Keeping people safe at work is a key responsibility for Australian business owners and operators. This means providing a safe working environment, actively managing risks, and making sure your daily operations don’t harm other people.
While you might already be doing the practical work to keep your people safe, getting those work practices down on paper is another hurdle. A WHS policy is often the first formal document small business owners create to show exactly how they will manage their WHS responsibilities and establish safe work systems.
This article unpacks the WHS Policy for Australian small businesses, typically with 0 to 25 staff. We’ll look at:
- what a WHS policy is, and what it does
- how it can benefit your business
- what to include in a WHS policy
- how to roll it out into your workflows and daily operations.
Your WHS Policy is an important document. Let’s get it right.
What is a WHS Policy?
A WHS policy is a written document, usually 2-4 pages, that acknowledges a business’ work health and safety responsibilities under the law. It identifies the PCBU (ie, the Person Conducting a Business or Undertaking who is ultimately accountable for WHS) as well as the people responsible for putting the policy into practice and keeping it updated.
Think of your WHS Policy as your statement of commitment to abiding by the law and building a safe work culture.
What it does
On the ground, the WHS policy establishes the framework for all the business’ future safety systems. It’s like the foundation of a building, ensuring that everything that is built out of it (like your emergency procedures or a safety management plan) reflects your actual business operations (the size, the work being done, the real hazards that your people face everyday).
Do I need a written WHS Policy?
There is no law in Australia requiring every small business to have a document called a WHS Policy. The better question is whether having one serves a practical purpose in your business.
For example, a WHS Policy can benefit your small business when:
- You are employing staff. Having a WHS Policy makes it easy to build safety responsibilities into job descriptions and your terms of employment.
- You regularly engage contractors. Your WHS Policy can set out your WHS expectations for contractors and subcontractors.
- A client, principal contractor or government agency requires you to provide a WHS Policy.
- You are working towards ISO 45001 certification and need an WHS Policy as part of your safety management system.
- You want to show a regulator, insurer or other interested party that your business has formally considered its WHS responsibilities.
What to include in a WHS Policy
A good WHS Policy does not need to be long to be effective, the most important thing is that it genuinely addresses your actual business structure, operations, and risk profile. You might consider the following inclusions:
1. Policy Statement
Begin your WHS Policy with a short statement that acknowledges your WHS responsibilities including the safety of workers and other people who may by affected by your work activities. Make it clear that health includes both physical and psychological health.
2. Scope
Next, establish the limits and scope of the policy. Who must follow it: employees, contractors, subcontractors, site visitors? Where does it apply: your main office, depot, workshop, client premises, a public venue, jobsites controlled by a principal contractor?
3. Legislative Framework
Where in Australia do you operate? Your policy should list the primary safety legislation for your state or territory. Even though most of Australia adopts the model WHS laws, you still need to name your local Act and Regulations.
For example: in New South Wales this is the Work Health and Safety Act 2011, but if you are in Western Australia, it’s the Work Health and Safety Act 2020.
4. Description of your business
One of the most important sections of your WHS Policy is a short description of your business that outlines your operations and risk profile. It should cover:
- What you do. What is your industry or work sector? What do you produce or sell? What services do you provide? Who are your customers?
- Business structure. Are you a sole trader? Partnership? Registered Company?
- The size of your business. How many employees to you have? Do you hire contractors and subcontractors?
- Your location. Where do you typically carry out your work. Do you have additional depots or a storage shed? Is any of your work conducted in a client’s private home or on principal contractor controlled jobsites?
- Specific risks and hazards. Is there anything unusual or notable about the way your business operates that could impact health and safety.
If you are unsure how to write your business description, here’s a quick example to get you started. This is a fictitious business, although there really is an Industrial Drive behind the big truck stop just south of Coffs Harbour.
BUSINESS DESCRIPTION EXAMPLE
Mandrake Cleaning Crew Pty Limited is a commercial cleaning company operating on the mid-north coast of NSW. We clean commercial premises including office complexes, government buildings, hospitals, and aged care facilities in the Coffs Coast region. We do not perform residential cleaning or serve domestic clients.
The business is headed by Managing Director Jason Mandrake and has a workforce of 17. This includes 2 direct employees (Jason and Jane Mandrake) and 15 contractors.
We have a small depot on Industrial Drive, Coffs Harbour, NSW where we store our cleaning supplies and equipment, perform admin work and conduct recruitment and training. All workers report to the depot and collect the equipment for their shift before proceeding to client sites.
Our primary hazards include: working with hazardous chemicals, hazardous manual tasks, fatigue, use of electrical cleaning equipment, working alone or outside normal business hours, driving between worksites, and hazards arising from the different client premises in which we work.
Some of our work is conducted in hospitals and aged care facilities. This may expose workers to to biological hazards and discarded sharps. At times they may encounter aggressive or distressed members of the public in (and around) these venues.
One of our contracts includes cleaning a pathology laboratory within a private hospital. This presents a higher level of biological risk than our usual cleaning work.
5. WHS commitments
Your WHS Policy should also list the commitments your business is making to protect the health and safety of workers and other people affected by your work.
A useful benchmark is AS/NZS ISO 45001:2018 Occupational health and safety management systems, which identifies the core commitments expected in an effective WHS Policy. These include commitments to:
- provide safe and healthy working conditions
- prevent work-related injury and ill health
- meet applicable legal requirements
- eliminate hazards and reduce WHS risks
- continually improve WHS systems
- consult with workers and encourage their participation in WHS matters.
Putting these commitments in writing gives your workers, contractors and clients a clear picture of what your business stands for when it comes to health and safety. They also give you something practical to work from when you develop procedures, assign responsibilities. and review how well your WHS systems are working.
6. Responsibilities
Your policy should make it clear how WHS responsibilities are shared across the business. Depending on the size (and structure) of your business, this might include the:
- PCBU. Overall responsibility for providing and maintaining a safe and healthy work environment and managing WHS risks.
- Directors and Officers. Exercise due diligence and make sure the business has the resources and processes needed to meet its WHS obligations.
- Managers and Supervisors. Implement WHS requirements in day-to-day operations, supervise work and respond to hazards or safety concerns.
- Employees. Take reasonable care of their own health and safety, avoid putting others at risk, and follow reasonable WHS instructions and procedures.
- Contractors and Subcontractors. Follow applicable WHS requirements, safe work procedures and site rules, and cooperate with the business on safety matters.
- Visitors. Follow reasonable safety instructions and avoid doing anything that could put themselves or others at risk.
Only include the roles that actually apply to your business. In a small business, one person may hold several of these responsibilities. What matters is that everyone understands what they are responsible for.
7. Key Contacts
You should also identify the person (or people) responsible for coordinating WHS matters and provide their name, position and contact details.
In a microbusiness this may simply be the owner or Managing Director. In a larger business, you may need to identify several key contacts, such as the General Manager, Managing Director, Project Manager or Site Supervisor.
8. Administration
The administration section explains how your WHS Policy will be administered throughout the organisation. Depending on the size of your business, this can include:
- Approval. Who approves the policy.
- Access. Where the current policy is kept and how workers can access it.
- Communication. How the policy is introduced to workers and how changes are communicated.
- External availability. How the policy is provided to clients, principal contractors, regulators or other interested parties (as required).
- Review. When the policy will be reviewed and who is responsible for doing so.
- Document control. Version number, issue date and signature of the business owner or director.
If you are a microbusiness, you probably don’t need this section. However, as your business grows in size and complexity, it becomes more important to clearly document how the policy will be managed.
Document Control
Whether or not you include an administration section, consider how you will control different versions of the policy. It’s important that old copies are archived and only the current version is in circulation
9. Other Inclusions
There is no definitive format for a WHS Policy. Depending on your business, you might also include a short statement about the purpose of the policy, your WHS goals or objectives, accountability for WHS performance, or how you identify opportunities to improve health and safety.
Only add these sections if they serve a practical purpose. If this is your first policy, you probably don’t need them. As your business grows and you become more confident developing your safety systems, you can expand the policy to include additional elements and WHS performance measures.
Rolling it out
Once you have drafted your WHS Policy, you need to introduce it to the people who will be working under it. All Australian businesses have a duty to consult with workers about WHS matters that affect them, but this does not mean everyone needs to be involved in writing the policy.
For a small business developing its first WHS Policy, a practical approach is to draft the policy, approve and release it — and then go through it at a toolbox talk or staff meeting. Explain what the policy means in practice and ask for feedback. If workers identify something that does not reflect the way the business operates, or raise a safety issue you have overlooked, update the policy accordingly.
Consultation can then continue as part of your normal business activities. New employees and contractors can be introduced to the policy during induction or onboarding, while existing workers can provide feedback through toolbox talks, staff meetings and on-the-job training.
You also need to decide where the policy will be kept so workers can access it. This might be on a shared server or cloud drive, inside a WHS or Safety Manual, or in a hard-copy safety folder at the workplace. Some mobile businesses keep a safety folder in their work vehicles, often alongside the first aid kit and HAZCHEM Safety Data Sheets .
If your WHS Policy is your first formal safety document, simply make sure workers know where the current version is kept and how they can access it. You can build out your supporting WHS documents as you grow your safety systems.
Final Thoughts
Let’s have a quick recap. The most effective WHS Policies:
- acknowledge the owner/operator/PCBU’s duty to ensure the health and safety of people.
- reflect the way the business actually operates.
- have a written commitment to ongoing risk management and complying with WHS laws.
- clearly indicate the different levels of WHS responsibility.
- list the name, job title and contact details of the people who coordinate or oversee WHS matters.
- are released as a controlled document and easily accessible to workers.
Are you ready to start writing your WHS Policy? Or do you need some help? Reach out on the contact form for expert assistance. I have been writing WHS policies and safety documents for decades now and I can help you develop documents that genuinely reflect your business and the way you work.
LATE UPDATE:
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© 2026 Melinda J. Irvine Writing & Design. All photographs, illustrations, graphics and vector artwork featured in this article were created by Melinda J. Irvine. Please do not reproduce or use them without permission.
REFERENCES:
Canadian Centre for Occupational Health and Safety Government of Canada. (2022, October 4). Health and Safety Policy—Development and Implementation. CCOHS. https://www.ccohs.ca/oshanswers/hsprograms/osh_policy.html
Victoria State Government. (n.d.). WorkWell Toolkit: Occupational health and safety (OHS) policy. WorkSafe Victoria. https://www.worksafe.vic.gov.au/workwell-toolkit-occupational-health-and-safety-ohs-policy
