Procedure: Work health and safety documentation management

Purpose

This procedure describes how the Australian National University (ANU) establishes, implements and maintains documentation for the work health and safety, rehabilitation and claims management systems (WHS). This procedure meets compliance requirements of the Work Health and Safety Act 2011 (Cth), the Work Health and Safety Regulations 2011 (Cth) and the Safety, Rehabilitation and Compensation Act 1988. This WHS documentation procedure is based on the requirements in Australian Standards/New Zealand Standards (AS/NZS) 4801:2001, ISO19011:2002 and the National Audit Tool (NAT) for work health and safety. This procedure is linked to the University’s Work Health and Safety Policy and is one of the WHS Management System Procedures.

Definitions

Completed documentation refers to WHS forms, statements and reports which have open, editable fields that been filled out in entirety and are thus completed.

Documentation includes all WHS documents: forms, records and data required to meet WHS management system compliance. It will be either electronic or in printed hardcopy.

National Audit Tool (NAT) requirements refers to the National Self Insurer WHS, Rehabilitation and Claims audit tool.

Metadata is 'data about data' that is stored with each page on the ANU website and in/on the Electronic Records Management System (ERMS). Metadata includes elements such as title, subject, and description. These elements are used by search engines to understand and rank pages, by end-users to verify and understand content, and by system administrators to manage the content within a website.

WHS Management System documents are any policies, procedures, guidelines or forms administered and managed by the Work Environment Group (WEG). Such documents will be maintained in a WHS Management System document register.

Procedure

Scope

1. This procedure applies to all documents, data and records generated to meet compliance with the WHS Management System. WHS documentation includes, but is not limited to:

• the Safety Management System Manual and the Rehabilitation Management System Manuals;
• WHS Management System documents (policies, procedures, guidelines and forms);
• audit reports, registers, plans and programs;
• training records;
• data collected for WHS monitoring;
• notices and correspondence received from a regulatory body; and
• other relevant documentation.

WHS Management System document design, implementation and maintenance

2. All WHS Management System documents produced by the University will have a unique filename and identification. WHS documentation provided to the University by an external source will be stored with a unique filename and identification.
3. All WHS Management System documents will be written using the relevant template and in accordance with the University writing style guide.
4. All WHS Management System documents will be maintained in the University Policy Library, controlled per the Policy governance procedure and recorded in the WHS Management System document register. Each one will clearly state the document identification, version number and revision date.

Approval and communication for WHS Management System documents

5. Following consultation, all WHS Management System documents, will be approved per the Policy governance procedure.
6. WHS committees will ensure all relevant stakeholders are notified of new WHS Management System documents or changes to documentation through relevant mediums.

Reviews and changes to WHS Management System documents

7. WHS Management System documents will be reviewed on a planned and unplanned basis. Planned reviews will occur once every three years as per the Policy governance procedure . The WHS document review checklist will be used to ensure the review covers the appropriate criteria.
8. Changes can be requested at any time via a WHS committee. Changes can also arise from incidents or as the result of audits, changes in legislation, business processes or other requirements.

Local area WHS documents

9. Local areas may create and manage their own WHS advisory documents (protocols and instructions etc.) where:

• additional information is required by the local area to comply with the WHS Management System and add context relevant to their local area;
• a local area hazard is best managed at the local level; and
• a local area specific process is required, or there are local area specific requirements.

10. Local area WHS documents are managed in accordance with any local area requirements.

Archiving and records

11. WHS Management System documents that are superseded or repealed will be removed from the accessible parts of the Policy Library and archived by the Policy Manager and recorded in the WHS Management System document register.
12. All other WHS documentation will be stored and archived in the Electronic Records Management System (ERMS) as per the Records and archives management policy and will be retained for the periods identified in Table 1. The responsibilities, disposal and access to records are defined in the Records and archive management procedure.

Table 1 Minimum retention periods for WHS documentation

WHS data and documentation management

13. All WHS data and documentation will be captured and stored in the University’s relevant enterprise management system.

Training and competency requirements

14. There are no training requirements for the creation or for requesting of changes to WHS documentation. However, subject matter experts will be involved in the review of WHS documentation.

Sources