Primary links
Workplace Health and Safety
The Workplace Health and Safety Act 1995 (the Act) imposes obligations on people at workplaces to ensure workplace health and safety. When managing fatigue; workplace health and safety is ensured when person are free from the risk of death, injury and illness created by fatigue.
The Workplace Health and Safety Act 1995
The Workplace Health and Safety Act 1995 (the Act) imposes obligations on people at workplaces to ensure workplace health and safety. When managing fatigue; workplace health and safety is ensured when person are free from the risk of death, injury and illness created by fatigue.
Relevant obligations holders under the Act include:
- Employers and self-employed persons
- Persons conducting a business or undertaking
- Workers
Sections 28 and 29 of the Act require employers and self-employed persons to ensure their own health and safety in the conduct of their business or undertaking. Employers and self-employed persons also have an obligation to ensure the safety of other r persons, such as members of the public. Employers have the additional requirement to ensure the workplace health and safety of each of their workers at work.
Section 19A of the Act requires persons who conduct a business or undertaking to ensure the workplace health and safety of each person who performs a work activity for the purposes of the business or undertaking. This includes contractors and volunteer workers.
Therefore, under the Act, employers and persons who conduct a business or undertaking are obliged to protect workers and persons who perform a work activity for the purposes of the business or undertaking from the adverse effects of fatigue.
Section 36 of the Act contains the obligations for the workers or anyone else at the workplace.
Relevant worker obligations when managing fatigue include:
- Not to wilfully place at risk the workplace health and safety of any person at the workplace
- Not to wilfully injure himself or herself
This means that workers should ensure that their personal behaviour outside of work does not contribute to workplace fatigue.
State Regulatory Bodies
NSW – WorkCover Authority of NSW www.workcover.nsw.gov.au
VIC – WorkSafe Victoria (the health and safety arm of the Victorian WorkCover Authority) www.workcover.vic.gov.au
QLD – Workplace Health and Safety, Department of Industrial Relations www.whs.qld.gov.au
- Workplace Health and Safety QLD introduced the Fatigue Management Guide in 2005
- The QLD Govt held a Road Safety Summit in February 2006
SA – WorkCover Corporations of South Australia www.workcover.com
WA – WorkSafe Western Australia www.safetyline.wa.gov.au
Tas – Workplace Standards Tasmania www.wst.tas.gov.au
ACT – ACT WorkCover www.workcover.act.gov.au
NT – NT Worksafe www.worksafe.nt.gov.au
Work Related Fatigue, Summary of recent regulatory developments 2006, Australian Safety and Compensation Council
National Transport Commission (NTC) – Rail Transport: The Rail Safety (Reform) Bill Exposure Draft – Part 3 Clause 341 requires fatigue management programs to be implemented for rail safety workers.
Maritime Safety, The Australian Maritime Safety Authority (AMSA): The data collected in this study suggest that fatigue due to inadequate sleep is not likely to be a significant issue in this population. However, the study recommended that a full fatigue risk management system be implemented, consisting of 4 key elements – policy and supporting procedures, a training program, risk mitigation strategies, audit and continuous improvement processes. The model proposed in the AMSA study suggests that effective fatigue management involves acting on fatigue related behaviours and symptoms to reduce the risk of these resulting in fatigue-related errors or incidents. The fatigue Calculator provides a scientific means of identifying fatigue related behaviours and symptoms.
Air Safety, The Australian Civil Aviation Safety Authority (CASA): The International Civil Aviation Order Annex 6 states: The State of the Operation shall establish regulations specifying the limitations applicable to the flight time and flight duty periods for flight crew members. These regulations shall also make provision for adequate rest periods and shall be such as to ensure that fatigue occurring either in a flight or successive flights or accumulated over a period of time due to these and other tasks, does not endanger the safety of a flight personnel.
Australian Medical Association (AMA): National Code of Practice – Hours of Work, Shiftwork and Rostering of Hopsital Doctors. (Check online for the Safe Hours Survey – www.ama.com.au)
Legal Rulings:
WorkSafe WA obtained the first conviction under the 2003 fatigue management regulations governing commercial vehicle drivers, for the failure to put in place a fatigue management plan. The company was also prosecuted for failure to ensure that its drivers were medically fit for driving work.
March 2006, a Canberra based Transport Company pleaded guilty to breaches under the Victorian OHS Act. The company failed to provide and maintain a safe work environment and failed to ensure that people other than employees were not exposed to risks to their health and safety as a result of the company’s work. The company allowed a fatigued driver to work. The driver was subsequently involved in a crash in country Victoria, in which four people were killed. The company was fined $65,000 for failing to provide a safe work environment and a further $65,000 for failing to provide to protect the public under the OHS Act.
