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Workplace Health & Safety
What is a “notifiable incident”
Under the WHS Act, you must notify Workplace Health and Safety Queensland if any of the following happens at your place of work, or is caused by the running of your business:
- the death of a person;
- a serious injury or illness of a person;
- a dangerous incident.
Under electrical safety laws, you must notify the Electrical Safety Office if any of the following happens at your place of work or is caused by the running of your business:
- a serious electrical incident;
- a dangerous electrical event.
You must also report all incidents to Racing Queensland by completing and sending the relevant RQ Incident Report form found on this page and send to: OWHS@racingqueensland.com.au
How do I notify Workplace Health and Safety Queensland or the Electrical Safety Office?
You can notify Workplace Health and Safety Queensland or the Electrical Safety Office by:
- phone – calling 1300 362 128
- online – completing submitting an online incident notification form
- email – downloading and completing an incident notification form (PDF, 0.24 MB) and emailing it to whsq.aaa@oir.qld.gov.au
- fax – downloading and completing an incident notification form (PDF, 0.24 MB) and faxing it to 07 3874 7730.
If you notify Workplace Health and Safety Queensland or the Electrical Safety Office by phone, written notification isn’t required. Workplace Health and Safety Queensland or the Electrical Safety Office will give you details of the information received in writing which should be maintained for your records. Further information is available at: https://www.worksafe.qld.gov.au/safety-and-prevention/incidents-and-notifications/notify-us-of-an-incident/notify-workplace-health-and-safety-queensland-or-electrical-safety-office
WHS Obligations
The Work Health and Safety Act 2011 (QLD) (WHS Act) requires a Person Conducting a Business or Undertaking (PCBU) to provide a safe and healthy workplace. As discussed below, racing clubs, regardless of codes are PCBU’s for the purposes of the WHS Act. Providing safe workplaces and practices is vital for any organisation, including Thoroughbred, Harness and Greyhound racing clubs. Queensland law therefore requires all clubs to ensure they –
- understand their WHS obligations and requirements under the WHS Act,
- understand their risks and hazards,
- ensure they implement appropriate workplace health and safety (WHS) systems and controls,
- provide a safe and healthy workplace at all times for workers, contractors, committee members, visitors and members of the public,
- provide equipment, tools and machinery in a safe condition,
- provide safe and hygienic facilities including toilets, eating areas and first aid; and
- provide information, training and supervision to all workers
Is a Racing Club a PCBU?
Yes they are. For the specific aspects of who is a PCBU for the purpose racing clubs, the WHS Act provides -
- whether the person conducts the business or undertaking alone or with others; and
- whether or not the business or undertaking is conducted for profit or gain.
- A PCBU includes a business or undertaking conducted by a partnership or an unincorporated association.
- Although a ‘volunteer’ association does not conduct a business or undertaking for the purposes of the WHS Act, a ‘volunteer’ association means a group of volunteers working together for 1 or more community purpose(s) where none of the volunteers, whether alone or jointly with any other volunteers, employs any person to carry out work for the volunteer association – accordingly we doubt any racing clubs will fall within this definition. We discuss this further below.
Volunteers
To be clear, a racing club is not a Volunteer Organisation if the committee are volunteers, but the club employs workers either full time, casually, part-time or on a labour-only contract basis. The WHS Act applies to any and all clubs that pay any person to undertake work on behalf of the club. This includes for example, a security guard who is paid via an ABN but who works by themselves in business, or a barrier attendant who is paid for attending the race day, or the starter or any other person that may undertake work for the club and receive recompense for the work done.
For the purposes of the WHS Act, a volunteer association is a group of volunteers working together for one or more community purposes, with no employees at any time throughout the year. It may be an incorporated or unincorporated association. These associations are not regarded as a PCBU under the WHS Act. However, if the association employs a person to carry out any work, the WHS Act will apply to the organization, irrespective of whether the committee are volunteers or not.
An example of a volunteer association is a junior sports club where the office bearers are volunteers and fund-raising and other activities of the club are carried out by volunteers such as the parents. The organisation may be incorporated or unincorporated. This may apply to some racing clubs.
Therefore, if a racing club, even one run by volunteer committee members, employs a person(s) (a worker(s)) to carry out work for the club, for example once a year on a race day, the WHS Act will apply to the club as a PCBU and the WHS Act will apply.
WHS for Queensland not-for-profit clubs
Not-for-profit organisations that employ ‘workers’ are considered a PCBU under the WHS Act. As a PCBU, they have a duty of care to ensure the health and safety of their ‘workers’ and others affected by their operations, as far as is reasonably practicable.
Who is a ‘Worker’ for the purpose of WHS?
- A person is a ‘worker’ if the person carries out work in any capacity for a PCBU, including work as -
- an employee; or
- a contractor or subcontractor; or
- an employee of a contractor or subcontractor; or
- an employee of a labour hire company who has been assigned to work in the person’s business or undertaking; or
- an outworker; or
- a student gaining work experience; or
- a volunteer.
The Bottom Line
If your club employs even a single individual (a ‘worker)’ for a part day, it’s considered a PCBU under the WHS Act. Remember: ALL volunteers are then regarded as workers. This means they’re entitled to the same protections and rights as employees. Being a PCBU carries responsibilities - ensure you’re familiar with them and provide a safe environment for everyone involved!
Key WHS documents and activities for Racing Clubs
- WHS Policies and Procedures Documents
These documents assist in ensuring that everyone in the business knows their rights and responsibilities regarding health and safety. Policies and procedures may include –
-
- WHS Policy;
- Contractor management;
- First aid management;
- Emergency response plan;
- Traffic management plan;
- Event day checklist;
- Hazardous material handling policy;
- Electrical equipment servicing;
- Fatigue management policy;
- Working outdoors policy (including working in the heat);
- Hazard identification and risk assessment procedure;
- Incident reporting and management procedure;
- Induction training and record keeping procedure;
- Personal Protective equipment policy;
- Psychological wellbeing policy;
- Bullying and harassment policy;
- Fitness for work plan;
- Drug and alcohol testing; procedure
- Workplace violence protection plan;
- WHS risk and hazard checklist;
- Return to work management policy;
- Safe Operating Procedures.
- Barrier Attendant procedures and training.
Information on many of these can be found on the WorkSafe Qld website: https://www.worksafe.qld.gov.au/laws-and-compliance/codes-of-practice, or located on this webpage.
Key WHS activities for race clubs to undertake include:
- Undertaking and documenting hazard and risk assessments for all activities relating to the operation of the club.
- Implementing identified controls to the hazards and risks to ensure the health and safety of those person to which the club has a duty of care.
- Including WHS as a permanent item on all committee meeting agendas.
- Investigating and reporting to RQ all incidents at the club, including all trackwork and off-track incidents and injuries as required by the license agreement with RQ.
- Discharging the club’s reporting obligations under the WHS Act, relevantly including reporting notifiable incidents to WorkSafe Queensland.
- Obtain Workers’ Compensation Insurance through WorkCover Queensland for all workers you employ. RQ recommends every club obtains this insurance, which can as low as $200 (for 2024/25) where low or no wages are paid. Insurance can be obtained via this link: https://ols.workcoverqld.com.au/ols/public/newbusiness/v2/index.wc