A work health and safety (WHS) policy communicates your organisation’s overarching approach to creating a safe place of work.

A WHS policy generally sets out:

• your organisation’s commitment to WHS
• your responsibilities to provide a safe place of work
• the responsibilities of others to keep the workplace safe
• how you consult about WHS
• the key WHS management systems or processes in your organisation and where they can be accessed.

Your policy doesn't need to detail every WHS procedure in your organisation, but it should refer to some of the key measures your organisation uses to protect the safety of others and tell people where they can find them.

A WHS policy is a visible way your organisation can inform others about:

• the importance of workplace safety
• your organisation’s responsibilities, and
• what you expect of workers.

We recommend:

• displaying your WHS policy in your workplace
• giving a copy of your WHS policy to your employees, as well as to any visitors to the workplace, volunteers, independent contractors, other businesses you work with, and anyone else interacting with your workplace.

A WHS policy may relate to other policies in your workplace, such as an unacceptable workplace behaviour policy or a code of conduct. This is because some areas of workplace conduct, such as bullying, discrimination and harassment, are hazards that can cause psychosocial or physical harm.

Learn more about workplace policies including:

• what makes a good workplace policy
• how to implement a policy at your workplace
• links to other templates.

Consider how other workplaces policies in organisation can support this WHS policy or be part of a safe system of work. Safe systems of work are the methods, processes and systems that relate to:

• how to perform work safely
• what to do if there is a workplace injury or incident, including a near miss.

Learn more about safe systems of work as part of a safety management system.

How to use this template

This is a guided template for organisations and businesses. You will need to consider what is right and practical for your workplace and the resources available to it.

Download the template, follow the prompts, adapt it to your organisation, delete the guidance notes and add your branding. 

Be sure to communicate it to any workers that it applies to. Make sure they can access it, and that they know who to ask if they have questions. 

But remember: A policy on its own is not enough to keep people safe or meet your organisation’s WHS legal obligations. Your policy must be supported by a managed approach to workplace safety. 

Learn more about:

• how to develop a safety management system
• creating a safe workplace. 

Download the template