OCCUPATIONAL HEALTH AND SAFETY POLICY


Date approved	21 July 1999	Date Policy will take effect	21 July 1999	Date of Next Review	May 2011
Approved by	Administrative Committee
Custodian title & e-mail address	Manager, OH&S ohs_all@uow.edu.au
Author	Manager, OH&S
Responsible Faculty/ Division & Unit	OH&S Unit, Personnel Services Division
Supporting documents, procedures & forms of this policy	Roles and Responsibilities for OHS OH&S Management System
References & Legislation	Occupational Health and Safety Act 2000 (NSW) Occupational Health and Safety Regulation 2001 (NSW)
Audience	Public – accessible to anyone
Expiry Date of Policy	Not applicable

Contents

1 Purpose of Policy

1. The University of Wollongong acknowledges that effective OHS is an integral part of achieving its vision of excellence in leadership; innovation; student learning and community engagement. The University and its senior management are therefore committed to ensuring the health, safety and welfare of its employees, students, contractors and visitors. All members of the University community have a collective and individual responsibility with regard to the prevention of workplace injuries and working safely.

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1. Our commitment to eliminating work related illness and injury will be attained through:

a. implementing uniform risk management processes to adequately control risks in the workplace;
b. compliance with all applicable relevant legislation, codes of practice and standards;
c. ensuring equipment and substances are safe and without risk to health when properly used;
d. providing, monitoring and maintaining safe systems of work for the use, handling, storage and transportation of equipment and substances;
e. providing adequate facilities for the health, safety and welfare of all employees, students, contractors, labour hire employees and visitors;
f. identifying and providing appropriate OH&S training and dissemination of relevant OHS information to all employees, students, contractors, labour hire employees and visitors;
g. provision of appropriate supervision for all employees, students, contractors, labour hire employees and visitors;
h. consultation with all University employees, students, and contractors to enhance the effectiveness of the OH&S Management System;
i. providing adequate resources, including finances, to facilitate the fulfilment of the University’s OH&S responsibilities;
j. ensuring continual improvement toward progressing overall performance by monitoring OHS outcomes against performance indicators on an annual basis and integrating OHS into the University’s overall strategic development; and
k. communicating this policy through public display and training throughout the University.

1. This policy will be regularly reviewed following legislative or organisational changes, or as a minimum, every three years.

1. The Vice Chancellor has ultimate responsibility for, and is committed to, the effective implementation of the University OH&S policy, and delegation of OH&S management responsibilities. The Senior Executive will support Deans, Department Heads, Managers and Supervisors to fulfil their OH&S responsibilities and accountabilities within their area of responsibility. Descriptions of OH&S responsibilities are defined in the UOW document “Roles and Responsibilities for OH&S”
2. The OH&S Unit is available to provide advice regarding specific OH&S matters and assist with the development, implementation and monitoring of the OH&S system.

Version Control	Date Effective	Approved By	Amendment
1	21 July 1999	Administrative Committee	First Version
2	4 June 2003	Vice Chancellor	Minor changes to adjust policy to bring it in line with legislative changes.
3	11 October 2005	Vice Chancellor	Minor policy changes following review by OHS Committee
4	27 May 2008	Administrative Committee	Formatting and minor changes.
5	6 May 2009	Vice Principal (Administration)	Migrated to UOW Policy Template as per Policy Directory Refresh

Last reviewed: 24 November, 2009

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