Workplace health & safety audit

The following is a summary of the new Queensland regulation which will come into effect as of 1 January 2012:

Every person conducting a business or undertaking has a duty of care to do what is reasonably practicable to ensure the safety of any person associated with their business and/or premises.

What this means for ACI is that every studio/artist must meet certain workplace health and safety (WH&S) obligations before they can become a participant in our 2012 open studios program.

To help us manage this responsibility, each 'open studio' applicant will be audited to ensure you are meeting your obligation to:

  • provide and maintain a safe and healthy environment
  • provide and maintain safe equipment
  • ensure the safe use, handling, storage and transport of substances
  • ensure safe systems of work
  • provide information and supervision to ensure health and safety.

The period scheduled for the WH&S audits is from 6 February to 19 February 2012 – you will need to be available for a half-day sometime during these two weeks.

The results of your WH&S audit will be considered by the selection panel.

Then, if you are accepted into the program, you will need to continue to maintain an appropriate level of WH&S standards during the open studios program.

More information

For those interested in obtaining more information about your WH&S obligations, please visit the Queensland's new work health and safety laws section of the Queensland Department of Justice and Attorney-General website.

In particular, you may find the 'codes of practice' useful – they provide practical guidance on how to achieve WH&S standards as well as effective ways to identify and manage risks.

Obviously, not all areas covered by these codes of practice will apply to all studios. However, the following areas will probably apply to most of you:

  • children & young workers
  • first aid
  • hazardous substances
  • managing noise
  • managing WH&S risks
  • preventing falls.