As described by the Model Work Health and Safety Act, the primary duty of care of a person conducting a business or undertaking is to ensure, so far as is reasonably practicable, the health and safety of workers engaged, or caused to be engaged by the person; and workers whose activities in carrying out work are influenced or directed by the person, while the workers are at work in the business or undertaking. The directive further states that, without limiting those subsections, a person conducting a business or undertaking must ensure, so far as is reasonably practicable, the provision of any information, training, instruction or supervision that is necessary to protect all persons from risks to their health and safety arising from work carried out as part of the conduct of the business or undertaking.
These sections and subsections form part of Division 2 of the Model Work Health and Safety Act, describing the Primary Duty of Care of a person conducting a business or undertaking.
In an occupational context, training is the structured, outcome, and competency oriented development of skills, capabilities, and knowledge directed to the recipient of the training that allows them to address the needs of a job or task. Training must be structured, meaning that it is designed in such a way as to develop component skills and competencies in a process-framework format. Training must be provided to achieve an outcome, where the worker's thresholds of competencies are assessed against the minimum standard that demonstrates competency in that outcome, where that competency may be the completion of a job with few or no errors, finishing manual work, or maintaining consistency in performance across time. Training must develop or reinforce a worker's competencies, either equipping them with or ensuring adequate skill to perform the duties of a job.
In the context of health and safety, where training allows a worker to address the needs of a job or task, training should also be provided in risk awareness, management, and in safe performance of the task. This can be designed into the training explicitly by qualifying satisfactory completion of the training as being adequate performance in the task while demonstrating safety behaviour or being mindful of risk. This can be assessed by having workers undertake proactive or reflective analysis of the task and their anticipated or demonstrated performance to consider how they might have done things differently. These learnings can then be iterated upon within the design of the training provided to ensure contemporisation and ongoing development of the quality of the training in the context of continuous improvement.
Training can be provided externally from registered training organisations or tertiary institutions if knowledge certification is needed, internally through the workplace where it is directed from the management level and designed with the workplace in mind, or informally through the workforce where mentoring, shadowing, and probation give workers the option to develop skills. Where training is provided externally, it should be selected and integrated with consideration for the specific tasks, hazards, and operational context of the workplace to ensure that the knowledge gained is transferable and practically applicable. Internally delivered training allows greater alignment with site-specific processes, equipment, and risk profiles, and enables the business to embed safe systems of work, behavioural expectations, and quality standards directly into skill development. Informal training methods, while less structured, play a critical role in reinforcing formal instruction by situating learning within real tasks, allowing workers to contextualise knowledge, observe safe practice, and progressively build competence under supervision.
Skill development through training improves worker buy in to the business by supporting competence, confidence, and a sense of shared responsibility for outcomes. When workers understand not only how to perform tasks but why tasks are performed in a particular way, including the risks being managed and the standards being upheld, engagement with systems of work is strengthened. Training signals organisational investment in the workforce, which can improve morale, retention, and willingness to participate in consultation and continuous improvement processes. From a health and safety perspective, engaged and competent workers are more likely to identify hazards, adhere to controls, and contribute meaningfully to risk management, supporting the business in meeting its obligations under Work Health and Safety legislation while promoting sustainable participation in work.
Each workplace is different, with different demands, methods of business, and is staffed by people whose capacities, needs, and risk profiles are different. Managing ergonomic, environmental, and occupational health and safety challenges requires a business to examine and engage with the ecosystem of factors that give rise to risk, and how that risk may affect people. Each workplace is different and so sometimes the same problem will require different solutions. This applies to workers as well - every person is different and so may require different support, supervision, or resources to perform comfortably and sustainably. Under Work Health and Safety law, consultation with the workforce, the control of risk as far as is reasonably practicable, and the provision of information, training, instruction and support to the worker by the workplace, is essential to meet obligations to provide workers with a workplace that is as free of risk as far is reasonably practicable.
In our capacity as consultants, Atlas Physio will explore and scope the business and its needs, examining how exposures, risks, and processes contribute to the hazard ecosystem, best inform the design and arrangement of procedural, policy-based, and practical risk controls. Our solutions are tailored to the needs of those with whom we work, implemented in a simple, sustainable, and supportive fashion, designed to be robust and resilient, and to support the ongoing life of the business as well as the sustainable wellbeing of the workers who undertake the day to day activities of work.
At Atlas Physio, we provide reporting, structured control, and ongoing management of risk onsite, on the road, and wherever work is done. We are open seven days a week, and are happy to offer a brief complimentary discussion to explore the needs of your business and your workers if you are an employer, and your needs if you are a worker. Reach out today to arrange a discussion and take the first step toward managing risk and working safely, supported by expertise that is practical, reliable, and designed to deliver lasting results.