# The Health and Safety in Employment Act 1992

The Health and Safety in Employment Act seeks to encourage injury prevention within the workplace. It is about making work safe for everyone. The Act promotes good employment relationships as essential to managing hazards in the workplace. The Act does not tell people how to work, but requires them to approach workplace situations with the framework and guidelines of the legislation in mind.

The Department of Labour states that the arrangements required in a workplace must acknowledge that:

- the primary responsibility for making a safe workplace is with the employer or any other person responsible for the work
- employees also have a responsibility for themselves and others
- good faith cooperation between employers and employees is needed to manage these responsibilities
- employee participation is essential to the whole process.

The Department of Labour is responsible for administering this legislation. Employers have a duty to:

- take all practicable steps to ensure the health and safety of employees at work
- ensure that effective systems are in place to properly identify hazards
- do everything practicable to eliminate, isolate, or minimise hazards
- fully inform employees about workplace hazards and what is being done to monitor them
- provide employees with the opportunity to be fully involved in developing procedures to manage workplace hazards
- report and record all workplace accidents.

There are also several industry-specific regulations that set down certain minimum standards in different work situations. The General Workplace Conditions Regulations, for example, provide for adequate lighting, safe levels of noise, humidity and heat, the removal of dust, steam and fumes from a workplace, and access to fire exits.

If you are interested in finding out about any specific workplace standards, contact the Department of Labour Occupational Safety and Health Service nearest to you.

The Department of Labour website has good information about health and safety issues.

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