There are many forms of WHS legislation with supporting documents relevant to WHS in surf lifesaving clubs. Both state/territory and federal legislation cover WHS matters. SLSA is guided by the following in establishing its WHS related policies and guidelines:
- Acts — statutes or laws passed by both houses of an Australian or state parliament where appropriate.
- Regulations — rules that specify in great detail how to comply with an Act. Regulations are legally binding documents.
- Standards — authoritative guides to best practice; in some cases, they are legally binding when incorporated into legislation.
- Codes of practice — practical guidance about one or more ways of achieving legal requirements under the WHS Act and regulations. They are also the minimum standards of WHS that should be complied within a workplace.
- Policies — official documents adopted by SLSA and its entities that outline the rules that must be followed within a specific area of the organisation.
- Guidelines — streamline certain processes according to what is best practice when specific policies or standards do not apply.
- Standard operating procedures (SOPs) — step-by-step instructions on how to complete tasks to enact policies, standards and guidelines. These are what you will see and follow in your day-to-day operations at your surf lifesaving club.
Copies of SLS policies, guidelines and standard operating procedures (SOPs) are available to access via the SLS Members Area Document Library. You should familiarise yourself with them. Monitor the SLS Members Area News and Events for any updates made to policies before June each year.
Work Health and Safety Act 2011
The Work Health and Safety Act 2011 (WHS Act 2011)[4] law requires that organisations protect the health, safety and welfare of all workers (including volunteers) and other people in the workplace. It defines health to mean both physical and psychological health. The WHS Act 2011 also requires that all people are protected from hazards arising from work, so much as is reasonably practicable. State and territory WHS regulators can impose penalties when organisations or individuals do not comply with this law.