Risk Assessment Document for Queensland Workplaces

Queensland adopted the national model Work Health and Safety laws in 2011, with the Work Health and Safety Act 2011 (Qld) and Work Health and Safety Regulation 2011 (Qld) forming the primary legislative framework. While Queensland's WHS laws are substantially identical to the national model law, there are important Queensland-specific features that affect how risk assessments are conducted and what they must cover.

WorkSafe Queensland — operating as part of the Office of Industrial Relations, Queensland Government — is the primary workplace health and safety regulator for most Queensland industries. Some Queensland industries have separate regulators: mines and quarries are regulated by the Queensland Mines Inspectorate under the Resources Safety and Health Queensland (RSHQ) framework, which includes the Coal Mining Safety and Health Act 1999, the Mining and Quarrying Safety and Health Act 1999, and their associated regulations. Electrical safety is regulated under the Electrical Safety Act 2002 (Qld) and the Electrical Safety Regulation 2013 (Qld), administered by Electrical Safety Queensland.

The Work Health and Safety Regulation 2011 (Qld) applies the national model framework to Queensland workplaces, including the requirement for PCBUs to manage risks to health and safety by eliminating hazards so far as is reasonably practicable, or where elimination is not reasonably practicable, minimising risks through the hierarchy of controls. Risk assessment is the mechanism through which this obligation is discharged, and a documented risk assessment is the primary evidence of compliance.

WorkSafe Queensland has published a suite of codes of practice and guides that provide practical guidance for Queensland employers on managing specific hazard types. These include: Managing the Risk of Falls in the Workplace, Managing the Risks of Respirable Crystalline Silica from Engineered Stone in the Workplace, Managing Noise and Preventing Hearing Loss at Work, and the code of practice on Hazardous Manual Tasks. A risk assessment for Queensland workplaces should incorporate these Queensland-specific guidance documents where relevant to the hazards assessed.

One Queensland-specific feature that affects risk assessment scope is the high-risk work licence framework. The WHS Regulation 2011 (Qld) requires persons performing high-risk work — as defined in Schedule 3 of the Regulation — to hold the applicable high-risk work licence issued by WorkSafe Queensland. High-risk work categories include: scaffolding (basic, intermediate, advanced), dogging, rigging, crane and hoist operation (tower crane, self-erecting tower crane, portal boom crane, vehicle loading crane, mobile crane, and others), forklift operation, pressure equipment operation, and boiler operation.

A risk assessment for any task involving high-risk work must: - Confirm that all workers performing the high-risk work hold the current applicable licence; - Verify that the licence scope covers the specific equipment or task being performed; - Document the licence details (name, licence number, class, expiry date) in the risk assessment or a companion register; and - Assess the risks specific to the high-risk work being performed and ensure that the controls are consistent with the licensing conditions and applicable standards.

Under the WHS Regulation (Qld), a PCBU that allows a worker to perform high-risk work without the required licence — or that uses a licence holder in a category outside their licensed scope — commits a Category 2 offence. The risk assessment is the mechanism through which the PCBU verifies licence compliance before commencing high-risk work.

For construction work in Queensland, the principal contractor is responsible for ensuring that all high-risk work on the site is performed by appropriately licensed workers, and that the licence records are maintained in the site safety file. Our Queensland risk assessment includes a high-risk work licence register section specifically for this purpose.

Queensland has significant construction activity — particularly in the resources sector, infrastructure, and residential construction — and the WHS framework imposes specific obligations on principal contractors for construction projects.

Under the WHS Regulation 2011 (Qld), a principal contractor for construction work where the cost of the work is $250,000 or more must: - Prepare a written work health and safety management plan (WHSMP) for the project; - Ensure that every SWMS for high-risk construction work on the site is prepared or reviewed by a competent person before work commences; - Maintain a register of all SWMS prepared for the project; - Take all reasonable steps to obtain copies of all SWMS prepared by subcontractors and ensure they are consistent with the WHSMP; and - Keep all SWMS and risk assessment records for five years after the end of the project.

The WHSMP must include site-specific risk assessments for the significant hazards on the project, including: falls, working near or in traffic, working near overhead or underground services, plant and equipment hazards, confined space entry, demolition, and the hazardous substances present on site.

For Queensland construction projects, our risk assessment package is structured to align with the WHSMP format requirements of the WHS Regulation, making it straightforward to incorporate individual risk assessments into the overarching site safety management plan.

The Queensland construction sector has been the subject of significant regulatory attention in recent years, particularly in relation to silica dust from engineered stone benchtops. WorkSafe Queensland has issued specific guidance requiring engineering stone fabricators and installers to conduct silica dust exposure assessments and implement water suppression, on-tool extraction, and RPE controls. Any risk assessment for engineered stone work in Queensland must address silica dust in accordance with this guidance and must not rely on general dust controls.

For workplaces in Queensland's resources sector — coal mines, metalliferous mines, and quarries — the risk assessment framework is administered by Resources Safety and Health Queensland (RSHQ) under the Coal Mining Safety and Health Act 1999 and the Mining and Quarrying Safety and Health Act 1999, rather than by WorkSafe Queensland under the WHS Act.

The coal mining and metalliferous mining safety and health acts impose their own risk assessment and safety management plan requirements. The principal hazard management plan (PHMP) is the mining equivalent of the site risk assessment — a document that must be prepared by a site senior executive and updated whenever significant hazards or site conditions change. PHMPs must be prepared for the principal hazards at a mining operation, including: spontaneous combustion, inundation, inrush, atmospheric contaminants (methane, hydrogen sulphide, carbon monoxide), ground instability, and fire and explosion.

The Safety Management System (SMS) for a Queensland mine must include procedures for the management of all significant hazards identified in the PHMP, and must be reviewed and updated at intervals specified by the applicable regulation.

While our standard Queensland risk assessment is designed for businesses regulated under the WHS Act, we note this distinction for businesses in the resources sector, who should engage a registered safety and health representative (SHR) or safety and health management system professional with experience in the RSHQ framework for their mine site risk assessments and PHMPs.

The risk assessment process under Queensland WHS law follows the five-step methodology specified in the How to Manage Work Health and Safety Risks Code of Practice (Queensland edition), which is consistent with the national model code.

**Step 1 — Identify the hazards.** Conduct a workplace inspection, review incident records, consult with workers and health and safety representatives, and review applicable codes of practice and industry guidance to identify all hazards present at the workplace or associated with the specific work activity being assessed. In Queensland, WorkSafe Queensland's industry-specific guides (construction, agriculture, hospitality, retail, transport) provide targeted hazard identification checklists that assist Queensland businesses in identifying the hazards most common in their industry.

**Step 2 — Assess the risk.** For each identified hazard, assess the likelihood that harm will occur and the severity of that harm using a risk matrix consistent with the AS/NZS ISO 31000 risk management framework. The Queensland WHS Regulation does not specify the format of the risk matrix, but the 5×5 matrix (likelihood 1–5, consequence 1–5, risk rating 1–25) is the most widely used format in Queensland workplaces and is accepted by WorkSafe Queensland inspectors.

**Step 3 — Apply controls.** Controls must be selected and implemented in accordance with the hierarchy of controls specified in the WHS Regulation: eliminate the hazard; substitute with a less hazardous option; isolate the hazard from workers; implement engineering controls; implement administrative controls; and provide personal protective equipment as a last resort and as a supplement to higher-order controls. Each control must be specific, actionable, and assigned to a responsible person with a completion date.

**Step 4 — Implement and communicate.** Implement the controls identified in Step 3, communicate the risk assessment findings to all affected workers (including contractors and labour hire workers), and confirm that workers have been informed and trained in the controls.

**Step 5 — Review and update.** The WHS Regulation requires PCBUs to review and where necessary revise control measures to maintain their effectiveness, particularly when there is an indication that the measure is no longer effective, when a relevant change occurs at the workplace, and when a new hazard or risk is identified. Document each review with the date, reviewer, and any changes made.

WorkSafe Queensland inspectors have broad powers of entry, inspection, and investigation under the WHS Act 2011 (Qld). They may enter any workplace without notice to inspect, observe work, take samples, examine documents, and interview workers. Where an inspector identifies a failure to comply with the WHS Act or Regulation, they may issue an improvement notice, a prohibition notice, or refer the matter for prosecution.

Under the WHS Act 2011 (Qld), the penalty categories are: - **Category 1:** Reckless conduct causing risk of death or serious injury — up to $3,608,450 for a body corporate; up to $360,845 and/or 5 years' imprisonment for an individual. - **Category 2:** Failure to comply with a health and safety duty — up to $1,804,225 for a body corporate; up to $180,422 for an individual. - **Category 3:** Failure to comply with a provision of the Act or Regulation — up to $721,690 for a body corporate; up to $72,169 for an individual.

In addition to prosecution under the WHS Act, Queensland's Criminal Code Act 1899 provides for prosecution of gross negligence causing death (similar to an industrial manslaughter provision) with a maximum penalty of life imprisonment for individuals.

Workers' compensation in Queensland is administered through WorkCover Queensland and self-insurers under the Workers' Compensation and Rehabilitation Act 2003 (Qld). A documented and implemented risk assessment that demonstrates the PCBU identified and controlled the relevant hazard is a critical element of any WorkCover defence.

Our CIH-reviewed Queensland risk assessment is designed to produce documentation that meets WorkSafe Queensland's inspection and enforcement standards, including the specific references to Queensland codes of practice and guidance that a Queensland inspector will expect to see.

**Do Queensland WHS laws require a written risk assessment?** The WHS Act does not require every risk assessment to be in writing, but the WHS Regulation requires written documentation where the hazard or risk is not well known, where the assessment needs to be communicated to others, or where the work is of a hazardous nature. In practice, WorkSafe Queensland inspectors expect documented risk assessments for any non-trivial hazard, and the absence of a written assessment is consistently identified as a compliance finding. For construction sites, the WHS Regulation requires written SWMS for all high-risk construction work.

**How does a Queensland risk assessment differ from one for another state?** The WHS Act 2011 and WHS Regulation 2011 (Qld) are substantially identical to the national model laws adopted in other harmonised states. The key Queensland-specific differences are: the high-risk work licence categories and their administration by WorkSafe Queensland; the separate regulatory regime for mines and quarries under RSHQ; the Queensland-specific codes of practice and WorkSafe Queensland industry guidance; and the Queensland construction project threshold ($250,000) for mandatory WHSMP preparation. A risk assessment prepared for another harmonised state will be largely valid in Queensland but should be reviewed against the Queensland-specific requirements before use.

**Is silica dust assessment required in Queensland?** Yes. WorkSafe Queensland has issued specific guidance on managing respirable crystalline silica from engineered stone and general construction activities, and requires PCBUs whose workers are exposed to silica dust to conduct exposure assessments and implement appropriate controls. For engineered stone work, specific air monitoring and health surveillance requirements apply under Queensland law. Our risk assessment includes a silica dust assessment section.

**Are health and safety representatives (HSRs) required in Queensland workplaces?** HSRs are not automatically required in Queensland workplaces, but workers have the right to request the establishment of a work group and the election of an HSR. Once requested, the PCBU must facilitate the process. HSRs have specific consultation rights, including the right to be consulted before risk assessments are finalised, the right to inspect the workplace, and the power to issue provisional improvement notices.

**Where can I find Queensland-specific hazard guidance?** WorkSafe Queensland's website (worksafe.qld.gov.au) provides industry-specific safety guides, codes of practice, and tools including the eBOS (eBusiness Online Service) for injury notification and the WHS essentials tool for small businesses. Resources Safety and Health Queensland (rshq.qld.gov.au) provides guidance specific to the mining and quarrying sector.