First Aid Code of Practice
First Aid In The Workplace. Code of Practice.
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First Aid Code of Practice
May 2018
ISBN 978-0-642-33347-6 (PDF)
ISBN 978-0-642-33348-3 (DOCX)
Creative Commons
This copyright work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial 4.0 International licence. To view a copy of this licence, visit creativecommons.org/licenses In essence, you are free to copy, communicate and adapt the work for noncommercial purposes, as long as you attribute the work to Safe Work Australia and abide by the other licence terms.
All rights reserved.
Disclaimer
Safe Work Australia is an Australian Government statutory body established in 2009. Safe Work Australia includes Members from the Commonwealth, and each state and territory, Members representing the interests of workers and Members representing the interests of employers.Safe Work Australia works with the Commonwealth, state and territory governments to improve work health and safety and workers’ compensation arrangements. Safe Work Australia is a national policy body, not a regulator of work health and safety.The Commonwealth, states and territories have responsibility for regulating and enforcing work health and safety laws in their jurisdiction.
Safe Work Australia is an Australian Government statutory body established in 2009. Safe Work Australia includes Members from the Commonwealth, and each state and territory, Members representing the interests of workers and Members representing the interests of employers.Safe Work Australia works with the Commonwealth, state and territory governments to improve work health and safety and workers’ compensation arrangements. Safe Work Australia is a national policy body, not a regulator of work health and safety.The Commonwealth, states and territories have responsibility for regulating and enforcing work health and safety laws in their jurisdiction.
This Code of Practice on first aid in the workplace is an approved code of practice under section 274 of the Work Health and Safety Act (the WHS Act).
An approved code of practice provides practical guidance on how to achieve the standards of work health and safety required under the WHS Act and the Work Health and Safety Regulations (the WHS Regulations) and effective ways to identify and manage risks.
A code of practice can assist anyone who has a duty of care in the circumstances described in the code of practice. Following an approved code of practice will assist duty holders to achieve compliance with the health and safety duties in the WHS Act and WHS Regulations, in relation to the subject matter of the code of practice. Like regulations, codes of practice deal with particular issues and may not cover all relevant hazards or risks. The health and safety duties require duty holders to consider all risks associated with work, not only those for which regulations and codes of practice exist.
Codes of practice are admissible in court proceedings under the WHS Act and WHS Regulations. Courts may regard a code of practice as evidence of what is known about a hazard, risk, risk assessment or risk control and may rely on the code in determining what is reasonably practicable in the circumstances to which the code of practice relates. For further information see the Interpretive Guideline: The meaning of ‘reasonably practicable’.
Compliance with the WHS Act and WHS Regulations may be achieved by following another method if it provides an equivalent or higher standard of work health and safety than the code.
An inspector may refer to an approved code of practice when issuing an improvement or prohibition notice.
Scope and Application
This Code is intended to be read by a person conducting a business or undertaking (PCBU). It provides practical guidance to PCBUs on how to effectively provide first aid in the workplace. It includes information on first aid kits, procedures, facilities and training for first aiders.
This Code may be a useful reference for other persons interested in the duties under the WHS Act and WHS Regulations.
This Code applies to all types of work and all workplaces covered by the WHS Act.
How to Use This Code of Practice
This Code includes references to legal requirements under the WHS Act and WHS Regulations. These are included for convenience only and should not be relied on in place of the full text of the WHS Act or WHS Regulations. The words ‘must’, ‘requires’ or ‘mandatory’ indicate a legal requirement exists that must be complied with.
The word ‘should’ is used in this Code to indicate a recommended course of action, while ‘may’ is used to indicate an optional course of action.
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