Standards are of an advisory nature only, except where a law adopts the standard and thus makes it mandatory.
They may be called up as evidence in court or other enforcement action.
Codes of practice/compliance codes
Codes of practice/compliance codes are documents generally prepared to provide advice to employers and workers, of an acceptable way of achieving standards. They may:
be incorporated into regulations
not relate to a standard
be called up as evidence in court or other enforcement action.
Guidance material
Guidance material is an advisory technical document, providing detailed information for use by unions, employers, management, workplace health and safety committee members and representatives, safety officers and others requiring guidance. It
advises on 'what to do' and 'how to do it'.
has no legal standing.
Organisation policies and procedures
Organisation policies and procedures include policies and procedures underpinning the management of workplace health and safety, including:
hazard, incident and injury reporting
hazard identification, risk assessment and control
human resources policies and procedures such as harassment and grievance procedures, inductions programs, team meetings, alcohol and drug policies
consultation and participation
incident investigation
quality system documentation.
Hazard
A hazard is a source or situation with the potential for harm in terms of human injury or ill-health, damage to property, the environment, or a combination of these.
Common workplace hazards (from Safe Work Australia Work Health and Safety Risks - Code of Practice) include:
manual tasks - overexertion or repetitive movement can cause muscular strain
gravity - falling objects, falls, slips and trips of people can cause fractures, bruises, lacerations, dislocations, concussion, permanent injuries or death
electricity - potential ignition source. Exposure to live electrical wires can cause shock, burns or death from electrocution
machinery and equipment - being hit by moving vehicles, or being caught by moving parts of machinery can cause fractures, bruises, lacerations, dislocations, permanent injuries or death
hazardous chemicals - chemicals (such as acids, hydrocarbons, heavy metals) and dusts (such as asbestos and silica) can cause respiratory illnesses, cancers or dermatitis
extreme temperatures - heat can cause burns, heat stroke or fatigue. Cold can cause hypothermia or frost bite
noise - exposure to loud noise can cause permanent hearing damage
radiation - ultra violet, welding arc flashes, micro waves and lasers can cause burns, cancer or blindness
biological - micro-organisms can cause hepatitis, legionnaires’ disease, Q fever, HIV/AIDS or allergies
psychosocial hazards - effects of work-related stress, bullying, violence and work-related fatigue.
Examples of hazards in an animal care environment may include:
animal bites, envenomation, kicks, scratches or crush injuries
biological hazardous waste
bodily fluids
chemicals and medicines
sharps
zoonotic and exotic disease possibilities.
Risk
Risk in relation to any hazard means the probability and consequences of injury, illness or damage resulting from exposure to a hazard.
Risk assessments
Risk assessments involve analysing a hazard to identify factors influencing the risk and the range of potential consequences:
effectiveness of existing controls
likelihood of each consequence considering exposure and hazard level
And combining these in some way to obtain a level of risk.
Risk controls
Risk controls include the devices and methods to, where practicable, eliminate the hazard or, where this is not practicable, minimise the risk associated with the hazard.
Personal protective equipment
Personal protective equipment includes equipment worn by a person to provide protection from hazards, by providing a physical barrier between the person and the hazard and may include:
head protection
face and eye protection
respiratory protection
hearing protection
hand protection
clothing and footwear.
Work procedures
Work procedures include:
batch specifications
operator or manufacturer manuals
procedures for selecting, fitting, using and maintaining personal protective equipment
standard operating procedures.
Hazard identification
Hazards identification is the process of identifying sources of harm, and may be required:
before new forms of work and organisation of work are implemented
before changes are made to workplace, equipment, work processes or work arrangements
as part of planning major tasks or activities, such as equipment shutdowns
following an incident report
when new knowledge becomes available
at regular intervals during normal operations
prior to disposal of equipment, or materials.
Reporting procedures
Reporting procedures include:
hazards reports
incident reports
maintenance requests and reports
reports on completion of inspections
reports of non-compliance with work procedures
reporting on progress of action plans.
Workplace health and safety housekeeping practices
Workplace health and safety housekeeping practices address items such as:
functioning services, such as lighting, air flow and ventilation, emergency lighting
storage areas, including manual handling issues, storage, personal protective equipment
signage
underfoot conditions
unobstructed walkways and emergency exits
work space around equipment and machinery
workplace cleanliness and tidiness.
Residual risk
Residual risk is the risk which remains after controls have been implemented.
Hierarchy of risk control
Hierarchy of risk control (from Safe Work Australia Work Health and Safety Risks - Code of Practice) includes:
Level 1 controls
eliminate hazards
Level 2 controls
substitute the hazard with something safer
isolate the hazard from people
use engineering controls
Level 3 controls
use administrative controls
use personal protective equipment (PPE).
Expert advice
Expert advice can be obtained from persons either internal or external to the organisation including:
audiologists
ergonomists
employee assistance and workplace counselling services
occupational health professionals
occupational hygienists
health and safety representatives
workplace health and safety committees
safety engineers
safety professionals
toxicologists
Expert advice may also be obtained from other persons providing specific technical knowledge or expertise in areas related to workplace health and safety including:
engineers (e.g. design, acoustic, mechanical, civil)
health professionals
injury management advisors
legal practitioners with experience in workplace health and safety
maintenance and trade persons
regulatory bodies
risk managers
security and emergency response personnel
workplace trainers and assessors.
Workplace health and safety records
Workplace health and safety records may include:
employees handbooks
environmental monitoring records
first aid records
hazard, incident and investigation reports
health surveillance records
job safety analyses (JSAs), safe work method statements and risk assessments
maintenance and testing reports
material safety data sheets (MSDSs) and registers
minutes of meetings
plant and equipment operation records, including those relevant to registered plant
training records
workplace inspection reports.
Legislative
Legislative requirements for record keeping include those specified under workplace health and safety legislation for:
serious incident and injury reporting
registered plant
hazardous substances and dangerous goods
environmental monitoring
health surveillance
Privacy legislation.
Emergencies
Emergencies may include any abnormal or sudden event that requires immediate action, such as:
serious injury events
events requiring evacuation
explosion and bomb alerts
external emergencies and natural disasters, such as flood, storm and traffic accident impacting on the organisation
fires and explosions
hazardous substance and chemical spills
internal emergencies, such as loss of power or water supply and structural collapse
security emergencies, such as armed robberies, intruders and disturbed persons.
Emergency equipment
Emergency equipment is equipment required as part of the emergency response by the organisation and includes:
communication equipment
evacuation alarms
evacuation equipment, especially that for disabled persons
eye wash shower or portable eye washes
fire extinguishers and equipment
first aid equipment
items of clothing, such as coloured hats and vests
torches.

The evidence guide provides advice on assessment and must be read in conjunction with the performance criteria, required skills and knowledge, range statement and the Assessment Guidelines for the Training Package.
Overview of assessment

Critical aspects for assessment and evidence required to demonstrate competency in this Unit
To demonstrate competence in this Unit, a candidate must be able to provide evidence of maintaining workplace health and safety processes in the workplace particularly in relation to the supervision of a small workgroup.
Evidence gathered by an assessor to determine competence will include:
written or verbal responses to scenarios and case studies
provision of workplace examples
evidence from workplace supervisor reports
portfolio of workplace documentation.
Evidence of workplace performance over time must be obtained to inform a judgement of competence.
Context of and specific resources for assessment
Products that could be used as evidence include:
verbal and written responses to verbal, written or physical scenarios
completed examples of information provided to work group, risk assessments, risk controls developed, reports to managers, reports on workplace inspections, audits and emergency exercises
reports from work group members and supervisor.
Processes that could be used as evidence include:
how information transfer was organised and conducted
how risk assessments were conducted
how deviations from workplace procedures were addressed.
Method of assessment
This Unit should be assessed together with other Units of Competence relevant to the function or work role.
Guidance information for assessment
Access and equity considerations:
all assessment should be applied with respect to relevant work-related access and equity issues
competence should reflect an ability to work in a culturally diverse environment.
assessors and trainers must take into account relevant access and equity issues, in particular relating to factors impacting on Aboriginal and/or Torres Strait Islander clients and communities.