NSW Government logo NSW Government SafeWork NSW logo SafeWork NSW
  • About
  • News
  • Contact
  • Safety
    starts here
  • Your
    industry
  • Advice &
    resources
  • Legal
    obligations
  • Notify
    SafeWork
  • Compliance &
    prosecutions
  • Licences &
    registrations
  • Home
  • Safety starts here
  • Physical safety at work (the basics)
  • Facilities at work
Share
  • facebook
  • twitter
  • linkedin
  • email
Print PDF

Facilities at work

Legally, you need to make sure your workplace facilities are safe and comfortable for everyone.

When you design your workplace you need to think about the conditions of your workplace. This includes:

  • entry and exit
  • work areas
  • floors and other surfaces
  • lighting and ventilation
  • extreme temperatures
  • essential services
  • personal facilities
  • outdoor and isolated work
  • emergency plans.

Find more details by expanding on the topics below.

Entry and exit

Entries and exits must be clearly lit, slip-resistant, signposted and clearly marked.

Separate entries and exits are required for mobile equipment, such as forklifts and trucks.

Aisles and walkways must be at least 600 mm wide, free of furniture and other obstacles, and clearly marked with yellow lines.

Staircases should be guarded with upper and lower rails, and have a handrail on one side.

Power-operated doors and gates need to have safety features to prevent people being struck or trapped. They also need to be signposted and to warn of potential hazards.

Work areas

A tidy workplace reduces the risk of injury from slips and trips.

Work areas should have enough space to allow someone to move about freely without strain or injury, and evacuate quickly in case of emergency.

Where noise, heat and manual tasks are involved, a larger work area may be needed.

Wherever you can, separate moving plant and workers, to avoid injuries from moving or falling objects.

Floors and other surfaces

Floors need to be slip resistant and free of any hazards, such as cables and loose tiles, which can cause slips or trips.

Carpet is preferred in office areas. Similar flooring should also be used for those doing static standing work.

The choice of floor surface will depend on the type of work you do, for example, concrete rather than carpet should be used for welding work.

Lighting and ventilation

There must be sufficient light to enable your workers to perform tasks without straining their eyes or adopting awkward postures. Additional lighting should be used at places of particular risk, such as pedestrian crossings, and for particular types of work, such as inspection tasks.

Workplaces inside buildings need to be properly ventilated with windows and doors, fans or air-conditioning.

Extreme temperatures

The most comfortable temperature for sedentary work, such as office work, is between 20 and 26 degrees Celsius.

Heat strain occurs when working in high temperatures, such as those found in foundries, laundries and commercial kitchens.

Hypothermia occurs when working in extremely cold temperatures, such as those found in cool rooms.

Essential services

Consider the risk of harm from work taking place near gas, electricity, water, sewerage and telecommunications services.

Personal facilities

You must provide clean, safe and accessible toilets, drinking water, washing and eating facilities, and secure storage for personal items. To find out what is considered to be an appropriate floor space for meal rooms at construction sites, read this handy fact sheet.

Outdoor and isolated work

Outdoor workers must have access to shelter for eating meals and taking breaks, and to protect themselves in adverse weather conditions. They also need to be given personal protective equipment (PPE) for protection against the sun.

Working alone or remotely increases the risk of any job. This is partly because of poor access to emergency services as well as the increased potential of exposure to violence. You need to consider installing physical barriers or CCTVs, and providing appropriate communication systems.

Accommodation may also need to be provided to those working in regional and remote areas. It needs to be of a fair standard.

Emergency plans

You must prepare an emergency plan, which considers the type of work you do, the size of your workplace and workforce, and the hazards in your workplace.

Meal rooms

Read this fact sheet to find out more about meal rooms at construction sites.

Back to top
  • Safety starts here
    • Safety overview
      • First aid in the workplace
      • Emergency plans
      • If you get injured at work poster
      • Mandatory injury register
      • When an incident occurs
      • Health and safety training in the workplace
      • Workers compensation insurance
      • Return to work program
    • Safety support
      • Your rights and responsibilities for health and safety
      • Training & orienting workers
      • Getting workers to contribute to health and safety
      • Managing risk in the workplace
      • Workplace inspections
      • Investigating and reporting incidents
      • Supervisors
    • Building a health & safety culture
      • Building a high performing health &safety culture
      • Active health & safety management
      • Planning for health & safety
      • Leadership & commitment
    • Consultation@work
      • Your duty to consult
      • Consultation case studies and videos
      • Workgroups
      • Safety committees
      • Health and safety representatives
      • Safety complaints
      • Resolving issues
      • Consultation tools to help
      • Entry permits
    • Physical safety at work (the basics)
      • Emergency plans
      • Facilities at work
      • Instruction and training
      • Personal protective equipment (PPE)
      • Pregnancy
      • Sedentary work
      • Violence
      • Bushfire smoke
    • Mental health & safety (the basics)
      • Alcohol and other drugs
      • At risk workers
      • Mental health @ work
      • Workplace stress
      • Workplace bullying (a psychosocial hazard)
    • SeasonalSAFE
  • Your industry
    • Accommodation and food services
      • Hospitality
    • Administrative and support services
    • Agriculture, forestry and fishing
      • Plant nurseries
      • Farming
    • Arts and recreation services
    • Building and construction
      • House construction
      • Construction work
      • Demolition
      • Work safely at heights in construction
    • Education and training
    • Financial and insurance services
    • Health Care and Social Assistance
      • Aged care
      • Hospitals
      • Early childhood education and care
      • Disability support
    • Information media and telecommunications
    • Manufacturing
      • Leading safer manufacturing workplaces
      • Safe work leader talks: safety in manufacturing
    • Personal care and other services
    • Public administration and safety
    • Rental, hiring and real estate services
    • Retail trade
    • Transport, postal and warehousing
      • Food delivery industry
    • Wholesale trade
  • Advice & resources
    • Campaigns
      • Quad bike safety campaign
      • Industrial gate safety
      • Safe Work Month
      • International Day of Mourning
      • National Asbestos Awareness Week
      • NSW Dust Strategy
      • WHS Excellence Showcase
    • Free advisory visits and workshops
    • Labour hire
    • Video library
    • Incident animations
    • Online safety webinars
    • SafeWork newsletters
    • Speak Up Save Lives app
    • Translated resources
      • Arabic health and safety resources
      • Assyrian health and safety resources
      • Chinese health and safety resources
      • Dari health and safety resources
      • Filipino health and safety resources
      • French health and safety resources
      • German health and safety resources
      • Hindi health and safety resources
      • Khmer health and safety resources
      • Korean health and safety resources
      • Malay health and safety resources
      • Nepali health and safety resources
      • Punjabi health and safety resources
      • Spanish health and safety resources
      • Thai health and safety resources
      • Vietnamese (Tiếng Việt) health and safety resources
  • Legal obligations
    • Employer and business obligations
      • Directors and officers
      • Due diligence
      • Primary duty of care
      • Duty to consult
      • Register of injuries
      • Injuries at work
      • Return to work programs
      • Managing hazards and risks
    • Worker obligations
    • Medical practitioner's obligation to notify of a disease
      • Notification of silicosis diagnosis
      • Notification of an asbestosis diagnosis
    • Diversity
    • Visitor obligations
    • Contractors and labour hire
    • Volunteering
    • Strata title and body corporate
    • Legislation
  • Notify SafeWork
    • Incident notification
    • Asbestos notifications
    • Blasting notifications
    • Carcinogenic substances notification
    • Demolition notifications
    • Fireworks displays notifications
    • Hazardous chemicals notifications
    • Lead notifications
  • Compliance & prosecutions
    • Respect at Work Taskforce
    • Incident information releases
    • Improvement, prohibition and penalty notices
    • SafeWork inspectors
    • Enforceable undertakings
    • Prosecutions
    • Deed of agreement
    • Contact our Legal Services
  • Licences & registrations
    • White cards
    • Licences
      • Evidence of identity
      • Regularly check licences
      • Explosives and fireworks licences
      • High risk work licences
      • Traffic Control Work Training
      • Class A asbestos removal licence
      • Class B asbestos removal licence
      • Asbestos assessor licence
      • Unrestricted demolition licence
      • Restricted demolition licence
    • Plant registrations
      • Plant item registration
      • Plant design registration
    • High risk work licence assessor accreditation
    • Registered training organisations (RTOs)
      • How to become an approved RTO to deliver asbestos training
      • General construction induction RTOs
      • High risk work RTOs
      • HSR training providers
      • Traffic controller training
  • SafeWork NSW Inspectors
    • Become a SafeWork NSW Inspector
  • Resources
    • Hazards A-Z
    • Resource library
    • Risk radar
    • Speak Up Save Lives
Community
  • Events
  • Accessibility
  • Order a publication
  • Subscribe – SafeWork newsletters
Legal
  • Privacy
  • Right to Information
  • Terms
  • Disclaimer
  • Copyright
Related sites
  • SIRA (workers compensation)
  • WHS Excellence Showcase
  • TestSafe
  • Get healthy at work
  • Centre for WHS
  • icare

Contact

Contact us 13 10 50

Follow us

  • facebook
  • twitter
  • youtbue
  • linkedin
Send us your feedback

Follow us

  • facebook
  • twitter
  • youtbue
  • linkedin
  • Sitemap
  • nsw.gov.au
  • Ministerial media releases

A division of the Department of Customer Service

NSW SafeWorks logo NSW SafeWorks NSW SafeWorks logo NSW SafeWorks