The Safety Spotlight on Small Business

admin • July 1, 2025

The rise of podcasts has made learning and information so accessible and learning about OHS is no different.

We came across the WorkSafe Act podcast ‘The Safety Spotlight’ episode on ‘Small Business’.


In this podcast, Jacqui Argius, the WorkSafe ACT Commissioner talks about safety in small business. She is joined by Michelle Boundy in a podcast led by Lish Fejer. They discuss a number of matters relating to safety in the small business environment, which are summarised below.


Small businesses are required to be compliant with safety legislation, no matter how small they are.


It is often the case that small businesses have less OHS expertise. Sometimes they may think that a serious incident ‘won’t happen here’. They may not have a good understanding of what their legal obligations are. Sometimes there may be a ‘fear factor’ about their lack of understanding of how to meet their legal obligations. They may think that they are too small to need proper systems.


But – just because they are small, this doesn’t mean that they don’t need to meet the same requirements as the larger businesses when it comes to safety, and this includes both physical and psychosocial safety.


Small businesses must also have WorkCover insurance.


Like in all businesses, consultation is key. ‘Talking to your workers’ is so important to ensuring a safe workplace. This includes ensuring that young workers and those from culturally and linguistically diverse backgrounds can understand. Guidance material regarding how to communicate safety information is available.


The importance of training is also covered. Small businesses must have an induction process and ongoing training for their workers. Employees must also be trained in how to report hazards.


The application of risk management systems and the hierarchy of controls is the same in small business as in any workplace, as is the concept of ‘reasonably practicable’. The commissioner highlights that the cost of implementing a control will not be considered to be important if a matter goes to court. The employer must eliminate or implement controls to all risks to health and safety.


The podcasters acknowledge that there are a myriad of pressures on small businesses – but highlight that this does not reduce their obligations in relation to safety. Nor does it exempt the business from enforcement by the regulator: ‘we will be regulating them the same as anyone else’.


Overall, the podcast highlights the need for small business owners to be pro-active and build a safety-first culture.

To listen to the WorkSafe ACT Small Business Podcast, check out: Ep. 2 - Small Business


There are many resources available to small business to ensure that they are providing and safe and healthy workplace. In Victoria these include:

  • Getting some help from WorkSafe through the OHS Essentials program, which is free to small business and a great place to start.
  • Accessing health and safety checklists as a way to begin a self-assessment.
  • Reading about your obligations and legal requirements.

Take a look at the WorkSafe website to access these resources here: Small business | WorkSafe Victoria

Education: The Key to Workplace Safety

By admin • June 24, 2025
At BeSafe Victoria, we live, eat and breathe safety education. Why? Because we believe it is the key to workplace safety. We see and hear the on-the-ground OHS stories from our participants on a daily basis, both during training and while providing follow-up support. It is remarkable to see the transformation that occurs during a training course, as participants grow their safety knowledge and become empowered to influence their own safety and that of their workplace. In regional Victoria, it is not uncommon for OHS Literacy to be very low. This is not in all workplaces, but certainly our experience shows that many workers have received very little or no training in OHS. By gaining an understanding of OHS, we can empower individuals to keep themselves safe. This includes in understanding their rights, recognising hazards, mitigating risks and knowing when to say no to unsafe work. Training an individual also means that they can bring this new knowledge to their workplace, leading to positive improvements in safety outcomes for their colleagues. Safety training has broader implications too – it can inspire conversations with family and friends, creating a ‘ripple effect’ of improved safety awareness in the community. We often see participants who deeply care about safety and have put their hand up to become a Health and Safety Representative (HSR) in their workplace. These participants come in with the drive and walk out with the tools and the passion they need to make a really tangible difference in their workplace. We know of many stories of trained HSR’s who go on to transform the safety of their workplaces. Whether we are duty holders, supervisors, HSR’s, or employees – we all have a role to play in the safety of our workplace – and with the right knowledge, we can make a positive contribution.  What truly underpins a safe work environment? The answer lies in education .

OHS Prosecution on Pure Risk

By admin • June 17, 2025
The Victorian Occupational Health and Safety Act 2004 is primarily a risk-based law. That is, it requires the prevention of harm. The objects of the Act require that health and safety be secured and that risks to health and safety be eliminated at the source, with the highest level of protection against risks being provided. The employer is legally required to eliminate (as far as reasonably practicable) any risk to health and safety. It follows that the majority of offences under the Act are indeed risk-based offences. This means that a prosecution can occur whether or not the risk has resulted in death or injury. It is enough to have simply exposed a person to the risk of harm. The argument for this is that the OHS Act aims to prevent injury, disease and death at work. So why do we see many prosecutions occurring after the harm has in fact materialised into an injury or death? Perhaps it is due to a public expectation that these horrific incidents should result in some punishment of those responsible? Perhaps it is that the ultimate evidence of the safety failure is now present – providing a compelling argument as to the egregious nature of the risk that was posed by the breach? Perhaps there is motivation to provide general deterrence as a result of these tragic events? It is important to note that the death or injury does not form part of the offence in these prosecutions, rather it forms part of the evidence. But, we do see pure risk prosecutions. The regulator can and does charge on the basis of risk only, before the safety failure has resulted in harm to anyone. This is the ultimate outcome – to prevent . Prosecuting on the basis of risk may be for the purpose of primary prevention, or as the ultimate escalation in a hierarchy of sanctions. It may serve as specific deterrence, to effect change in an individual’s or company’s behaviour. General deterrence is often seen as very important – reinforcing to all duty holders that they are required by law to take a pro-active approach to safety. Here are a few examples of cases of pure-risk prosecutions: $7.5K FINE IN PURE RISK FALLS CASE - OHS Reps $25K FINE IN AHWAZ ROOFING PURE RISK CASE - OHS Reps CONSTRUCTION COMPANY FINED $12K IN ‘PURE RISK’ PROSECUTION - OHS Reps The following Melbourne Law School presentation also makes for some interesting reading on this topic: CELRL-Seminar-21-May.pdf Proceeding to prosecution on the basis of risk represents an alignment between prosecution strategies and the principles of the OHS Act . Certainly, it serves as a reminder that duty holders have a legal requirement to provide the highest level of protection and to prevent harm in the workplace.