Employer Duty of Care in Victoria: Key Obligations

When you employ staff in Victoria, you have a legal duty to keep them safe and healthy at work. It’s called the employer “duty of care”, and it sits at the heart of Victoria’s Occupational Health and Safety laws.

If you’re running a small business, this can feel daunting. The good news is that your obligations are practical and achievable when you break them into clear steps.

In this guide, we’ll explain what employer duty of care means in Victoria, how the “reasonably practicable” test works, and the essential actions you can take now to meet your obligations and protect your people and your business.

What Does Employer Duty Of Care Mean In Victoria?

In Victoria, the Occupational Health and Safety Act 2004 (Vic) requires employers to provide and maintain a working environment that is safe and without risks to health, so far as is reasonably practicable.

This duty covers physical safety and mental health. It applies to employees, trainees and, in many cases, contractors and labour hire workers under your management and control.

Your responsibilities include things like providing safe systems of work, training and supervision, maintaining safe equipment and premises, consulting with workers on safety issues, and monitoring health and workplace conditions.

If you’re new to the concept, it’s worth getting across the basics of the duty of care for employers and how it fits with your broader employment law obligations.

What Does “Reasonably Practicable” Look Like For Small Businesses?

You’re not expected to remove every possible risk. The law asks what is “reasonably practicable” in your circumstances.

When deciding this, WorkSafe Victoria and the courts look at common sense factors, including:

• How likely it is that a hazard or risk could occur.
• How serious the potential harm could be.
• What you know, or should reasonably know, about the hazard and ways to control it.
• How suitable and available those controls are.
• The cost of the controls, in the context of the risk and your business.

For example, if your team uses power tools, a reasonably practicable approach could include risk assessments, guarding, induction training, supervision, and personal protective equipment. If your team primarily works at computers, you’d focus on ergonomics, workload management and psychosocial risks such as bullying or fatigue.

The key is to be proactive. Identify hazards early, implement sensible controls, and review them regularly.

Your Compliance Checklist: How To Meet Your Duty Day-To-Day

Every workplace is different, but the building blocks of compliance are similar. Use this checklist to set up a safe, legally compliant foundation and keep improving over time.

1) Set The Tone With Policies And Leadership

Start with a clear, written commitment to health and safety. Create a simple safety policy that explains your expectations and how issues are raised and handled.

Back it up with targeted procedures for your risks. For many small businesses, this includes a code of conduct, bullying and harassment procedure, incident reporting, and if relevant, a drug and alcohol procedure. A tailored Workplace Policy suite helps you communicate standards and hold everyone to them.

2) Do A Risk Assessment And Apply Controls

Walk through your operations and list hazards (equipment, manual handling, chemicals, vehicles, lone work, cash handling, slips, trips and falls, customer aggression, and so on). Don’t forget less visible risks like stress, fatigue or extended screen time.

Use the hierarchy of controls where possible: eliminate the hazard; if that’s not possible, substitute it, isolate it, or engineer it out; then add administrative controls like procedures and training; and use personal protective equipment as a last line of defence.

3) Provide Training, Supervision And Clear Agreements

Onboarding is your best moment to set safe habits. Provide induction training, role-specific instructions and ongoing refreshers. Supervise higher-risk tasks until workers are competent.

Make sure each staff member has the right Employment Contract, setting out duties, hours, supervision and any safety-critical requirements (for example, licences). For safety-sensitive roles, you may also implement lawful and appropriate approaches to drug testing employees and fitness for work.

4) Maintain Safe Work Procedures, Premises And Equipment

Document simple, step-by-step procedures for higher-risk tasks. Keep equipment in good working order and do scheduled maintenance. Ensure your workplace layout and amenities (lighting, ventilation, exits) support safety.

Have first aid and emergency plans in place, test alarms and evacuation routes, and make sure everyone knows the procedure.

5) Consult With Workers And Health And Safety Representatives (HSRs)

In Victoria, you must consult with employees on health and safety matters that affect them. If your workplace has designated work groups and HSRs, include them in discussions and provide reasonable facilities and assistance so they can perform their functions.

Regular toolbox talks, safety meetings or quick check-ins work well for small teams. Record key decisions and action items.

6) Manage Rosters, Workload And Fatigue

Safety isn’t just about equipment - it’s also about sustainable work. Set reasonable hours and breaks, and plan rosters to reduce fatigue risks. Staying on top of your award compliance obligations around hours and breaks also supports safety and reduces burnout.

7) Contractors, Labour Hire And Visitors

Your duty extends to people you manage or control at your workplace - including contractors and labour hire workers. Coordinate risk management, share safety information, and ensure contractors have appropriate training and insurance before they start.

If you engage workers through an agency, check that the provider holds a valid labour hire licence in Victoria and agree on who does what in relation to safety in writing.

8) Monitor, Report And Improve

Encourage prompt reporting of hazards, near misses and incidents. Some serious incidents are notifiable to WorkSafe Victoria - make sure your team knows who to tell and what to do.

Investigate causes, fix issues at the source, and share learnings with your team. Keep records of training, maintenance, inspections and incidents so you can demonstrate your efforts.

9) Support Return To Work And Workers Compensation

In Victoria, most employers must hold WorkCover insurance and support injured workers’ return to safe work as soon as reasonably possible. Build a simple process for managing claims and suitable duties in consultation with the worker and their treating practitioner.

10) Keep Your Documents Up To Date

Review policies and procedures at least annually or whenever work changes. Make sure they align with your current risks and with how your business actually operates day-to-day.

Psychosocial Risks And Mental Health: What’s Required?

Psychological health is an integral part of your duty of care in Victoria. That means identifying and controlling risks such as excessive workload, poor role clarity, bullying, harassment, occupational violence, remote or isolated work, and low job control.

Practical controls include reasonable workloads and deadlines, clear job descriptions, respectful conduct standards, early conflict resolution, supportive supervision, and easy access to incident reporting and support.

From a legal standpoint, your obligations around employee mental health intersect with OHS duties, anti-discrimination laws and your employment law framework. Embedding respectful conduct in your Workplace Policy suite, training leaders to respond early, and checking in regularly with your team are simple ways to reduce risk and build a healthier workplace.

What Happens If You Breach Your Duty Of Care?

Breaches of OHS duties can lead to significant consequences in Victoria. These include improvement or prohibition notices from inspectors, fines for businesses and individuals, enforceable undertakings, and in the most serious cases, prosecution.

Victoria has specific industrial manslaughter offences for negligent conduct causing a workplace death, with very substantial penalties. Even where harm does not occur, failing to control obvious risks can attract serious sanctions.

Beyond penalties, a safety incident can disrupt operations, harm morale and reputation, and increase insurance costs. Investing in sensible controls and a culture of safety is both a legal requirement and smart risk management.

If an incident occurs in your workplace, act quickly to secure the area, provide first aid, notify WorkSafe where required, consult with workers and HSRs, and undertake a thorough investigation. Where there are employment implications, seek advice before taking action - for example, if you need to consider suspending an employee pending investigation as part of managing risk.

Key Takeaways

• In Victoria, employer duty of care requires you to provide a work environment that is safe and without risks to health, so far as is reasonably practicable.
• “Reasonably practicable” is a common-sense test: identify hazards, implement suitable controls, and weigh the likelihood and severity of harm against available measures and their cost.
• Build your foundation with clear policies, risk assessments, training, safe procedures, consultation with workers/HSRs, and strong record-keeping.
• Psychological health is part of your duty: manage bullying, workload, fatigue and other psychosocial risks through respectful culture, good supervision and practical controls.
• Your duties extend to contractors and labour hire workers you manage or control; coordinate safety responsibilities and verify licences where relevant.
• Serious breaches can lead to significant penalties. A proactive, documented approach to safety protects people and your business.

If you’d like a consultation on setting up or reviewing your employer duty of care framework in Victoria, you can reach us at 1800 730 617 or team@sprintlaw.com.au for a free, no-obligations chat.