Health, Safety and Wellbeing Policy

1. Purpose

1.1 The Health, Safety and Wellbeing Policy (the policy) supports the health, safety and wellbeing management system in the UTS workplace. The policy describes the relevant responsibilities and accountabilities under this system to ensure compliance with the Work Health and Safety Act 2011 (NSW) (the Act).

2. Scope

2.1 This policy applies to all staff and affiliates (hereafter staff), students, officers of the university and visitors to the university when undertaking work, activities and/or functions at, or on behalf of, UTS.

2.2 Officers of the university, for the purpose of this policy, are members of Council and members of the senior executive. Other senior managers may be found to be an officer and this will be determined on a case-by-case basis.

3. Principles

3.1 UTS is committed to ensuring the health, safety and wellbeing of its staff, students and visitors in line with the UTS 2027 strategy. In doing so, UTS will manage risk to prevent physical and psychosocial injury or illness required under the Work Health and Safety Regulation 2017 (NSW). This policy forms part of a suite of policies designed to achieve this task (refer Policies by classification: Health, safety and security and Conduct, behaviour and integrity). 

3.2 To comply with the Act, staff, students and visitors have a collective and individual responsibility to adhere to safe work and study practices to prevent injuries and illnesses in the workplace. The success of the university’s health, safety and wellbeing management system depends on the commitment, cooperation and input of all those under the scope of this policy.

3.3 UTS (the PCBU, refer Definitions) recognises its responsibilities to comply with the Act and aims to ensure, so far as is reasonably practicable, the health, safety and wellbeing of staff, students and visitors by:

1. complying with all applicable legislation
2. integrating health, safety and wellbeing risk management practices into its operations and functions with a focus on continuous improvement (refer Risk Management Policy)
3. ensuring that effective consultation and communication mechanisms are implemented, monitored and improved to ensure general understanding of the system
4. providing a safe environment for work and study
5. ensuring the safe use, handling and storage of plant, structures and substances
6. providing adequate facilities for the health, safety and wellbeing at work of staff, students and visitors
7. ensuring the safety, welfare and wellbeing of children (refer Child Protection Policy)
8. monitoring the health of staff and the conditions at the workplace as part of an illness and injury prevention strategy
9. providing relevant information, training, instruction or supervision to staff and, where appropriate, students, affiliates and visitors
10. managing any accidents and incidents that occur in order to minimise harm and prevent recurrences
11. allocating appropriate resources to help the university fulfil its health, safety and wellbeing responsibilities.

4. Policy statements

4.1 The Act sets out the broad responsibilities for UTS (the PCBU), officers, staff and others. While tasks related to fulfilling these responsibilities may be performed by others, the responsibilities themselves cannot be delegated, transferred or contracted out.

4.2 Officers of the university must exercise due diligence (defined in section 27(5) of the Act) to ensure the university complies with its duties or obligations.

Health, safety and wellbeing management system

4.3 UTS’s health, safety and wellbeing management system (the HSW system) was established to meet the university’s legislative responsibilities to manage its risks to align to the key requirements of the following standards:

1. ISO 45001: 2018 Occupational health and safety management systems – Requirements with guidance for use
2. ISO 45003: 2021 Occupational health and safety management – Psychological health and safety at work – Guidelines for managing psychosocial risks, and
3. ISO 31000: 2018: Risk management – Guidelines. 

4.4 The HSW system operates at both university and faculty/unit level and comprises:

1. planning (refer Health, safety and wellbeing management), the UTS Health, Safety and Wellbeing Strategic Plan (available at Health Safety and Wellbeing: Safety planning (SharePoint)), and faculty/unit health, safety and wellbeing plans (refer Definitions)
2. information, procedures and guidelines
3. a register of risks arising from university activities and their controls
4. training (refer Health Safety and Wellbeing: Information and training (SharePoint))
5. incident investigation and resulting system improvements (refer Critical Incident Response Policy)
6. monitoring, reporting and auditing (refer Health Safety and Wellbeing (SharePoint)).

4.5 The UTS Health, Safety and Wellbeing Advisory Committee terms of reference (available at Health, safety and wellbeing management) provide a coordinated, strategic and consultative approach to the management of health, safety and wellbeing at UTS (in line with the university’s legislative responsibilities) by:

1. acting as the highest level of consultation for the university, ensuring issues that require high level input and attention are appropriately considered and addressed, and
2. managing health, safety and wellbeing related strategy, policy and university-wide hazards and issues (as part of the system).

4.6 The People Unit has primary responsibility for facilitating and coordinating the HSW system, which includes:

1. the UTS Health, Safety and Wellbeing Strategic Plan (available at Health Safety and Wellbeing: Safety planning (SharePoint)) and health and safety risk management programs
2. establishing, monitoring, auditing and improving the system
3. supporting faculties and units in meeting their health, safety and wellbeing objectives
4. maintaining relationships with other internal committees with health, safety and wellbeing responsibilities and external bodies (such as Safe Work NSW and NSW Health) in the fields of work health and safety, and risk management
5. providing a workplace injury management and return to work program that assists staff to promptly return to safe and durable work following injury or illness (refer Accessibility and Inclusion Policy and Health Safety and Wellbeing: Injury management and return to work (SharePoint))
6. managing the university's workers' compensation insurance function
7. monitoring compliance through regular auditing of faculties and units
8. providing information and training resources to assist managers and supervisors
9. advice and guidance to key stakeholders across the university to strengthen awareness of the compliance requirements of the HSW system.

The Health, Safety and Wellbeing Strategic Plan

4.7 The UTS Health, Safety and Wellbeing Strategic Plan (the strategic plan) (available at Health Safety and Wellbeing: Safety planning (SharePoint)) is developed in consultation with and monitored by the UTS Health, Safety and Wellbeing Advisory Committee. The strategic plan:

1. outlines specific key objectives, deliverables and targets to address high-risk health, safety and wellbeing issues and any deficiencies identified in the system, and
2. develops programs and guidelines to continuously improve the safety of work and study practices and environments.

4.8 Deans and unit-level directors, in consultation with their staff, are responsible for developing, implementing and monitoring faculty/unit health, safety and wellbeing plans to best suit their specific circumstances and needs (including work environment, operations, programs, curricula and research).

4.9 The Health, Safety and Wellbeing team in the People Unit (hereafter the People Unit) will work with faculties and units to develop, implement and audit health, safety and wellbeing plans.

Responsibilities of officers of the university

4.10 As officers of the university under the Act, members of Council are responsible for:

1. acquiring and maintaining a general knowledge of the university’s operations, associated risks and hazards (refer Risk Management Policy) and the system used to manage associated risks and hazards
2. ensuring that appropriate resources and processes are allocated to eliminate or minimise risks to health, safety and wellbeing that may arise as part of the university's operations
3. ensuring that UTS has appropriate processes for receiving and considering information regarding incidents, hazards and risks, and responding in a timely way
4. ensuring that the system is integrated into all university operations, teaching, research and consulting functions and is working effectively
5. ensuring that UTS has processes for complying with any duty or obligation under the Act such as reporting notifiable incidents (managed via HIRO), consulting with staff, ensuring compliance with notices issued under the Act and providing training and instruction to staff about work health, safety and wellbeing.

4.11 In addition to the responsibilities for members of Council listed in statement 4.10, the Vice-Chancellor will: 

1. allocate resources for the effective implementation of this policy, and delegate responsibilities appropriately, and
2. approve the terms of reference for the Health, Safety and Wellbeing Advisory Committee and approve, annually, the membership of the committee in consultation with the Chair.

4.12 In addition to the responsibilities for members of Council listed in statement 4.10, the senior executive and the University Secretary will:

1. implement this policy and advise the Vice-Chancellor on health, safety and wellbeing high-risk issues in their areas of control
2. encourage the integration of health, safety and wellbeing risk management into operations and business activities as appropriate
3. ensure compliance with relevant policy, legislation and standards
4. ensure that faculties and units under their control develop, implement and monitor a faculty/unit health, safety and wellbeing plan.

4.13 In addition to the responsibilities of officers of the university, the Chief Operating Officer will:

1. report to Council on health, safety and wellbeing performance against key performance indicators and on any incidents/injuries that have occurred
2. report annually to the Vice-Chancellor on the implementation of the strategic plan
3. monitor and report to the Vice-Chancellor on health, safety and wellbeing performance
4. report on notifiable incidents, critical incidents and high-risk health, safety and wellbeing incidents to the Audit and Risk Committee (refer Critical Incident Response Policy)
5. authorise appropriate action to ensure compliance with this policy.

Faculty and unit health, safety and wellbeing (operational) responsibilities

4.14 In meeting its health, safety and wellbeing responsibilities under the Act, direct reports to the senior executive must:

1. ensure compliance with this policy and that relevant faculty/unit health, safety and wellbeing plans are developed, implemented and monitored in consultation with staff
2. integrate health, safety and wellbeing risk management into their operations, business activities and work environments
3. report on any incidents/injuries that have occurred and the implementation of mitigation strategies to prevent reoccurrence
4. ensure that managers, supervisors and staff are aware of their responsibilities under this policy and faculty/unit health, safety and wellbeing plans through appropriate resourcing, effective delegation, training and promotion of health, safety and wellbeing procedures
5. ensure that all staff complete the mandatory health, safety and wellbeing training requirements
6. hold supervisors and managers accountable for their specific responsibilities and remedy non-compliance
7. ensure, where relevant, that all staff undertake appropriate health, safety and wellbeing risk assessments for curriculum, research and consulting activities
8. encourage the incorporation of health, safety and wellbeing risk management into curriculum and research.

4.15 Associate deans, heads of school and equivalent faculty-based academic managers must:

1. integrate health, safety and wellbeing risk management into their operations, teaching, research and consulting functions including work environments
2. support supervisors and managers in providing appropriate resources for the effective implementation of their faculty/unit health, safety and wellbeing plan
3. ensure managers and supervisors are aware of their responsibilities to report all incidents and injuries
4. hold supervisors and managers accountable for their specific responsibilities and remedy non-compliance.

4.16 Supervisors and managers must do what is reasonably practicable to ensure that both the workplace and the work itself are safe. This includes:

1. ensuring that staff are appropriately trained before undertaking work and are supervised appropriately
2. identifying, assessing and managing health, safety and wellbeing risks
3. consulting with staff (including affiliates) about issues or changes that affect their health, safety and wellbeing during health, safety and wellbeing risk assessments, when decisions are made about the measures to be taken to eliminate or control these risks (and when reviewing health, safety and wellbeing risk assessments)
4. integrating health, safety and wellbeing risk management into operations, learning and teaching, research and consulting functions including work environments in their areas of control
5. reporting (to the People Unit), investigating and responding to all hazards, accidents, incidents and taking action to control the risk
6. assisting with the development, implementation and maintenance of a return to work program for injured staff (refer Accessibility and Inclusion Policy and Health Safety and Wellbeing: Injury management and return to work (SharePoint)).

Responsibilities of staff

4.17 In taking responsibility for health, safety and wellbeing at UTS, staff must:

1. take reasonable care of and cooperate with actions taken to protect the health, safety and wellbeing of both themselves and others
2. follow safe work practices as provided by their supervisor or manager, including the proper use of any personal protective equipment supplied
3. seek information or advice from a supervisor before performing new or unfamiliar tasks
4. report all health, safety and wellbeing accidents, incidents and hazards to their supervisor as soon as is practicable
5. comply with workplace injury management and return to work programs (refer Accessibility and Inclusion Policy and Health Safety and Wellbeing: Injury management and return to work (SharePoint))
6. follow the emergency evacuation procedures and any instructions given by emergency personnel.

4.18 In addition to the responsibilities outlined above, academic staff must:

1. provide relevant and practical health, safety and wellbeing information to students (by including in curricula and course notes)
2. take steps to ensure students adopt safe work practices
3. comply with the obligations outlined in the Support for Students Policy
4. conduct and document risk assessments on research, learning and teaching (including internships) and consulting programs/projects ensuring that risks are eliminated or controlled
5. consult with staff who may be affected by matters relating to work health, safety and wellbeing.

Responsibilities of students

4.19 In taking responsibility for health, safety and wellbeing at UTS, students must:

1. take reasonable care of and cooperate with actions taken to protect the health, safety and wellbeing of both themselves and others
2. follow safe work practices, including the proper use of any personal protective equipment supplied
3. seek information or advice from a staff member before performing new or unfamiliar tasks
4. report all health, safety and wellbeing accidents, incidents, and hazards to a staff member as soon as is practicable
5. follow the emergency evacuation procedures and any instructions given by emergency personnel.

Responsibilities of visitors

4.20 In taking responsibility for health, safety and wellbeing at UTS, visitors to UTS must:

1. undertake the necessary health, safety and wellbeing induction training when coming onto campus
2. take reasonable care of and cooperate with actions taken to protect the health, safety and wellbeing of both themselves and others
3. report all health, safety and wellbeing accidents, incidents and hazards to a staff member as soon as is practicable
4. follow the emergency evacuation procedures and any instructions given by emergency personnel.

5. Roles and responsibilities

5.1 Policy owner: The Chief Operating Officer (COO) is responsible for enforcement and compliance of this policy, ensuring that its principles and statements are observed. 

5.2 Policy contact: The Executive Director, People and Culture is responsible for the day to day implementation of this policy, and acts as a primary point of contact for advice on fulfilling its provisions.

5.3 Implementation and governance roles: The Vice-Chancellor approves the membership of and terms of reference for the Health, Safety and Wellbeing Advisory Committee in line with this policy. The People Unit publishes the terms of reference at Health, safety and wellbeing management.

6. Definitions

The following definitions apply for this policy and all associated procedures. These are in addition to the definitions outlined in Schedule 1, Student Rules. Definitions in the singular also include the plural meaning of the word.

Affiliate is defined in the Code of Conduct.

Critical incident is defined in the Critical Incident Response Policy.

Faculty/unit health, safety and wellbeing plan means the documented plan developed, implemented and monitored by each faculty/unit. This is done by the deans/directors in consultation with faculty/unit staff to establish effective risk management procedures that best suit the circumstances of each faculty/unit. During the planning process, hazards (including, but not limited to, physical, chemical, noise, psychosocial and heights) and control measures (including, but not limited to, information and training, workload allocation, supervision and provision of safety equipment) are identified and responsibilities allocated. Mechanisms for consultation with staff in relation to health, safety and wellbeing matters in the faculty/unit are agreed during the development of the plan. Options for consultation, as provided by the Act, are the establishment of a health, safety and wellbeing committee, election of a health, safety and wellbeing representative, or other agreed arrangements.

Notifiable incident is defined in the Critical Incident Response Policy.

Officer is defined in section 9 of the Corporations Act 2001 (Cwlth) as a person or people who make, or participate in making, decisions that affect the whole or a substantial part of the business.

PCBU is defined in section 5 of the Work Health and Safety Act 2011 (NSW) as a person conducting a business or undertaking. In this policy, the University of Technology Sydney (UTS) is the PCBU.

Plant includes any machinery, equipment, appliance, container, implement and tool, and any component of any of those things, and anything fitted or connected to any of those things.

Psychosocial hazard (or psychosocial factor) is defined in section 55A of the Work Health and Safety Regulation 2017 (NSW) and means anything in the design or management of work that increases the risk of work-related stress, psychological harm or harm to someone’s mental health. While stress itself is not an injury, workers who experience stress often, over a long time, or the level of stress is consistently high, can experience harm. These stressors may include but are not limited to:

1. unreasonable job demands
2. lack of role clarity or poorly communicated expectations 
3. lack of control or little say over the kinds of work undertaken 
4. poorly managed organisational change or restructuring 
5. poor reward and recognition practices 
6. poor organisational justice
7. issues with the physical environment of work
8. violence and aggressive behaviours 
9. bullying or harassment (refer Equity, Inclusion and Respect Policy)
10. sexual harm (refer Sexual Harm Prevention and Response Policy), and
11. poor workplace relationships or a bad workplace culture.

Risk management is defined in the Risk Management Policy. For the purpose of this policy, it includes the 'coordinated activities to direct and control an organization with regard to risk' (Australian/New Zealand Standard ISO 31000: 2018 Risk management — Guidelines).

Reasonably practicable is defined in section 18 of the Work Health and Safety Act 2011 (NSW) as that which is or was at a particular time, reasonably able to be done in relation to ensuring health, safety and wellbeing, taking into account and weighing up all relevant matters including:

1. the likelihood of the hazard or risk concerned occurring
2. the degree of harm that might result from the hazard or risk
3. what the person concerned knows or ought reasonably to know about the hazards and risks and ways of eliminating or minimising those risks
4. the availability and suitability of ways to eliminate those risks
5. after assessing the extent of the risks and the availability of ways of eliminating or minimising those risks, the costs associated with available ways of eliminating or minimising those risks, including whether the costs are grossly disproportionate to the risk.

Structure means anything that is constructed, whether fixed or movable, temporary or permanent, and includes components of a structure and any part of a structure.

Supervisor is defined in the Code of Conduct.

Visitor is defined in the Campus Policy.

Wellbeing relates to all aspects of working life in the workplace, from the quality and safety of the physical environment, to how people feel about their work, their working environment, the climate at work and work organisation (refer International Labour Organisation).

Worker is defined in section 7 of the Work Health and Safety Act 2011 (NSW), and includes people carrying out work in any capacity for UTS, including UTS staff, contractors/subcontractors and their employees, employees of labour hire companies who have been assigned to work at UTS, apprentices, trainees, work experience students at UTS, and volunteers (including members of the UTS Peer Network).

Approval information

Policy contacts	Executive Director, People and Culture
Approval authority	Council
Review date	2026
File number	UR20/1670
Superseded documents	Health and Safety Policy (2012) – UR07/646        Health and Safety Vice-Chancellor's Directive (2013) – UR13/543

Version history

Version	Approved by	Approval date	Effective date	Sections modified
1.0	Council (COU 20-5/104)	21/10/2020	24/11/2020	New policy.
1.1	Director, Governance Support Unit (Delegation 3.14.1)	03/05/2022	03/05/2022	Changes and updates to reflect portfolio realignment under Fit for 2027 project.
1.2	Deputy Director, Corporate Governance (Delegation 3.14.2)	07/11/2022	05/12/2022	Minor change to reflect new position title of Executive Director, People and Culture.
1.3	Director, Governance Support Unit (Delegation 3.14.1)	01/12/2022        19/12/2022	22/12/2022	Minor change to reflect the new Accessibility and Inclusion Policy and the new Critical Incident Response Policy.
2.0	Council (COU/23-3/58)	21/06/2023	07/07/2023	Change to policy title and focus to incorporate concept of wellbeing. Removal of appendix 1 for publication on the UTS website and other edits as part of a scheduled review.
2.1	Director, Governance Support Unit (Delegation 3.14.1)	18/12/2023	01/01/2024	Changes to reflect the new Support for Students Policy.
2.2	Director, Governance Support Unit (Delegation 3.14.1)	20/06/2024	28/06/2024	Updates following review of Child Protection Policy.

References

Accessibility and Inclusion Policy

Child Protection Policy

Code of Conduct

Corporations Act 2001 (Cwlth)

Critical Incident Response Policy

Equity, Inclusion and Respect Policy

Health Safety and Wellbeing (SharePoint)

Health, safety and safety management

ISO 45001: 2018 Occupational health and safety management systems – Requirements with guidance for use

ISO 45003: 2021 Occupational health and safety management – Psychological health and safety at work – Guidelines for managing psychosocial risks

ISO 31000: 2018: Risk management – Guidelines

NSW Health

Reporting hazards and incidents: HIRO

Risk Management Policy

Safe Work NSW 

Sexual Harm Prevention and Response Policy

Support for Students Policy

Work Health and Safety Act 2011 (NSW)

Work Health and Safety Regulation 2017 (NSW)