DO YOU NEED TRAINING TO WORK AT HEIGHTS?

Under both state and federal health and safety legislation, training is required for all workers who expose themselves to the potential of a fall at work.

Depending on the health and safety legislation your state has adopted, it is mandatory to have fall protection – the only difference between states is at what height you must have fall protection.

In Victoria for example you must have some form of fall protection if you expose yourself to a fall of 2 Meters or more.

The Australian Standards state that you must undergo a Nationally Accredited Working at Heights training course if you are using fall restraint or fall arrest systems to control the potential of a fall when working at heights.

If there is a risk of a fall identified, then the employer must implement a control strategy to reduce the risk to the minimum level possible, so far as is reasonably practicable.

To do this, there is a preferred order (or hierarchy) of riskcontrol measures specific to Working Safely at Heights, ranging from the most effective to the least effective, that must be applied.

Falls less than 2 Meters, or each states legislated height requirement, still require standard Hazard Identification and Hazard control principles to be applied to all works to be undertaken when Working at Heights.