Work at heights

The first step is to identify all fall hazards in the workplace. Look for things and situations that could potentially cause harm, considering:

• the physical work environment
• equipment, materials and substances used
• work tasks and how they’re performed
• work design and management
• how effective the current control methods are.

Inspect your business

Walk through your place of work, looking at the environment and work processes. Identify situations or processes that place workers at risk of falling.

Talk to your workers

Consult with your workers about their health and safety concerns, near misses or unreported incidents.

Review available information

Look at information from a range of sources to identify hazards. Your sources should include:

• information from regulators, industry associations, unions and technical specialists
• workers’ compensation data for your organisation and your industry
• instructions and datasheets from manufacturers and suppliers
• business-specific information from your own records, including any recorded incidents, sick leave or worker complaints.

Assess each risk to determine:

• the severity of the risk
• whether any existing control measures are effective
• what action you should take to control the risk
• how urgently the action needs to be taken.

You can use this risk assessment template (DOCX, 0.02 MB) to guide you and record your assessments.

You can do a single (or generic) risk assessment for different work areas or places of work if the fall hazards are the same. But you should do a separate risk assessment on each hazard if there’s any likelihood that someone might be exposed to greater, additional or different risks.

There are ways to control the risks of falls. Some control measures are more effective than others. Control measures can be ranked from the highest level of protection and reliability to the lowest. This ranking is known as the hierarchy of control.

You must work through this hierarchy to choose the best controls in the circumstances. This could be a single control measure or a combination of different controls. Part 4.4 of the Work Health and Safety Regulation 2011 has information about how you can control risk of falls using the following steps:

1. Eliminate the risk

   The most effective level of control is to remove the risk. You should avoid working at heights, if it’s reasonably practicable, and do as much work as you can from the ground.

2. Work on solid constructions

   If you can’t remove the risk by working on the ground, you need to minimise it. Prevent falls by working on solid constructions. A sold construction has:

   • a surface that can support all people and things that may be located or placed on it
   • an even surface and gradient that’s easy to negotiate
   • barriers to prevent a fall around it’s perimeter and any openings
   • a safe way to enter and exit.
3. Provide and maintain a safe system of work

If you can’t remove the risk, you must put in place control measures and a safe system of work. This can include, in priority order, as far as is reasonably practicable:

• a fall prevention device, for example, guard rails
• a work positioning system, for example, an industrial rope access system
• a fall-arrest system.

If it’s not reasonably practicable to provide a fall-prevention device or a work-positioning system, a combination of control measures may be necessary, for example, using a safety harness while working from a boom-type elevating work platform (EWP) within the confines of the edge-protected platform.

Note that there may still be risks of injury from a fall if you are working at ground level. Injuries from falls could be worse if workers make contact with sharp edges/protrusions, equipment that is operating or hot items. Fall hazards for workers at ground level include falling into holes like openings, trenches or service pits.

Workers can also fall on the same level. You can read more about how to manage slips, trips and falls at level. This includes controls such as:

• improving access way
• grading ground surface after rain
• good housekeeping
• highlighting trip hazards with yellow paint
• providing good lighting.

The Work Health and Safety Regulation 2011 has specific controls that you must put in place for construction work. You can read more about these below.

You need to regularly review control measures to make sure they’re still suitable and working effectively.

In particular, you must review control measures in the following circumstances:

• when it doesn’t control the risk, for example, if a notifiable incident has happened it means that the controls in place have not been effective and must be reviewed
• before there’s a change at the workplace that will create a new or different risk
• you identify a new hazard or risk
• a consultation indicates that a review is necessary
• a health and safety representative requests a review if they reasonably believe that:
  • a circumstance mentioned above affects, or may affect, the health and safety of a member of the work group they represent
  • a control measure hasn’t been adequately reviewed in response to the circumstance.

Section 306C of the Work Health and Safety Regulation 2011  applies where the risk of a fall is:

• less than 3 metres in housing construction
• less than 2 metres in other construction work or
• any construction work on a roof with a slope not over 26 degrees.

If you’re working in these conditions, before the work starts you must:

• identify all hazards that may result in a fall, or cause death or injury if someone was to fall, for example:
  • vertical reinforcing steel or the edge of a rubbish skip, a metre below a surface from which work is to be done
  • unsheeted floor bearers and joists 2 metres below a surface from which work is to be done
  • an object such as a picket fence or stack of bricks that could cause injury if a person fell on it
  • a brittle roof on which work is to be done 2m above a floor.
• assess each hazard that could cause death or injury. You can use this risk assessment template (DOCX, 0.02 MB) to guide you and record your assessments
• ensure that everyone uses the control measures implemented to prevent or minimise exposure to the risk.

If an implemented control measure is one outlined in sections 306E to 306J of the Work Health and Safety Regulation 2011, it must meet the requirements outlined in the Regulation.

The code of practice for managing the risk of falls at workplace (PDF, 3.9 MB) gives practical guidelines for meeting these requirements.

Section 306D of the Work Health and Safety Regulation 2011 applies where the risk of a fall is:

• over 3m in housing construction work
• over 2m in other construction work or
• any construction work on a roof with a slope over 26 degrees.

If you’re working in these conditions, you must use control measures to prevent falls whenever reasonably practicable. If it’s not reasonably practicable, you must use control measures to minimise the risk of death or injury if a fall does occur.

• edge protection (section 306E)
• a fall protection cover placed over an opening (section 306F)
• a travel restraint system (section 306G)
• fall-arresting platform (section 306H)
• fall-arrest harness system (section 306I)
• safety net (section 306J).

The control measures you put in place to eliminate or reduce risk must comply with the WHS Regulation. The code of practice for managing the risk of falls at workplace (PDF, 3.9 MB) gives practical guidelines for meeting these requirements.