TL;DR: A health and safety policy, often called a WHS policy, states how an organisation keeps people safe at work. It also sets out who is responsible for what, and how workers are consulted. Australian law sets safety duties rather than one required document. However, a written policy that workers have seen best shows you meet them.
Key takeaways
- The model WHS laws apply in every state and territory except Victoria, which has its own Occupational Health and Safety Act 2004.
- Under the model WHS laws, workers must cooperate with any reasonable health and safety policy that has been notified to them.
- According to Safe Work Australia, 188 workers died from traumatic injuries at work in Australia in 2024.
- Mental health conditions made up 12% of serious workers’ compensation claims in 2023-24, so psychosocial hazards belong in the policy.
- A sample policy is a starting point, and it does not certify or prove compliance on its own.
What is in this health and safety policy template?
The template is a general sample WHS policy. It sets out the obligations an organisation owes to the people who interact with it, including staff, contractors, other workers, and customers. Because it was written with office environments in mind, a workplace with higher-risk work should adapt it with specialist advice. Then tailor the responsibilities, contacts, and procedures to your sites.
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How to adapt the sample
Start by naming the real people behind each responsibility. That runs from the senior leader who signs the policy to the person workers call about a hazard. Then add the hazards specific to your work, link the procedures that already exist, and set a date for the first review.
What is a health and safety policy?
A health and safety policy is a short statement of how an organisation manages work health and safety. It commits leadership to safe work, assigns responsibilities, explains how workers are consulted, and points to the procedures that carry out the detail. In most of Australia it is called a WHS policy, and in Victoria an OHS policy.
The policy sits at the top of a set of documents. For example, a hazard reporting procedure explains the steps a worker follows, while a risk register records the hazards and their controls. The policy itself stays brief, because its job is to set direction and accountability rather than to describe every task.
Suppose a warehouse supervisor sees a damaged racking upright on a Friday afternoon. The policy tells them that hazards must be reported and controlled, and that they hold responsibility for their area. The procedure then tells them how to isolate the racking, who to notify, and where to record it. As a result, both documents are needed, and neither works well alone.
A broader guide to workplace policies and procedures covers how a WHS policy fits alongside the rest of your policy library.
Is a WHS policy a legal requirement in Australia?
Australian WHS laws focus on duties rather than prescribing a single policy document. A business must ensure, so far as is reasonably practicable, the health and safety of workers and others affected by its work. However, a written policy gives those duties force, because workers must cooperate with a reasonable safety policy they have been told about.
Who holds duties under the model WHS laws?
According to Safe Work Australia, the model WHS laws give duties to several groups at once. The person conducting a business or undertaking, usually the employer, holds the primary duty of care. In addition, officers must exercise due diligence to ensure the business complies. An officer is someone who makes or takes part in significant decisions about the business, and can be prosecuted personally.
Workers carry duties too. They must take reasonable care for their own safety and for others. They must also follow reasonable instructions, and cooperate with any reasonable safety policy or procedure notified to them. Visitors and customers must also take reasonable care at the workplace. So a policy that nobody has seen does little, while a policy that has been communicated sets an enforceable expectation.
Some documents are required outright. For instance, Safe Work Australia states that under the model WHS laws all workplaces must have an emergency plan. The plan must tell workers and visitors what to do in an emergency.
Where do the model WHS laws apply?
Safe Work Australia developed the model WHS laws in 2011, and they only bind a jurisdiction once it adopts them as its own law. They have been implemented in all jurisdictions except Victoria. Even so, some jurisdictions vary from the model, so check your own regulator’s guidance for each state and territory where you have workers.
How is Victoria’s OHS law different?
Victoria runs its own Occupational Health and Safety Act 2004 instead of the model WHS Act. Under it, employers must provide and maintain a working environment that is safe and without risks to health, so far as is reasonably practicable. WorkSafe Victoria notes that health under the Act includes psychological health.
Since 1 December 2025, the Occupational Health and Safety (Psychological Health) Regulations 2025 have also applied to all Victorian employers. According to WorkSafe Victoria, they set a specific process: identify psychosocial hazards, control the risks, and review and revise those controls in prescribed circumstances. A supporting compliance code gives practical examples.
The Victorian rules also restrict how you control those risks. Information, instruction, or training may be the only control only where no other control is reasonably practicable. Where you combine controls, training must not be the main one. Therefore, a Victorian policy that answers psychosocial risk with “staff will complete training” is unlikely to be enough.
For a national employer, the practical answer is one policy with jurisdiction notes. Keep the shared commitments and responsibilities in the body. Then name the Victorian Act and regulations alongside the model laws, so no worker is pointed at the wrong legislation.
What should a WHS policy include?
A WHS policy should include a commitment from leadership, the scope of who it covers, responsibilities for officers, managers, and workers, and how workers are consulted. It should also cover hazard control, incident reporting, and emergency arrangements. Add induction and training, psychosocial hazards, and a review date with a senior signature.
A workable structure looks like this:
- Commitment and scope: state the commitment and who is covered, including contractors, labour hire workers, and visitors.
- Responsibilities: set out what officers, managers, supervisors, and workers each must do, in plain words.
- Consultation: explain how workers raise safety matters, including through representatives or a committee.
- Risk management: commit to identifying hazards, assessing risks, and controlling them through the hierarchy of controls.
- Incidents and emergencies: say how to report incidents and near misses, and where the emergency plan sits.
- Training: require a safety induction for new starters and refresher training when work changes.
- Psychosocial hazards: name them alongside physical hazards, rather than leaving them to a wellbeing program.
- Review: give a review date and the name and role of the senior person who signs.
Keep each section short and point to the procedure that holds the detail. A policy that runs to many pages is harder for workers to read, which undercuts the cooperation duty that makes it useful.
How do psychosocial hazards change a WHS policy?
Psychosocial hazards, such as high job demands, bullying, harassment, and poor support, can cause psychological and physical harm. Under the model WHS laws, a business must eliminate psychosocial risks. Where that is not reasonably practicable, it must minimise them so far as is reasonably practicable. So a WHS policy now needs to treat them like any other hazard.
The case for doing this is clear in the claims data. According to Safe Work Australia, mental health conditions accounted for 12% of serious workers’ compensation claims in 2023-24, or 17,600 claims. Their median time lost in 2022-23 was 35.7 working weeks, almost five times the 7.4 weeks across all serious claims.
Safe Work Australia has published a model Code of Practice on managing psychosocial hazards at work. However, a model code only has legal effect once a jurisdiction approves it, so check with your regulator. Meanwhile, Victoria has its own regulations and compliance code, described above.
In practice, the policy should commit to identifying psychosocial hazards through consultation, controlling them through work design, and reviewing controls after complaints or incidents. It should also link to the policies that deal with specific behaviours, such as a bullying, discrimination and harassment policy. For an industry example, see psychosocial risks for SCHADS employers.
How do you roll out and maintain a health and safety policy?
Roll out a WHS policy by consulting workers on the draft and approving it at senior level. Then notify every worker and record that they received it. Build it into the safety induction for new starters. After that, review it on a set date, and earlier whenever work, premises, or the law changes, or after a serious incident.
Consultation is a legal requirement rather than a courtesy. Safe Work Australia states that a business must consult workers on health and safety matters. That includes proposing changes that might affect their health and safety. There is no set method, so team meetings, toolbox talks, or a health and safety committee can all work. However, the approach has to suit everyone, including workers from culturally and linguistically diverse backgrounds.
Notification matters just as much. Because workers must cooperate with a reasonable policy that has been notified to them, keep evidence of who received the current version and when. For new starters, add the policy to the induction steps in an employee onboarding checklist, so nobody begins work without it.
Finally, treat each review as a real check. Ask whether the responsibilities still match the organisation chart, whether the contacts are current, and whether recent incidents exposed a gap.
When is a sample WHS policy not enough?
A sample WHS policy stops being enough when your work carries hazards it does not address, such as plant, chemicals, heights, or driving. It also falls short when you operate in several states, or when you cannot prove who has received the current version. At that point you need site procedures and a reliable record of acknowledgements.
A sample policy also does not certify you or prove compliance. It shows intent, and the evidence comes from the risk assessments, consultation, training, and records behind it. For higher-risk work, get advice from a WHS professional and your regulator before you adopt it.
Worknice is one option for Australian organisations of 50 to 1,000 employees. It suits teams that want policies sent for acknowledgement and licences and certificates tracked beside their people records. It is an HR system rather than a dedicated WHS platform. As a result, an organisation that needs incident investigation or hazard registers will want a specialist safety system alongside it.
Why are we giving it away for free?
Worknice is a software platform that helps you focus your time and energy on people, rather than process. This downloadable template is a pdf or editable document. So while the content is great, it does not come to life with technology features like automations, workflows, auto-updates, electronic sign-offs, integration and more.
Frequently asked questions
Is a WHS policy mandatory in Australia?
Australian WHS laws impose duties rather than requiring one standard policy document. Employers must manage risks, consult workers, and keep an emergency plan. In practice, a written WHS policy is the usual way to meet and show those duties. Workers must also cooperate with a reasonable safety policy that has been notified to them.
What is the difference between a WHS policy and a WHS procedure?
A WHS policy is a short statement of commitment, responsibilities, and approach that applies across the organisation. A WHS procedure sets out the specific steps for one task or situation, such as reporting a hazard or evacuating a building. The policy sets direction, and the procedures put that direction into practice.
Does Victoria use the model WHS Act?
No. Victoria is the only Australian jurisdiction that has not implemented the model WHS laws. It uses the Occupational Health and Safety Act 2004 and its regulations instead. Since 1 December 2025, the Occupational Health and Safety (Psychological Health) Regulations 2025 have also required Victorian employers to manage psychosocial hazards.
How often should a WHS policy be reviewed?
Set a regular review date in the policy itself, and review it sooner whenever work, premises, or legislation changes, or after a serious incident. Each review should confirm that responsibilities, contacts, and procedures are still accurate. Consult workers on any proposed changes, because consultation on safety changes is a legal requirement.
Who should sign a workplace health and safety policy?
A senior leader should sign the policy, usually the chief executive or another officer with authority over how the organisation is run. Their signature shows leadership commitment. Officers also carry a personal duty to exercise due diligence. So the person who signs should understand the safety risks and the controls in place.
Related reading
- Sample drug, alcohol and smoking policy
- Sample vehicle use policy
- What is Australian HR compliance software?
Sources
- Safe Work Australia. “Model WHS laws.” Retrieved 8 October 2026. https://www.safeworkaustralia.gov.au/law-and-regulation/model-whs-laws
- Safe Work Australia. “Duties under WHS laws.” Retrieved 8 October 2026. https://www.safeworkaustralia.gov.au/law-and-regulation/duties-under-whs-laws
- Safe Work Australia. “Consultation.” Retrieved 8 October 2026. https://www.safeworkaustralia.gov.au/safety-topic/managing-health-and-safety/consultation
- Safe Work Australia. “Emergency plans and procedures.” Retrieved 8 October 2026. https://www.safeworkaustralia.gov.au/safety-topic/managing-health-and-safety/emergency-plans-and-procedures
- Safe Work Australia. “Psychosocial hazards.” Retrieved 8 October 2026. https://www.safeworkaustralia.gov.au/safety-topic/managing-health-and-safety/mental-health/psychosocial-hazards
- Safe Work Australia. “Model Code of Practice: Managing psychosocial hazards at work.” Retrieved 8 October 2026. https://www.safeworkaustralia.gov.au/doc/model-code-practice-managing-psychosocial-hazards-work
- Safe Work Australia. “Key Work Health and Safety Statistics Australia 2025.” Released 16 October 2025. Retrieved 8 October 2026. https://data.safeworkaustralia.gov.au/insights/key-whs-statistics-australia/latest-release
- WorkSafe Victoria. “Psychological health regulations: frequently asked questions.” Retrieved 8 October 2026. https://www.worksafe.vic.gov.au/psychological-health-regulations-frequently-asked-questions
- Premier of Victoria. “New Regulations Start Today To Protect Workers.” 1 December 2025. Retrieved 8 October 2026. https://www.premier.vic.gov.au/new-regulations-start-today-protect-workers
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