Responsibilities under WHS

What are your WHS responsibilities?

As a DHA contractor, you are a Person Conducting a Business or Undertaking (PCBU). As such, you have certain WHS responsibilities and a primary duty of care to provide a workplace that is without risk to the health and safety for workers and other persons at the workplace.  A PCBU must ensure the provision and maintenance of:

  1. a work environment without risk to health and safety
  2. safe plant and structures
  3. safe systems of work
  4. safe use, handling and storage of plant, structures and substances
  5. adequate facilities for the welfare of workers at work
  6. information, training, instruction or supervision that is necessary to protect all persons from risks to their health and safety arising from work carried out by the PCBU, and
  7. regular monitoring of work place conditions and the health of workers for the purpose of preventing illness or injury.

What are DHA's responsibilities

DHA is also a PCBU, and as such, we recognise that we have a legal responsibility to provide a healthy and safe workplace for all workers of DHA, including our DHA contractors, and to implement safe work methods and processes. In meeting our obligations, we will take all reasonable steps to:

  1. provide and maintain safe and healthy workplaces for all workers
  2. provide and maintain a safe means of access to and from the workplace that is safe for workers
  3. provide adequate facilities for the welfare of workers at work and appropriate health, medical and first aid services
  4. ensure workers are safe when they use, handle, store or transport plant or substances
  5. provide all workers, including managers and team leaders, with information to ensure a knowledge and understanding of their WHS responsibilities
  6. consult with relevant stakeholders, where appropriate or required by legislation, to ensure effective cooperation in promoting, developing and reviewing measures to ensure worker's health, safety and welfare at work
  7. monitor workers' health and safety conditions (that are under DHA control) by regularly conducting hazard inspections
  8. maintain appropriate information and records relating to worker's health and safety
  9. communicate in accordance with consultative arrangements on WHS matters as set out in DHA's Health and Safety Management Arrangements, and
  10. ensure WHS responsibilities are incorporated into DHA contractor induction processes.