Work Health and Safety

Policy

DOCUMENT DETAILS

Document Owner	People and Culture
Approval Date	20 November 2022
Release Date	21 November 2022
Compliance Date	21 November 2022
Review Date	November 2024
Updated	-
Version History	-

introduction and context

INTRODUCTION

Policy in Catholic Education Diocese of Wollongong (CEDoW) is developed to support the implementation of consistent and comprehensive practices to guide quality Catholic learning and teaching in systemic schools in the Diocese of Wollongong.

Policy is developed within the context of specific documents and frameworks. These include:

CONTEXT

Catholic Education Diocese of Wollongong (CEDoW) seeks to create vibrant Catholic school communities where every student has access to authentic Catholic educational services. In creating these communities CEDoW recognises that the health, safety and wellbeing of everyone in the workplace is central to the mission and success of our schools and offices and prioritises strategies to maintain healthy workplace environments.

Schools and offices within CEDoW are committed to the overall health, safety and wellbeing of workers, students and others. Through the development of contemporary systems and processes, CEDoW encourages individual accountability and responsibility and works through a continuous improvement cycle to build robust cultures of health, safety and wellbeing underpinned by CEDoW Work Health and Safety Core Principles.

This Policy has been developed to support workers in meeting their compliance obligations according to Catholic Education Diocese of Wollongong (CEDoW), and the Work Health and Safety Act 2011 (NSW).

EXPECTATIONS

It is expected that workers will take all reasonable measures to comply with this Policy.

This Policy must be implemented in conjunction with the following policies and documents where relevant:

• CEDoW Administration of Medication in Schools Policy

• CEDoW Code of Conduct in the Protection of Children and Young People

• CEDoW Complaints Policy

• CEDoW COVID-19 Vaccination Policy

• CEDoW Maintaining Right Relationships Policy

• CEDoW Mental Wellbeing in the Workplace Policy

• CEDoW Preventing Harassment in the Workplace Policy

• CEDoW Preventing Workplace Bullying Policy

• CEDoW Student Pastoral Care and Wellbeing Policy

CATHOLIC EDUCATION OFFICE (CEO) RESPONSIBILITIES:

CEDoW People and Culture is responsible for the management of work health and safety at school and system level according to the CEDoW Workplace Health and Safety Roles and Responsibilities.

CEDoW People and Culture:

appoints a dedicated Workplace Safety and Wellbeing Team

The CEDoW Workplace Safety and Wellbeing Team has the responsibility to support schools and offices to meet their legal accountabilities in relation to work health and safety by:

managing the ongoing development, implementation and review of the CEDoW Health Safety and Wellbeing Framework
supporting school and CEO Leadership to execute their work health and safety obligations
designing work health and safety procedures that effectively manage risks
promoting psychologically safe workplaces
administering the CEDoW Injury Management Program
coordinating work health and safety investigations for significant incidents or injuries
identifying training and professional development opportunities to support workers to carry out their work safely
regularly auditing, reviewing and evaluating existing CEDoW work health and safety programs and procedures in schools and CEO sites

CEDoW Heads of Service (as officers under the Work Health and Safety Act 2011 (NSW)) exercise due diligence to safeguard CEDoW with its work health and safety obligations according to Six Pillars of Due Diligence for CEO Heads of Service.

1 healthy and safe workplace

principals/SUPERVISORS MUST:

1.1	inform workers of the Policy and all relevant requirements to ensure duty of care
1.2	make a link to the Policy on the school website
1.3	advise parents/carers of their obligation to support the Policy when they are visiting the school
1.4	provide inductions for workers specific to work health and safety
1.5	provide appropriate training and supervision to enable a safe work environment
1.6	provide appropriate safety equipment and resources to enable a safe work environment
1.7	have appropriate reporting procedures to record unsafe and unhealthy situations
1.8	adopt risk management to deal with unsafe and unhealthy situations
1.9	establish a Work Health and Safety Committee to allow workers the opportunity to consult on and share information about work health and safety that refers to:
	1.9.1	NSW Code of Practice: Work Health and Safety Consultation, Cooperation and Coordination, and
	1.9.2	Participating in Effective Health and Safety Committees: A Guide for Committee Members
1.10	regularly monitor and review the effectiveness of the Work Health and Safety Committee so that it remains effective

workers MUST:

1.11	take reasonable care for the safety, welfare and wellbeing of themselves and others with whom they come into contact as part of their employment/engagement including:
	1.11.1	avoiding doing anything that would affect the safety of themselves or others at work
	1.11.2	working safely and following reasonable health and safety instructions from the Principal/Supervisor
	1.11.3	seeking advice if they are unsure how to safely perform the work to be undertaken
	1.11.4	using personal protective equipment (PPE) in the way they have been trained and instructed to use it
	1.11.5	reporting injuries and unsafe and unhealthy situations to their Principal/Supervisor or Work Health and Safety Committee
1.12	take reasonable care for the safety, welfare and wellbeing of students with whom they come into contact, in relation to their specific role and responsibility, by:
	1.12.1	providing adequate supervision of students when they are using grounds, premises and equipment
	1.12.2	implementing strategies to prevent bullying, abuse or other harmful behaviours from occurring
	1.12.3	following procedures relating to student safety and wellbeing including reporting concerns and risk of significant harm utilising the CEDoW Making a Risk of Significant Harm (RoSH) Report
	1.12.4	providing medical assistance, if competent to do so, or seeking assistance from a medically trained person to aid a student who is injured or becomes sick
1.13	take reasonable care for the safety, welfare and wellbeing of students, including reasonable action to protect students from known hazards or risk of harm that is reasonably foreseeable, taking into consideration a student’s maturity and ability
1.14	take reasonable care for the safety, welfare and wellbeing of students during activities and functions conducted or arranged by schools where students are in the care of workers, including undertaking a risk assessment before the activity is undertaken
1.15	be aware that a single serious failure to exercise appropriate duty of care, or persistent repeated failures, may constitute neglect or negligence

2 consultation

SCHOOLS/CEO SITES MUST:

2.1	consult with workers, so far as is reasonably practicable on health and safety matters arising as a result of activities undertaken while working or as part of the work environment
2.2	provide opportunities for workers to express their views and contribute to decisions relating to their health and safety
2.3	consult with others, so far as is reasonably practicable, on health and safety matters where there are multiple duty holders having responsibility for safety at the school/offices
2.4	communicate important health and safety information and updates to workers
2.5	maintain records of consultation with workers
2.6	provide advice to workers of the purpose and operation of the Work Health and Safety Committee including:
	2.6.1	members of the committee
	2.6.2	dates of the committee meeting
	2.6.3	avenues to raise work health and safety issues

3 legislative responsibilities

CEO heads of service MUST:

3.1	meet their legal obligation as an Officer, to exercise due diligence and apply the Six Pillars of Due Diligence for CEO Heads of Service, as far as reasonably practicable

principals MUST:

3.2	meet their legal obligation as an Officer, to exercise due diligence and apply the Six Pillars of Due Diligence for Principals, as far as reasonably practicable

4 hazard identification

SCHOOLS MUST:

4.1	understand work health and safety hazards and risks relative to the School/CEO setting
4.2	advise workers on the appropriate avenue to report hazards that they identify in the workplace
4.3	schedule workplace inspections at minimum once a term, two weeks prior to each Work Health and Safety Committee meeting
4.4	complete workplace inspections by:
	4.4.1	nominating at least one member of the Work Health and Safety Committee and one other staff member, who is either a member of the leadership team or a staff member with specialist knowledge of a learning area i.e. Science, VET or TAS
	4.4.2	utilising the relevant CEDoW Workplace Inspection Checklist for the area being inspected
4.5	conduct regular reviews of all student and staff injury data, at least once per term, to identify relevant hazards attributed to the injury or illness
4.6	record all hazards identified from workplace inspections and student and staff injury data reviews on the risk register
4.7	address any hazards identified according to the CEDoW WHS Risk Management Procedure
4.8	action hazards raised by workers
4.9	communicate new or adjusted controls to workers and any relevant stakeholders within a reasonable timeframe

work health and safety committees must:

4.10	support the School/CEO in undertaking workplace inspections using the relevant CEDoW Workplace Inspection Checklist
4.11	support the School/CEO to address any hazards identified according to the CEDoW WHS Risk Management Procedure
4.12	support the School/CEO to communicate key resolutions to hazards to workers and any relevant stakeholders

workers MUST:

4.13	participate in scheduled workplace inspections when requested
4.14	complete the CEDoW Student Notification of Injury Form for all student injuries
4.15	complete the CEDoW Staff Notification of Injury Form for any injury or illness
4.16	conduct daily checks of the work environment or activities being undertaken as part of their role for potential hazards, and where safe and possible to do so, rectify any issue to prevent injury or illness
4.17	report identified hazards to the Principal/Supervisor at the time the hazard was identified or as soon as reasonably practicable

5 risk management

SCHOOLS/CEO MUST:

5.1	address hazards in the workplace
5.2	assess, evaluate and treat hazards by:
	5.2.1	adhering to the CEDoW WHS Risk Management Procedure
	5.2.2	eliminating or minimising risk of injury to an acceptable level referencing hierarchy of control measures
	5.2.3	consulting with the Work Health and Safety Committee
5.3	record and implement the identified controls on the risk register
5.4	communicate new or adjusted controls to workers and any relevant stakeholders within a reasonable timeframe
5.5	conduct regular review of risk assessments to confirm the ongoing effectiveness and management of controls

work health and safety committees MUST:

5.6	support the School/CEO to assess, evaluate and treat hazards by:
	5.6.1	adhering to the CEDoW WHS Risk Management Procedure
	5.6.2	eliminating or minimising risk of injury to an acceptable level referencing hierarchy of control measures
5.7	support the School/CEO to communicate new or adjusted controls to workers and any relevant stakeholders
5.8	support the School/CEO to conduct regular reviews of risk assessments to confirm the ongoing effectiveness and management of controls
5.9	address risk management actions at each Work Health and Safety Committee meeting

workers MUST:

5.10	adhere to the CEDoW WHS Risk Management Procedure when relevant
5.11	comply with identified controls as communicated by the Principal/Delegate

6 notifiable incidents: mandatory reporting

SCHOOLS/ceo MUST:

6.1	provide immediate first aid including calling an ambulance, transporting to hospital if relevant and providing the individual with appropriate care
6.2	contact SafeWork NSW on 13 10 50 immediately when a notifiable incident as defined in Safe Work Australia Incident Notification Information Sheet has occurred and provide the following information:
	6.2.1	an overview of what happened, how it happened, including date, time and location
	6.2.2	information about the individual who was injured (worker, student, visitor, parent, other)
	6.2.3	information about the injury, including treatment received and hospital details, if they were taken to hospital
	6.2.4	immediate action taken to make the site safe
	6.2.5	further safety action taken, or actions that will be taken, to prevent the incident occurring again
	6.2.6	take care not to disturb the site until SafeWork NSW releases the site
6.3	contact the CEDoW Workplace Safety and Wellbeing Team after making the necessary reporting to SafeWork NSW
6.4	complete the relevant CEDoW Injury Notification Form
6.5	participate in any ongoing investigation of the incident undertaken either by CEDoW or SafeWork NSW
6.6	respond to any recommendations that arise from the investigation of the incident
6.7	support any related worker’s compensation and return to work, when the incident involves a CEDoW staff member

Procedure

• CEDoW WHS Risk Management Procedure

• CEDoW Risk of Significant Harm (RoSH) Procedure [in development]

Implementation