Expectations and Obligations for Students

New SA Work Health and Safety (WHS) Act – How Does This Relate to SA Health Students?

SA Health has various service level agreements/contractual arrangements with educational institutions i.e. Universities colleges, TAFE to provide a placement for students.

The model Work Health & Safety Act (WHS Act) aims to protect the health and safety of all workers, including work experience students.

The new model Work Health and Safety (WHS) Act places health and safety duties on a number of persons, including students, who are defined as being “workers” at a workplace.

This Fact Sheet provides information for SA Health defining the role, duties and responsibilities of students as per the new model WHS Act.

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SA Health’s Role:

Under the model WHS Act a ‘person conducting business or undertaking’ (PCBU) has a duty of care to all its workers which includes employees, volunteers, contractors, students, and agency staff.

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Health and Safety Duties of Students:

Students are defined as workers hence they must -

• • • • take reasonable care for their own health and safety while at work, and
      • take reasonable care that their acts or omissions do not adversely affect the health and safety of other persons

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Students must also:

Comply, so far as they are reasonably able, with any reasonable instruction given by the person conducting a business or undertaking, for example SA Health “officers “ that allows it to comply with the model WHS Act and model WHS Regulations, and cooperate with any reasonable policy or procedure of SA Health that relates to work health or safety, that has been notified to students reporting any unsafe condition or acts that comes to their attention.

Important WHS Notes

• • When sliding patients’ student help is always appreciated but take the foot end if the patient is spinal.
  • Never feel pressured to slide a heavy patient, without the minimum number of staff to help.  Some patients will require a lifter to safely transfer them.

• • Always employ 2 people to push a bed (1 person to push a barouche is acceptable unless the patient is extremely heavy).

• • 30 min meal breaks on PM shifts