Health and Safety Policy

Purpose. States the commitment of Guardian Emergency Services to the health, safety and welfare of every career and volunteer member, and sets the responsibilities and principles that govern safe operations and safe workplaces.

1.Purpose and scope

This policy applies to every career and volunteer member, contractor, student and visitor at every Guardian station, unit, workplace, training ground and incident. It sets out how the organisation meets its duties under the Occupational Health and Safety Act 2004 (Victoria) and the regulations made under it. Every safety procedure, standard operating procedure and training standard in the document register is made under this policy.

2.Commitment

Guardian will provide and maintain safe workplaces, safe systems of work and safe equipment so far as is reasonably practicable, both at incidents and in stations, workshops, communications and offices. The organisation will identify hazards, assess risks and apply controls using the hierarchy of controls, provide training and protective equipment, and consult members on matters that affect their safety. Safety performance will be reported to the Chief Officer monthly and to the board quarterly.

3.Operational safety principles

Members must apply dynamic risk assessment at every incident and must not commit to a task where the risk to members outweighs the benefit. The incident controller must appoint a safety officer at any incident with breathing apparatus entry, hazardous materials, structural collapse risk, working at height or swiftwater. Any member may call a stop to an unsafe task and must be supported for doing so.

• Life safety of members and the public comes before property
• Dynamic risk assessment at every stage of an incident
• Safety officer appointed at higher risk incidents
• Any member can stop an unsafe task

4.Principal hazards

The principal hazards of Guardian work are fire, heat and smoke, structural collapse, hazardous materials, road traffic at incident scenes, working at height and on roofs, chainsaws and tree operations, swiftwater and floodwater, driving under operational conditions, manual handling of equipment and casualties, fatigue on long shifts and campaigns, and exposure to traumatic events. Each hazard has a standard operating procedure and a training standard.

5.Responsibilities

The Chief Officer holds overall responsibility for health and safety and must ensure resources are provided. Division managers, station officers, unit controllers and incident controllers must implement procedures in their areas, appoint safety officers, investigate incidents and act on hazards. Every member must take reasonable care for themselves and others, wear the protective equipment issued, work within their recorded competencies, follow procedures and report hazards, incidents and near misses within 24 hours.

6.Welfare and mental health

Guardian will provide peer support, confidential counselling, critical incident stress management and fatigue management for every member. Members must be given the opportunity to debrief after traumatic incidents and must not be required to attend an incident when they report they are not fit to do so.

7.Incident reporting and review

All injuries, illnesses, near misses, hazards, vehicle incidents and equipment failures must be recorded in the Health and Safety Incident Register within 24 hours using the Injury, Near Miss and Hazard Report Form. Notifiable incidents must be reported to the regulator immediately by the Chief Officer. Every recorded incident will be investigated and closed only when corrective actions are complete, and lessons will be shared across the organisation.