HAZARD REGISTER
1. INTRODUCTION
The Hazard Register template for 2015 (unchanged from 2014) is to be used by
schools, units, research institutes, centres and all support services and
administrative areas to plan, prioritise and monitor overall management of local
hazards/risks. The Hazard Register is used in conjunction with the Local Action Plan
Template 2015. Actions identified to introduce or improve risk controls may be
transferred from the register to the Action Plan.
The Hazard Register is an overview document recording a summary of hazards, risk
priorities and controls required. The completed register should be no more than a
couple of pages in length.
A specific hazard (eg an item of plant or a chemical process) will often require its
own risk assessment and control process. Some higher priority risks may warrant
their own more detailed hazard management plan. Information from this more
detailed layer of hazard management may need to be taken into account in
preparing the hazard register.
2. STRATEGIC OBJECTIVES
Safety System Improvement - improving the quality and effectiveness of hazard
management is one of two strategic priority areas for focus and action at the local
level in 2015 to support achieving strategic objectives and targets.
3. MANAGEMENT RESPONSIBILITIES
The Hazard Register helps the HOS/Director of Institute/Unit/Centre/Division
Services to meet the following responsibilities in leading health and safety planned
activities under their Local Action Plan:
consulting and communicating with staff and others
ensuring good awareness of hazards in their area of responsibility
ensuring health and safety risks are adequately controlled
allocating resources as required (for management of hazards/risks).
The Hazard Register should be reviewed regularly in consultation with staff and
research students at the same time as progress is reviewed against the Local
Action Plan.
Hazard Register WHS1, V2.2, March 2015 Safety & Wellbeing Unit. (V2.1 July 2014 was updated with minimal changes only to the explanatory page. The template itself is unchanged.)
Hardcopies of this document are considered uncontrolled. Please refer to the Safety & Wellbeing website for the latest version.
Form WHS1
4. HOW TO USE THE HAZARD REGISTER
STEP 1 Form a small consultative group with the task of completing the register. This group can be
a small working party comprising a cross-section of management, staff and research
students, or the usual local consultative forum eg WHS Working Group.
STEP 2 Brainstorm the hazards: things, situations or arrangements that could potentially cause harm
to people. Think about:
Physical work environment (eg lighting, ergonomics, safe access)
Equipment, materials and substances used (eg desktop computers, chemicals)
Work tasks and how they are managed (eg fieldwork, working in isolation, volunteers)
Work design and management (eg workload, fatigue).
To help with identifying hazards you might consider:
A walk-through of local workplaces
Analysing local hazards and incidents reported.
Group hazards according to how you might wish to manage them eg workshop hazards
could be combined. Record in the hazard description.
Prioritise according to the overall risk posed by the hazard. Think about the following:
STEP 3
How severe might any harm be?
How often are people exposed to the hazard? How many? For how long?
What controls are currently in place and how effective are they?
What changes could affect the level of risk? (eg new types of research, new equipment)
Could peoples behaviour increase the risk? (eg fatigue, rushed, distracted)
Any differences between individuals? (eg volunteers, gender, disabled, skill level).
List the controls already in place as a dot point summary.
STEP 4 Refer to the hierarchy of controls (Eliminate/Substitute/Isolate/Engineering/Admin/PPE)
Do these controls seem effective? (Further investigation may sometimes be needed)
What extra controls are needed? Extra controls should be considered until any residual risk
from the hazard is negligible / not significant.
Resources may need to be approved for extra controls.
STEP 5
List extra controls needed. Simple controls or fixes should be done immediately and the
date recorded. More involved controls requiring investigation or time to implement should be
transferred to the Local Action Plan and progress monitored via that document.
In some cases, where short-term fixes are not feasible, work may have to be postponed or
stopped until the controls are in place.
Make sure the Local Action Plan reflects actions that need to be scheduled to adequately
control all local hazards.
STEP 6 Endorse and review the register. The register should be finalised with endorsement of the
HOS/Director. The register should be reviewed annually in conjunction with the review of the
Local Action Plan. The currency of the register should be checked regularly (eg at quarterly
meetings of the local WHS Working Group) in case there are workplace changes.
5. HOW USE OF THE REGISTER IS EVALUATED
As part of the university Health and Safety Internal Evaluation Program an
evaluation of local health and safety planned activities is conducted annually in
January and February. The establishment and maintenance of a local Hazard
Register is an expectation listed as Key Ongoing Action Item 4.1 under Managing
Health and Safety Risks in the Local Action Plan template.
1|P a g e
 HAZARD REGISTER Form WHS1
NAME OF WORKPLACE: ENDORSED BY HOS/DIRECTOR NAME: DATE ENDORSED: DATE LAST UPDATED: DATE OF NEXT ANNUAL REVIEW:
/ / / / / /

Priority or Date extra

Location/
Item Hazard description How exposed to hazard
risk level Risk control measure(s)
(H/M/L)
Controls needed and in place.
If existing controls need improvement
Note: The Hazard Register template for 2015 is or new controls introduced, record in
unchanged from 2014 and 2013. Workplaces next column.
can continue to use and update their local Controls that need to be scheduled to
hazard register document from 2014 without take place at various times during the
needing to transfer into a new template. year (eg workplace inspections)
should be transferred to the Local
Action Plan.
Hyperlinks can be inserted to more
detailed control measure information
kept at other locations (eg SOPs filed
in the school SharePoint).
Extra controls needed Who by/ When controls in
place
Simple controls or fixes
should be done
immediately and the date
recorded.
More involved controls
requiring investigation or
time to implement should
be transferred to the Local
Action Plan and progress
monitored via that
document.

Further guidance: Approved Code of Practice: How to Manage Work Health and Safety Risks

Hazard Register WHS1, V2.2, March 2015 Safety & Wellbeing Unit
Hardcopies of this document are considered uncontrolled. Please refer to the Safety & Wellbeing website for the latest version.
2|P a g e