Guideline: WHS noticeboards

Purpose

To establish guidelines for the use of Work, Health and Safety (WHS) noticeboards to ensure consistency throughout the University.

Definitions

Local area refers to the College, Research School or Service Division at the University.
WHS noticeboard refers to a board, usually affixed to a wall, which displays WHS communications and information.

WHS networks refers to local area safety officers, Health and Safety Representatives (HSR’s) and the Work Environment Group (WEG).

Guideline

Scope

This guideline provides information on the use, style, location, content and maintenance of WHS Noticeboards throughout the university.

Use and location

WHS noticeboards are to be used within local areas as a means of communicating WHS information relevant to the local area’s activities and hazards.
WHS noticeboards are to be located in prominent areas within building or facilities, such as main corridors or close to entrances.
For building or facilities with multiple levels there should be a minimum of one WHS noticeboard per level.
To ensure WHS noticeboards are visible, they are to be located in areas with adequate illumination at a height that is easily visible (approximately 1500mm).
WHS noticeboards are to be placed in a location that does not create additional hazards, i.e. restricting access to emergency equipment.

Content

WHS noticeboards are to include the following:

College or division statement of commitment to WHS;
copy of the University WHS, Rehabilitation and Fitness for Work policies;
Information relating to management of critical student incidents and incident reporting;
contact details of Fire Wardens, First Aid officers, HSRs, WHS Committee members, OSLO’s (Occupational Strains Liaison Officers);
emergency response information such as the building emergency plan, AED location, emergency assembly point and emergency flipchart;
local WHS networks;
WHS Committee meeting minutes (if any);
Local area WHS hazard register;
safety alerts relevant to the local area (if any); and
Local area or school WHS business/divisional plans and associated performance reports (if any);

Other considerations for inclusion on WHS noticeboards include:

WHS legislative updates (if any);
Any other WHS information related to the local area/school etc.

Layout

The layout of WHS noticeboards is up to the discretion of the local WHS Committee, however to ensure uniform appearance throughout the University the following features are advised:

Heading or title that identifies the WHS noticeboard. i.e. ‘WHS Noticeboard’;
Yellow and white stripes on the side of the board;
Subheadings denoting the relevant areas of the noticeboard such as contacts, emergency procedures and policies;

Refer to Appendix A – Example WHS noticeboard layouts for suggested WHS Noticeboard layouts.

Maintenance

Local area WHS noticeboards shall be maintained as per arrangements agreed by the local WHS Committee.

Training

There are no training requirements for this guideline.

Information	Printable version (PDF)
Title	WHS noticeboards
Document Type	Guideline
Document Number	ANUP_016209
Version
Purpose	To establish guidelines for the use of Work, Health and Safety (WHS) noticeboards to ensure consistency throughout the University.
Audience	Staff
Category	Administrative
Topic/ SubTopic	Health, Safety & Environment - Occupational Health & Safety

Effective Date	14 Jan 2021
Next Review Date	14 Jan 2026

Responsible Officer:	Chief People Officer
Approved By:	Chief People Officer
Contact Area	Safety and Wellbeing
Authority:	Work Health & Safety Act 2011
Delegations	0
Information generated and received by ANU staff in the course of conducting business on behalf of ANU is a record and should be captured by an authorised recordkeeping system. To learn more about University records and recordkeeping practice at ANU, see ANU recordkeeping and Policy: Records and archives management.

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