Consultation
You must consult, cooperate and coordinate with other duty holders and any workers of the business whose health and safety is likely to be affected.
This will allow duty holders to work together to better plan and manage health and safety. It is recommended that organisers keep records of consultation to demonstrate compliance, it could assist with the risk management process and make disputes less likely.
Consultation should address:
- the duty holders responsibilities, eg- what tasks to be undertaken, how, when and where.
- who has control or influence over aspects of the work or the work environment
- what activities may affect the work environment and others at the site
- identifying the workers that will be involved in the activity and who else may be affected
- information about the hazards and risks associated with each activity
- if any activities introduce or increase hazards or risks
- what information will be provided for health and safety, particularly for controlling risks
- what information may be needed for health and safety purposes
- how health and safety issues and incidents will be actioned during the show, including:
- daily onsite meetings
- process for notifying SafeWork NSW should a notifiable incident occur (including the bump in and out period)
- any further consultation or communication required to monitor health and safety or to identify any changes in the work or environment.
- lessons learnt from previous events.
The organiser should provide the supplier and operator with information including:
- details of the allocated site location and the ground or supporting surfaces; such as, ground slope, conditions or restrictions on other supporting surfaces (eg - if load matting is required for forklift or elevating work platform use or if the ground is suitable to hold anchors in place for inflatable devices)
- a copy of the site services layout plan (eg - showing electricity, gas and water locations and connection points)
- any adverse history (eg - flooding, poor drainage, high winds).
- vertical and horizontal clearances to buildings, trees, overhead electric lines, underground services, vehicle and pedestrian pathways and other amusement devices
- site arrangement plan and traffic management plan with locations of amusement devices and other facilities marked (eg - first aid, ambulance, toilets, drinking water, police and fire services etc)
- emergency procedures for the event
- action to be taken in non-compliance with contractual arrangements identified (e.g. exceeding noise limits).
Consultation with workers
Organisers also have a duty to consult on health and safety matters with their own workers (including volunteers) who are (or are likely to be) directly affected.
The aim of consultation is to ensure that organisers have sufficient information to make informed decisions and any workers who may be affected are given opportunity to provide their views and understand the reasons for the decisions.
It may not be practical to consult with volunteers during the planning stage however, they should be informed about any matters that may affect their health and safety prior to commencing work.
It is not always necessary to consult with every worker. The workers that are consulted should be those who are, or could be, directly affected by health and safety matters.