Session 2 - Compliance Codes

"Compliance codes provide practical guidance to those who have duties or obligations under the OHS Act. They aim to provide easy to understand information on how to comply.

This information, if applied appropriately, will mean those who follow it are deemed to have complied with their obligations under the OHS Act."

- worksafe victoria website

Worker Rights and Responsibilities

http://www.worksafe.vic.gov.au/laws-and-regulations/worker-rights-and-responsibilities

Employer Rights and Responsibilities

http://www.worksafe.vic.gov.au/laws-and-regulations/employer-rights-and-responsibilities

Compliance Codes

The eight compliance codes now available are:

• Communicating occupational health and safety across languages    
• Workplace amenities and work environment
• Confined spaces
• First aid in the workplace
• Prevention of falls in general construction
• Foundries
• Managing asbestos in workplaces
• Removing asbestos in workplaces

Without looking at the details, which ones do you think would be most relevant to working in a library environment?

http://www.worksafe.vic.gov.au/laws-and-regulations/occupational-health-and-safety/compliance-codes

Class Activity

Frankston: 1 & 2
Cranbourne:  4

In your groups, read the compliance code allocated to you and report back to the class the key points specific to the Compliance Code.

The Industry and Work Health and Safety

Working in a library, whether it be within a school or a public library, comes under the Education industry in regards to WHS. So what are the risks within the Education sector?

The Victorian education sector employs almost 200,000 people across three main areas:

• schools (including government and non-government, primary and secondary, as well as mainstream and special schools)
• higher education (including universities, TAFE colleges and community education facilities)
• libraries and museums

Managing health and safety in the sector is complicated by:

• the increasing use of contractors, on-hired workers, temporary staff and volunteers
• the decentralisation of OHS duties to each worksite (e.g. each school, campus, stand-alone library or museum)
• the diversity of workplaces involved, ranging from small single-teacher schools through to large universities, and from small museums to large state libraries
• the public has access to these workplaces during lectures, meeting, concerts and other events

What Are The Risks?

The biggest risks to people working in the education sector are:

• manual handling (e.g. lifting or moving objects, assisting students in special schools and repetitive movements such as typing)
• stress (e.g. from work pressures)
• slips, trips and falls
• machinery and equipment
• dealing with people who could be aggressive or could exhibit unpredictable behaviour

These risks generally apply in some form across the sector, regardless of the type of workplace, from office and classroom environments to practical workshops and special schools.

Injury Hotspots - Education Sector

http://www.worksafeform.com/hotspots/webPDF/Hotspots_Education_web.pdf



Click the above link to view the injury hotspots document.

Above information was sourced from Worksafe Victoria Website: http://www.worksafe.vic.gov.au/safety-and-prevention/your-industry/education-sector/about-the-sector

Health & Safety by Topic

http://www.worksafe.vic.gov.au/safety-and-prevention/health-and-safety-topics

ASSESSMENT TASK

Using the list above (Health & Safety by Topic), select a topic that may be relevant for the industry.

Create a safety poster and corresponding leaflet for display in the staffroom of Mysty River Regional library service.

GRADING

Topic:	Relevance for the Industry & Research	10
Poster:	Includes valid OHS information	5
	Language/Diagrams easy to understand	5
Leaflet:	Includes valid OHS information	5
	Language/Diagrams easy to understand	5
	TOTAL GRADE	30