HSW procedure guidance for supervisors

Workplace Inspection Program

The Enforceable Undertaking agreed between the University and SafeWork SA, requires the University maintain an annual workplace Inspection program of inherently high risk areas by supervisors.

Working from the register of supervisors that was used in 2023, certain supervisors have been identified as the primary supervisor in control of:  

• the whole or part of a facility, laboratory, or workshop, and/or  
• a task/activity performed in a facility, laboratory, or workshop

that has inherently high-risk hazards and is relying on controls to mitigate those risks.

HSW will issue monthly emails, commencing on the first of each month, to a select group of supervisors from among the ten groups designated for the year. This structured approach ensures we maintain the capacity to provide essential advice and support to supervisors in the field. To ascertain your scheduled inspection month for 2024, please check here.

Should you have a preferred month for your 2024 inspection, we encourage you to communicate this preference to the HSW team by submitting a request in the HSW Service Portal.

Primary supervisors are encouraged to engage the assistance of their team members in conducting workplace inspections. However, it remains the primary supervisor’s responsibility to ensure the inspection is performed and that the inspection information is collated and entered into the online system. 

The workplace inspection itself will be largely the same for 2024 as it was for 2023. Primary supervisors will be required to:

1. identify all the facilities, laboratories, or workshops they control that are inherently high-risk, and/or
2. identify inherently high-risk tasks/activities they perform in facilities, laboratories, and workshops that the University owns, (If any supervisor is unsure about what needs to be inspected, refer to guidance documents available below.)
3. ensure the areas they identify are physically inspected using the inspection question set,
4. enter one response for all inspections performed into the online system that lists ALL of the workplaces your responses cover.

If a supervisor believes they should not be part of the inspection program because they do not meet the criteria, please contact the HSW team using the HSW Service Portal so we can update our records.

If, when you receive your notification to perform your annual workplace inspection, you are unable to complete it within the allocated month, please contact the HSW team using the HSW Service Portal indicating a time which better suits your schedule so we can adjust the due date.

Key Resources for primary supervisors and those performing inspections:

• Submitting a workplace inspection (video)
• Creating and assigning actions in UniSafe (video)
• Updating and closing actions in UniSafe (video)
• Workplace Monitoring Procedure
• Workplace Inspection Guidance and Question Set

Procedure Guidance

Use the guides below to refresh your memory on key HSW topics.

The HSW Advisory team provides HSW advice on topics and subjects because it may assist staff and supervisors manage HSW in their local area.  For the list of current HSW Advice documents see here.