One of the questions that has come up in the last few training sessions run by our experienced instructors is where do we access codes of practice from? This news post aims to give you guidance in accessing codes of practice.

First off- what are Codes of Practice?

Put simply an approved code of practice is a document that provides practical guidance on a number of WHS issues and provides duty holders such as employers and workers with practical guidance on meeting their duties in the Work Health and Safety Act 2011. In majority of cases following an approved code of practice will help us meet our duties under the Act. Although there are a number of approved codes of practice- covering anything from confined spaces and asbestos to concrete pumping- they do not cover every single hazard or risk that we come across daily or could arise at our workplaces.

Excellent- so we know what a code of practice is, so how many are there?

At the time of publication there are approximately 48 separate codes of practice in Queensland alone. These cover a broad variety of hazards and risk and we find them extremely useful for businesses and workers to help keep them safe.

So how do we access them?

Some codes can be state specific and will vary from jurisdiction to jurisdiction- however we usually access them from our state regulator website. Just jump on google.com and search the term "codes of practice" along with your state.

For Queensland we can access them on the WorkCover QLD website found here

In NSW we can access them on the SafeWork NSW website.

In Victoria we can find them here.

So where to from here?

It is basically up to you- you can work through and read the codes of practice or you can complete our nationally recognized training which incorporates practices from the codes.

Pro Safety and Training mainly specialize in high quality safety training including asbestos removal training, confined space training and work at heights training, and we can help you gain an understanding of the codes of practice in our training.

The main codes of practice we work to and provide our training is based of:

Asbestos Removal Training: How to safely remove asbestos in the workplace Code of Practice 2011 and How to manage and control asbestos in the workplace Code of Practice 2011

Working at Heights Training: Managing the risks of falls at workplaces Code of Practice 2018

Confined Space Training: Confined Space Code of Practice 2011

Just remember that codes of practice change over time so always refer to your state regulator for the most up to date code of practice.

For more information on our leading safety training contact 1300 336 003 or contact our friendly team.