ASC WORK HEALTH and
SAFETY POLICY
Work Health and Safety
Purpose and Objectives
The Australian Sports Commission (ASC) is committed to providing a safe and
healthy workplace for its workers and visitors as required by the Commonwealth’s
Work Health and Safety (WHS) legislation, namely the Work Health and Safety
Act (2011) (the WHS Act), the Work Health and Safety Regulations 2011 (the
Regulations) and relevant Codes of Practice. This Policy defines the principles of
this commitment and the ASC’s approach to the continuous improvement of
health and safety in the workplace.
Definitions, terms and acronyms
Person Conducting a
Business or
Undertaking (PCBU)
Officer
Worker
Others
Contractor
Workplace
The principal duty holder under the WHS Act is a ‘person
conducting a business or undertaking’ (PCBU), which
replaces the term ‘employer’ as principal duty holder.
The ASC is considered to be a PCBU.
An officer is a person who makes, or participates in
making, decisions that affect the whole, or a substantial
part, of a business or undertaking.
Any person who carries out work (whether paid or
unpaid) for the ASC which includes:
 Employees
 Trainees
 Volunteers
 Work experience students
 Contractors or sub-contractors
 Employees of a contractor or sub-contractor
 Employees of a labour hire company assigned to
work for the ASC
An athlete, visitor or member of the public who is not
carrying out work for the ASC but is within the ASC
workplace or is affected by the work carried out by the
ASC.
A contractor is a person, other than a person employed
directly by the ASC, who performs work for the ASC
under a contract for the provision of goods or services.
It also includes sub-contractors. Contractors are
therefore employees of an employer other than the ASC.
A place where work is carried out for a business or
undertaking and includes any place where a worker
goes, or is likely to be, while at work.
ASC workplaces include, but are not limited to:
 Offices, venues and facilities operated by the ASC
in a State or Territory
 Office spaces, facilities or premises owned and/or
operated by an entity other than the ASC and
leased by the ASC.
ASC
The Australian Sports Commission.
WHS
Work Health and Safety
Scope and coverage
This Policy applies to all ASC workers as defined above.
Statement of Intent
The wellbeing of workers and others as defined as above is a major consideration
in every aspect of the operations of the ASC.
The ASC will provide workers with appropriate guidance and training in the
identification, assessment and control of hazards in all its workplaces. The ASC
expects that workers will cooperate with WHS policies and procedures, and to
take responsibility for their own actions and not put themselves or others at risk.
Principles
The ASC aspires to eliminate all risks to health and safety, and where elimination
is not reasonably practicable, to reduce risks to health and safety so far as is
reasonably practicable.
Responsibilities for Work Health and Safety
The organisation
ASC recognises it has a legal responsibility to provide a healthy and safe
workplace for workers and others and is required to implement safe work
methods and processes. In meeting its obligations, ASC will take all reasonably
practical steps to:
 provide and maintain safe and healthy workplaces for all workers
 provide and maintain a means of access to and egress from the workplace that
is safe for workers and without risk to their health
 provide adequate facilities for the welfare of workers at work together with
appropriate health, medical and first aid services
 ensure workers are safe when they use, handle, store or transport plant or
substances
 provide all workers, including managers and team leaders, with information to
ensure a knowledge and understanding of their WHS responsibilities
 consult with relevant stakeholders where appropriate or required by legislation
to ensure effective cooperation in promoting, developing and reviewing
measures to ensure workers’ health, safety and welfare at work
 monitor workers’ health and safety conditions that are under ASC control by
regularly conducting hazard inspections
 maintain appropriate information and records relating to workers’ health and
safety
 consult in accordance with consultative arrangements on WHS matters
 ensure WHS information on the intranet is comprehensive and current, and
 ensure WHS responsibilities are incorporated into ASC induction processes.
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Officers
Officers of ASC have a duty or obligation under the WHS Act to exercise 'due
diligence' to ensure that ASC complies with its WHS duties.
An Officer must exercise due diligence to comply with their duties, including
taking reasonable steps to:
 acquire and keep up-to-date knowledge of work health and safety matters
 gain an understanding of the operations, hazards and risks of the ASC
 ensure that appropriate resources and processes are available to eliminate or
minimise risks
 ensure that they receive, consider and respond to information regarding
incidents, hazards and risks
 ensure that processes are implemented for complying with their duties e.g.
reporting notifiable incidents, consulting with workers, ensuring compliance
with provisional improvement notices (PINs), providing training and instruction
to workers, ensuring health and safety representatives receive training, and
 verify the provision and use of resources and procedures.
Line Managers and Supervisors
Line Managers and Supervisors at all levels are responsible for ensuring that
ASC’s legal obligations for health and safety are met in workplaces or systems of
work under their control. They have important implementation responsibilities in
relation to prevention of workplace injuries or illnesses, early intervention and
risk management.
In particular, Line Managers and Supervisors will take all reasonably practical
steps to:
 actively follow sound safe working practices, display positive attitudes towards
health and safety matters, and supervise workers to ensure that safe working
practices are followed
 ensure that all workers are aware of and carry out their responsibilities in
relation to health and safety matters
 arrange for workers to be instructed in healthy and safe working systems and
procedures
 consult with workers, Health and Safety Representatives (HSRs) and the
WorkSafe Committee (WSC) on matters which may affect health and safety in
the workplace
 support HSRs and the WSC in the exercise of their powers
 regularly raise and discuss health and safety issues at management meetings
 ensure that good housekeeping standards are maintained in areas under their
control
 make sure all incidents and accidents are properly recorded, reported,
investigated, referred and/or addressed as appropriate, and
 where they consider that preventative or corrective action is necessary but this
lies outside their control, promptly refer the issue to the area that has
responsibility for attending to the matter and actively follow it up until the
matter is satisfactorily resolved.
Workers
All workers of ASC have a responsibility under the legislation and this Policy to:
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 take all reasonably practical steps to ensure that their workplaces are
maintained in a healthy and safe manner
 carry out their work in a safe manner that is without detriment to their health
and safety or the health and safety of other persons (whether workers or not)
at or near their workplace
 contribute to reviews of workplaces and work practices to reduce the
incidence of workplace injury and illness
 participate in health and safety issues within their workplaces
 participate in health and safety training where provided, use safety equipment
where required and comply with safe systems of work, and
 respond to health and safety issues within their area of responsibility by
reporting all incidents that have the potential or have resulted in injury or
illness.
Contractors and sub-contractors
As contractors are considered ‘workers’ for the purposes of the WHS legislation,
their duties under the WHS Act are the same as an employee. Contractors have a
responsibility to:
 adhere to safe systems of work at all times
 where necessary, undertake appropriate risk assessments and develop safe
work method statements prior to commencing work
 provide evidence of the ongoing performance of the Contractor’s WHS
management system, when requested by the ASC
 promptly notify the ASC of any accident, injury or near miss which occurs
during the performance of services for the ASC
 adhere to all relevant the ASC policies and procedures; and reasonable
directions or requests given or made by the ASC
 comply with all relevant WHS legislation, standards and codes of practice that
are applicable to any work being undertaken, and
 not do anything, through their acts or omissions, that could put at risk their
own health or safety or that of the workers or others
Others
Any other person at a workplace, including students and visitors, must:





take reasonable care for their own health and safety and that of others
comply with instructions in relation to work health and safety
use personal protective equipment and clothing as require
promptly report hazards, injuries and incidents, including near misses, and
cooperate with emergency procedures.
Work Health and Safety Adviser
The ASC Work Health and Safety (WHS) Adviser is the person in Human
Resources responsible for corporate work health and safety.
The WHS Advisor has a responsibility to:

prepare appropriate materials to effectively communicate relevant health and
safety issues affecting ASC workplaces

develop, implement and review ASC’s WHS related policies and procedures,
and
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
ensure WHS communications are disseminated to relevant workers and
contractors within the workplace.
Other applicable references and contacts



Comcare: www.comcare.gov.au
WHS Act 2011: http://www.comlaw.gov.au/Details/C2011A00137
WHS Regulations 2011: http://www.comlaw.gov.au/Details/F2011L02664
- END –
Version
Created By
Originating
Program
Approved by
Date
Revision Date
TRIM
reference
2.0
Adviser HR
Human
Resources
DGM, People
Capability &
Communications
2015
2017
Xxxx xxxx
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