OCCUPATIONAL HEALTH AND SAFETY (COMMONWEALTH EMPLOYMENT) (NATIONAL STANDARDS) REGULATIONS - REG 6.17

Risk assessment for hazardous substances

6.17 NOTE The purpose of an assessment is to enable decisions to be made about
appropriate control measures, induction and training, monitoring and health
surveillance commensurate with the level of risk that arises from use of a
hazardous substance at work. Guidance on assessments can be found in the
National Code of Practice for the Control of Workplace Hazardous Substances
[NOHSC:2007(1994)] and the Guidance Note for the Assessment of Health Risks
Arising From the Use of Hazardous Substances in the Workplace [NOHSC:3017
(1994)].

(1) An employer must ensure that an assessment is made, in accordance with
this regulation, of the risks to health caused by work that involves potential
exposure to a hazardous substance. Penalty: 10 penalty units.

(2) An assessment must include:

   (a)  the identification of each hazardous substance that is used or
        produced in the course of work; and

   (b)  an examination of the MSDS required, under these Regulations, for each
        hazardous substance; and

   (c)  if an MSDS cannot reasonably be obtained for examination Ñ an
        examination of information, equivalent to the information that is
        required to be included in an MSDS, relating to:

        (i)    any hazard to health relating to the hazardous substance; and

        (ii)   the precautions to be followed in relation to the safe use and
               handling of the hazardous substance; and

   (d)  if the hazardous substance is kept in an unopened consumer package Ñ
        an examination of each label that appears on the package; and

   (e)  the identification of any risk to health, arising from exposure to
        each hazardous substance that is identified, of which the employer
        knows, or that the employer ought reasonably to expect.

(3) The employer may undertake a generic risk assessment of risks to health
if:

   (a)  the risk assessment is carried out only in relation to work:

        (i)    that is performed using the hazardous substance; and

        (ii)   for which the risk factors are identical in all cases; and

   (b)  the risk assessment is designed to identify any differences in the
        nature of work performed using the hazardous substance that could
        result in a change to the risk factors associated with the performance
        of the work; and

   (c)  it is not practicable for the employer to undertake a separate risk
        assessment for each workplace at which the hazardous substance is
        used.

(4) If the employer decides there is not a significant risk to health from the
use of a hazardous substance at work, the employer must ensure that:

   (a)  the hazardous substance is included in the register referred to in
        subregulation 6.14 (1); and

   (b)  the register is noted to indicate compliance with the requirements
        referred to in subregulation (2). Penalty: 10 penalty units.

(5) If an employer decides that there is a significant risk to health from the
use of a particular hazardous substance at work, the employer must ensure
that:

   (a)  regulations 6.19, 6.20 and 6.21 are complied with; and

   (b)  a report on the assessment is prepared; and

   (c)  the register is amended to indicate compliance with the requirements
        of this Division. Penalty: 10 penalty units. NOTE Assessment reports
        should reflect the detail of the assessment including sufficient
        information to show why decisions about risks and precautions were
        made. Further guidance on deciding if the risk is significant can be
        found in the National Code of Practice for the Control of Workplace
        Hazardous Substances [NOHSC:2007 (1994)] and the Guidance Note for the
        Assessment of Health Risks Arising from the Use of Hazardous
        Substances in the Workplace [NOHSC:3017 (1994)].

(6) An employer must revise a risk assessment if:

   (a)  the employer knows, or ought reasonably to be expected to know, of
        evidence that the assessment is no longer valid; or

   (b)  there has been a significant change in the work to which the
        assessment relates. Penalty: 10 penalty units.

(7) In addition to subregulation (6), an employer must review a risk
assessment:

   (a)  at least once in the period of 5 years commencing on the day on which
        the assessment is completed; and

   (b)  at least once in each subsequent period of 5 years. Penalty: 10
        penalty units.

(8) An employer must ensure that a report prepared under this regulation is
readily accessible to an employee who could be exposed to a hazardous
substance to which the report relates. Penalty: 10 penalty units.