Workplace Safety Inspections

Monitoring, reviewing and recording

The principal and/or their delegate must regularly review the progress of outstanding actions and effectiveness of implemented hazard controls. This must occur in consultation with health and safety representatives, affected school staff and persons allocated with the responsibility of completing any workplace safety inspections. This may be achieved by having health, safety and wellbeing matters as a standing agenda item for relevant staff meetings or in other forums such as health and safety committee meetings.

Generally, visually inspecting the workplace happens regularly, likely on most days of the week, to ensure all areas of the school are always kept safe. It’s important to use this information to inform the effectiveness of the current controls and identify any additional hazards or changes required.

The principal and/or their delegate must keep records of workplace inspections and reporting plan outcomes. eduSafe Plus provides a system to manage hazards and actions arising from workplace inspections. Guidance for entering and managing hazards is found in the how to guide in eduSafe Plus.

Records relating to workplace safety inspections are checked during OHS assurance program visits.

Schools are responsible for creating, managing and appropriately disposing of public records in accordance with the Public Records Act 1973 (Vic), standards issued by the Public Record Office Victoria (PROV) and policy and guidance issued by the department. Support regarding records management is found in Records Management – School Records Policy.