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MEM13019 Current

Application

This unit of competency defines the skills and knowledge required to apply principles of work health and safety (WHS) in the workplace and undertake a safety risk assessment for the employee’s area of responsibility. It applies to employees requiring additional WHS competencies beyond those inherent in their job.

Risk assessment is a process that includes analysing the risk to identify influencing factors and the range of potential consequences, assessing the effectiveness of existing controls, the likelihood of each consequence considering exposure and hazard level and combining these to determine a level of risk.

Where the selection and use of engineering measurement is required unit MEM12023 Perform engineering measurements should also be selected.

No licensing, legislative or certification requirements apply to this unit at the time of publication.

What You'll Learn

1. Determine job requirements

  • 1.1 Follow standard operating procedures (SOPs)
  • 1.2 Use appropriate personal protective equipment (PPE) in accordance with SOPs

2. Apply principles of WHS in a workplace

  • 2.1 Identify basic WHS principles of hazard identification, risk assessment and control
  • 2.2 Use understanding of WHS legislation as it applies in the workplace

3. Carry out safety audit

  • 3.1 Carry out regular safety audits in the area of responsibility in accordance with appropriate WHS standards
  • 3.2 Document audit information in accordance with SOPs

4. Identify WHS improvements

  • 4.1 Raise WHS issues and suggestions for improvements with WHS representatives and committees as appropriate
  • 4.2 Identify hazards and make recommendations for their control on the basis of safety audits or as required
  • 4.3 Make contributions to safety improvements using SOPs
  • 4.4 Identify WHS training needs and take action to respond to need

5. Follow requirements of enterprise WHS program

  • 5.1 Ensure requirements of the WHS program are satisfied within the area of responsibility, including required accident investigation and emergency procedures
  • 5.2 Complete required documentation in accordance with SOPs

Assessment Requirements

Performance Evidence

Evidence required to demonstrate competence in this unit must be relevant to and satisfy the requirements of the elements and performance criteria and include:

following work instructions, standard operating procedures (SOPs) and safe work practices

identifying the risk assessment process

reading and interpreting audit and safety-related documentation

performing safety audits by following audit and work health and safety (WHS) procedures on at least two occasions

making recommendations for safety improvements and communicating effectively about WHS activities with workplace personnel on at least two occasions

identifying training needs and initiating WHS training

meeting requirements of WHS program and procedures in the individual’s area of responsibility

entering information into audit reports and other relevant documents.

Note: Where a volume and/or frequency is not specified, demonstration must be provided at least once.

Knowledge Evidence

Evidence required to demonstrate the required knowledge for this unit must be relevant to and satisfy the requirements of the elements and performance criteria and include knowledge of:

safe work practices and procedures and use of personal protective equipment (PPE)

principles of hazard identification, assessment and control as applied to the workplace

procedures for hazard identification, assessment and control

application of WHS legislation in the workplace

procedures for conducting safety audits

safety standards applicable to the individual’s area of responsibility

frequency at which safety audits should be conducted

procedures for implementing WHS improvements

means of rectifying identified hazards and reasons for selecting the chosen means of rectifying the hazard

authority to whom recommended WHS improvements are to be reported

procedures for making safety improvements

requirement for WHS training in the individual’s area of responsibility

objectives of WHS training and procedures for initiating WHS training

accident investigation procedures

emergency WHS procedures

role of the individual in carrying out accident investigations and emergency procedures.

Assessment Conditions

Assessors must:

have vocational competency in undertaking work health and safety activities in the workplace at least to the level being assessed, with relevant industry knowledge and experience

satisfy the assessor requirements in the Standards for Registered Training Organisations 2015 or its replacement and comply with the National Vocational Education and Training Regulator Act 2011, its replacement or equivalent legislation covering VET regulation in a non-referring state/territory as the case requires.

Where possible, assessment must occur in operational workplace situations. Where this is not possible or where personal safety or environmental damage are limiting factors, assessment must occur in a sufficiently rigorous simulated environment that reflects realistic operational workplace conditions. This must cover all aspects of workplace performance, including environment, task skills, task management skills, contingency management skills and job role environment skills.

Conditions for assessment must include access to all tools, equipment, materials and documentation required, including relevant workplace procedures, product and manufacturing specifications.

Assessment processes and techniques must be appropriate to the language, literacy and numeracy requirements of the work being performed and the needs of the candidate.

Foundation Skills

  • text: This section describes those language, literacy, numeracy and employment skills that are essential to performance. Foundation skills essential to performance are explicit in the performance criteria of this unit of competency.

Parent Qualifications

Related Units

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Last updated from training.gov.au: 17 April 2026