Risk Managing the Hazard 'Isolated and Remote Work'

WorkSafe ACT have identified trends with psychosocial hazards being inadequately identified, assessed, and controlled across the Territory with case numbers on the rise.

WorkSafe ACT was notified of a workplace incident where a healthcare worker was working alone in a medical facility and was exposed to work-related violence by a patient. The worker was injured during this incident and taken to a hospital for treatment and observation.

Poor work design, in conjunction with inadequate information and training on the nature of the risks associated with the work were some of the considerations in this case. The person conducting a business or undertaking (PCBU) was sanctioned for not ensuring adequate control measures were implemented for their workers and others in the workplace.

This incident serves as a great reminder that under the Work Health and Safety Act 2011, PCBUs have a duty to ensure that workers are not exposed to health and safety risks at work. Failure to do so will potentially result in regulatory action.

What is Isolated and Remote work?

Isolated and remote work is work that separates a worker or group of workers from other people and can make it harder to get help because of the location, time, or nature of work. Isolated and remote workers can include bus drivers, park rangers, long-distance freight transport drivers, and health and community workers working with members of the public in isolation from their co-workers.

‘Isolated and remote work’ is one of the common psychosocial hazards recognised in the ACT. This safety alert shows how you can use the four steps to risk management to understand how to identify and control hazards in the workplace.

Step 1 – Identify the hazards.

The risk management process begins with the PCBU identifying all reasonably foreseeable hazards at their workplace. For psychosocial hazards, this means systematically working through each of the 12 common psychosocial hazards to identify situations where those hazards could occur. The PCBU needs to think about foreseeable situations or factors within the design or management of work, including unexpected events which may occur and potentially cause injury or illness in the workplace. Consultation with workers is a vital part of this step.

Below are some example questions to assist in identifying these hazards:

Are workers ever rostered to start or finish work by themselves?
Are workers ever required do after-hours work, including responding to incidents or tending to others?
Are workers ever providing services to others at a private residence?
Are workers ever alone, even for a short time?
Are workers ever outside of ear shot (audible range) or eye shot (visual range) of other workers?
Are workers ever required to travel for work, or work in a geographically isolated area?

Step 2 – Assess the risk of harm.

The PCBU needs to consider what harm could happen to their workers in each of the identified hazards. When assessing the risks, they also need to think about how likely the harm is to occur (likelihood) and how severe the harm could be (consequences).

The PCBU should consider all available information, including their business and the type of work, their workers, any nearby businesses and their type of work, and the known industry risks. Psychosocial hazards can result in both psychological and physical injuries and illnesses, and the PCBU needs to consider both as potential harm outcomes.

Below are some example questions to assist in assessing the risk of harm:

While working alone, could the worker be exposed to harassment, aggression, violence, sexual harassment or sexual assault?
Does the nature of work of the business, or a nearby business, increase the risk of harm to your workers (such as in locations where alcohol is served)
Are there any nearby businesses that could help in an emergency?

Step 3 – Control the risk of harm.

The PCBU must eliminate risks to health and safety so far as is reasonably practicable.

If it is not reasonably practicable to eliminate the risks, the PCBU must minimise the risks so far as is reasonably practicable, using the Hierarchy of Controls.

For instance, it may not be possible for the PCBU to have two or more workers opening or closing the business every day, but they may be able to implement other controls to minimise harm to their workers.

Below are some examples of how PCBUs can use the hierarchy of controls to minimise the risks in your workplace:

Substitute (wholly or partly) the hazard giving risk to the risk with something that gives rise to a lesser risk.
Isolate the hazard from any person exposed to it – Install service windows or other barriers that exclude customers from working areas.
Implement engineering controls. - Install security cameras, door chimes, or automatic locking doors.
Implement administrative controls – train your workers on effective de-escalation techniques, develop check in procedures and ensure regular contact throughout the day.
Provision and use of personal protective equipment (PPE) – provide uniforms and equipment specific to the work to reduce the risk of injuries that would require immediate assistance.

Step 4 – Review the control measures.

Finally, the PCBU must review the control measures regularly to ensure they remain effective and are maintained (being used or followed) in the workplace.

At a minimum, a review is required in the following circumstances:

the control measure does not control the risk it was implemented to control, so far as is reasonably practicable,
before a change at the workplace that is likely to give rise to a new or different risk to health or safety that the measure may not effectively control,
a new relevant hazard or risk is identified,
the results of consultation by the duty holder under the Work Health and Safety Act 2011 (WHS Act) or Work Health and Safety Regulation 2011 (WHS Regulation) indicate that a review is necessary,
a health and safety representative requests a review in certain circumstances outlined in Section 38 of the WHS Regulation.

Further information

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