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Health and Safety Standards

Council uses the Australian Standards as a minimum level of compliance.

Standards are published documents that are designed to provide guidance to help ensure safety, performance and reliability through the specifications of goods, services and systems.

Conforming to Standards

Standards are not laws, but where the WHS laws say you must conform to specific Standards, a failure to do so may result in a breach of the WHS laws. The Australian Standards referenced in the WHS Act and Regulations can be referenced on the SAI Global website.

If an approved Code of Practice recommends following a specific Standard, then it would be reasonable to consider the specified Standard forms part of that approved Code of Practice. However, following Codes of Practice is not mandatory. Compliance with the WHS Act and Regulations may be achieved by following another method if it provides an equivalent or higher standard of work health and safety than the Code of Practice.

Council’s higher standard of work health and safety

Council uses the Australian Standards as a minimum level of compliance. There are a number of standards that council has adopted that exceed these requirements. Council’s additional requirements are highlighted below:

Council’s outdoor clothing standard

Council’s outdoor clothing standard requires all outdoor workers including employees, contractors and volunteers to comply with the following standard:

  • Hats with brims of 7.5 - 8 cm minimum or light weight legionnaires cap with neck flap back to shade face and back of neck
  • Safety helmet with a brim attachment and a neck flap to shade face and back of neck
  • Loose fitting, long sleeved, collared shirt
  • Long trousers
  • Sunscreen (SPF 30+ or better broad spectrum and water-resistant) and zinc cream or lip balm.

Operating a quick cut saw

Council’s PPE Minimum Requirement Chart[349KB] details the PPE minimum requirement for operating a quick cut saw. Following an incident, council has a higher standard that requires all quick cut saw operators to wear a face shield when operating a quick cut saw.