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Audits, inspections and reviews
Last updated January 2023
This chapter explains how you should conduct audits, inspections and reviews to meet your legal obligations under health and safety legislation.
Why are audits, inspections and reviews necessary?
Under health and safety legislation, you must provide a safe workplace for your workers. This requires you to be proactive in identifying risks to health and safety. An effective audit, inspection and review program is one of the most important preventative measures you can take to ensure a safe and healthy workplace.
Tip: Audits, inspections and reviews also enable officers, managers and directors to meet their individual health and safety duties.
Important: Audits, inspections and reviews are information-gathering exercises only. You must act on the results.
Case Law: WHSQ v Simmonds Lumber Pty Ltd (2018)
In WHSQ v Simmonds Lumber Pty Ltd (2018), a wood mill was fined $60,000 for failing to act on an external audit of its machines, including an inadequately guarded docking saw blade.
Although the audit results were raised at a safety committee meeting, no changes were implemented and a young worker suffered an amputation as a result of using the saw.