WHS Consulting - OHSA Occupational Health Services Australia

WHS Consulting Workplace Health and Safety

Do you know if your business is WHS compliant?

Directors and officers must take steps to assess a business’ exposure, obtain relevant advice where necessary and ask relevant questions to minimise exposure.

Officers of organisations need to give consideration to such measures as part of discharging their due diligence duties under the Workplace Health and Safety legislation, which include ensuring that the person conducting the business or undertaking uses appropriate resources and processes to eliminate or minimise risks to health and safety as a result of the work being carried out.

OHSA collectively has over 100 years of management expertise assisting with the development and implementation of WHS Management Systems for some of the largest organisations on the globe. Our people’s projects have enabled our clients to achieve the following results.

• Winner- NSCA/Telstra National Safety Awards of Excellence: Excellence in Occupational Health & Safety.
• Winner – NSCA/Telstra National Safety Awards of Excellence: Best Implementation of an OH&S Management System.

OHSA can assist in the following areas:

• AS4801 OHS Systems
• ISO 9001 Quality Systems
• ISO 14001 Environmental Management Systems
• Office of Federal Safety Commission (OFSC) Compliance
• WHS Manual
• WHS Plans
• Hazard Specific Policies & Procedures
• Workplace Rehabilitation Policies and Procedures
• Self Insurance Audits
• JAS ANZ Accredited policy and procedure development
• Contractor Management Policies and Processes
• Injury Management Policies
• Drug & Alcohol Policies and Procedures
• Fatigue Management Plans, Policies and Procedures
• Incident Investigation Policies and Procedures
• Manual Handling Policies and Procedures
• Patient Handling Policies and Procedures
• No-Lift Policies
• Fatigue Management Systems
• Emergency Management Policies, Procedures and Plans
• WHS Audits
• Dangerous Goods / Hazardous Substances Audits
• Plant & Machinery Safeguarding Audits

OHSA has developed 100’s of WHS Management Systems / Policies / Procedures / Plans & Processes for clients around the Globe. Please contact us to arrange a time to talk about what your needs are on 1300 647 200 or send in an enquiry to us.

The Australian Government Building and Construction WHS Accreditation Scheme (the Scheme)

Subject to certain financial thresholds, only builders who are accredited under the Scheme can enter into head contracts for building work that is funded directly or indirectly by the Australian Government.

What is directly funded building work?

Projects are considered to be directly funded where an Australian Government agency has responsibility for the project funding and development, for example a Defence facility, Medicare or Centrelink Office or a fit-out or refurbishment of existing Australian Government office accommodation.

The Scheme applies to projects that are directly funded by the Australian Government with a value of $4 million or more.

What is indirectly funded building work?

 Projects are considered indirectly funded where an Australian Government agency contributes funding to a recipient through a funding agreement, grant or other program, for example road construction projects funded by the Australian Government or a new school built by a state government using funding provided by the Australian Government.

The Scheme applies to projects that are indirectly funded by the Australian Government where:

• the value of the Australian Government contribution to the project is at least $6 million and represents at least 50 per cent of the total project value; or
• the Australian Government contribution to a project is $10 million or more, irrespective of the proportion of Australian Government funding; and
• the head contracts for building work are greater than $4 million (GST inclusive).

If these conditions are met, then any builder who is a head contractor will need to be accredited.

Applicants must be complaint to

• the National Code for the Construction Industry
• accredited by the Federal Safety Commission

Applicants must satisfy the following criteria to obtain accreditation to Federal Safety Commission requirements:

• Evidence of an OHS management system (OHSMS). This needs to be certified to Australian Standard AS/NZS 4801 Occupational health and safety management systems – Specifications with guidance for use or, alternatively, certified to OHSAS 18001 Occupational Health and Safety Management Systems – Specifications. Certification needs to be undertaken by a Joint Accreditation System of Australia and New Zealand (JAS-ANZ) accredited certification body.
• Demonstrated ability to manage construction hazards and high risk activities.
• Records in relation to workplace safety.
  • On-site audit results.
  • Performance against the following focus points:
  • demonstrated senior management commitment to OHS;
  • integration of safe design principles into the risk management process;
  • whole of project OHS consultation and communication;
  • demonstrated effective subcontractor OHS management arrangements across building and construction projects;
  • whole of project performance measurement; and
  • OHS training and competency to deal with safety risks.