Code of Practice for managing fatigue under development

Safe Work Australia is developing a model Code of Practice which provides guidance for managing fatigue risks at work.

This draft model Code of Practice has been developed with the support of the Safe Work Australia members, which includes all Work Health and Safety (WHS) Ministers from each state.

Given the recent discussions on fatigue management within Australian Safety Management Authority (AMSA) it is important that the fishing industry pushes to ensure consistency across all the various fatigue management guidelines.

A person in charge of a business must ensure, so far as is reasonably practicable, that workers and other persons are not exposed to risks to their physical and psychological health and safety, including risk from fatigue.

To meet your duties to ensure health and safety, you must eliminate or minimise fatigue and its associated risks so far as is reasonably practicable.

This draft model CoP is proposed to be a practical guide to meet WHS regulations and general safety duties. If approved by Safe Work Australia Members (Commonwealth, state and territory WHS ministers) it will become a model Code of Practice in each of these jurisdictions.

It is expected this process will be finalised in the first half of 2025. To have effect in a jurisdiction, a model Code of Practice must be approved as a code of practice by the WHS Minister in that jurisdiction.

Codes of practice are admissible in court proceedings under the WHS Act and WHS Regulations. Courts may regard a Code of Practice as evidence of what is known about a hazard, risk, risk assessment or risk control and may rely on the code in determining what is reasonably practicable in the circumstances to which the code of practice relates.

WAFIC will be working with other fishing industry peak bodies to formally respond by the closing date for comments of 27 November 2024.

This draft CoP appears to stop short of mandating hours of rest, as being considered by AMSA.

Rather, it outlines situations where risk of fatigue is increased, therefore requiring management attention to those situations.

Measures to manage the risks associated with fatigue will vary from one workplace to the next, depending on the nature of the work, environmental conditions and individual factors.

The risks associated with fatigue can be managed by following a systematic process which involves:

  • identifying the factors which may cause fatigue in the workplace
  • if necessary, assessing the risks of injury from fatigue
  • controlling risks by implementing the most effective control measures reasonably practicable in the circumstances, and
  • reviewing control measures to ensure they are working as planned.

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *