Essay: The Victorian Occupational Health And Safety System

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Introduction:
This research essay is reviewing the requirements to have a safe system of work while working on a farm, as well as what information a farmer would need to understand to help ensure they were compliant with current workplace laws.
Farmers also often work alone and a long distance away from help if there was an emergency so how does a farmer ensure they have a safe system of work in place and what emergency management protocols are available to them and are in place if there was an emergency?
The Victorian Occupational Health and Safety Act sets out specific duties that employers must comply with as part of their general duty and this paper defines what these requirements are and how they may be implemented within a farming operation.

Legal obligations for farmers:
Regardless of the state or jurisdiction a farmer works in they must ensure they follow the Occupational Health and Safety (OHS) laws that applies to their state. The Model or Harmonised Work Health and Safety Act has been implemented in every state and territory across Australia apart from Western Australia and Victoria. Western Australia is still operating under the Occupational Safety and Health Act 1984, however the draft Work Health and Safety Bill 2014 has been released for public comment, and Victoria are still operating under the Occupational Health and Safety …show more content…

Furthermore, it is irrelevant if the farm is set up as a company or as a sole trader entity, the Victorian OHS act also states the following for a Self-employed person: A self-employed person must ensure, so far as is reasonably practicable, that persons are not exposed to risks to their health or safety arising from the conduct of the undertaking of the self-employed person (L. Victoria,

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