Work health and safety policy, Quellmont Plastics

WHS policy template for a manufacturing plant, signed by the managing director

A work health and safety policy has to state what the business commits to, say who is responsible for what, and show how workers are consulted and incidents are reported. This three page Australian policy for a 96 worker plastics plant in Queensland does that in five numbered sections and ends with the managing director's signature.

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Quellmont Plastics Pty Ltd
2 November 2026

Work health and safety policy

How everyone at the Wacol moulding plant goes home in the same condition they arrived, every shift.

Prepared by
Managing Director
Date
2 November 2026
WHS policy, Quellmont Plastics Pty Ltd, ABN 47 615 203 918Page 2 of 3
WHS policy, Quellmont Plastics Pty Ltd, ABN 47 615 203 918Page 3 of 3
1
Our commitment
Quellmont Plastics runs 14 injection moulding machines, two regrind lines and a warehouse at Wacol, Queensland, across three shifts with 96 workers. As the person conducting the business or undertaking, the company has the primary duty under the Work Health and Safety Act 2011 (Qld) to ensure, so far as is reasonably practicable, the health and safety of workers and anyone else at the plant. The company commits to:
1.
Eliminate hazards where it can, and otherwise reduce the risk using the hierarchy of control, with guarding and isolation ahead of procedures and PPE.
2.
Keep every moulding machine, robot and conveyor guarded and interlocked, and isolate and tag out plant before anyone reaches inside it.
3.
Provide hearing, eye, hand and foot protection free of charge and replace it when worn.
4.
Train every worker for the plant they operate before they operate it, and record that training.
5.
Consult workers and health and safety representatives before changes that affect their safety.
6.
Report and investigate every incident and near miss, and fix the cause, not only the symptom.
7.
Support injured workers to recover and return to suitable duties.
8.
Set yearly safety targets, report progress to the board each quarter, and fund the actions needed to meet them.
2
Responsibilities by role
Everyone at the plant has a duty. The table sets out what each role is accountable for under this policy and the Act.
Role
Responsible for
Directors (officers)
Due diligence: knowing the hazards of moulding, resourcing controls, and checking that they work (section 27).
Managing Director
Owning this policy, the yearly safety plan and the quarterly board report.
Plant Manager
Risk assessments for new plant and moulds, the isolation procedure and the training matrix.
Shift supervisors
Pre start checks, stopping unsafe work, and first response to every incident on their shift.
Workers
Taking reasonable care, following instructions, and reporting hazards and incidents at once (section 28).
Health and safety reps
Representing their work group, inspecting the workplace and raising issues with management.
Contractors and visitors
Signing in, completing the site induction and staying with their host in production areas.
3
Consultation
The company consults workers before it identifies hazards, decides on controls, buys new plant or changes shifts, as the Act requires. Each of the three shifts elects a health and safety representative, and the WHS committee of three representatives and three managers meets every second month. Minutes go on the canteen board within 5 working days, and any worker can raise an issue with their representative or supervisor at any time.
4
Incident reporting
Every injury, near miss and dangerous incident is reported before the end of the shift it happens on. The supervisor then follows these steps:
1.
Make the area safe and give first aid, calling 000 for any serious injury.
2.
Tell the Plant Manager at once, who decides whether the incident is notifiable.
3.
Enter the incident in the safety system within 24 hours, with photos and witness names.
4.
Investigate with the workers involved and their representative within 5 working days.
5.
Agree corrective actions, each with an owner and a due date, and review them at the next committee meeting.
Notifiable incidents
A death, a serious injury or illness, or a dangerous incident such as an uncontrolled release of hot polymer must be reported to Workplace Health and Safety Queensland immediately (section 38). The site is left undisturbed until an inspector arrives or allows work to continue (section 39), except to help an injured person or make the area safe. The record is kept for at least 5 years.
5
Review
This policy is reviewed every two years by the Managing Director with the WHS committee, and sooner after a notifiable incident, a change to the law, or a major change to the plant. The next scheduled review is November 2028. A copy is displayed at the plant entrance, in the canteen and in each shift office.
Teodora Vance, Managing Director
Date
:

Section by section

What each section is for, so you can keep the ones you need and drop the rest.

Cover
Masthead cover with the company, title, purpose line and approval date.
1. Our commitment
The plant, the primary duty under the Queensland Act and eight numbered commitments.
2. Responsibilities by role
Seven roles from directors to visitors, each with its duty.
3. Consultation
Three elected representatives and a six member committee every second month.
4. Incident reporting
Five steps with deadlines and a callout on notifiable incidents.
5. Review and signature
A two yearly review and the managing director's signature block.

How to adapt this document

First, rewrite commitment 2 for your own worst hazard: a warehouse would name forklifts and racking, a commercial kitchen hot oil and knives, a builder falls from height. Second, match the representatives to how your people actually work; one per shift suits a plant, one per site suits a multi site service business. Third, if you are in Victoria or Western Australia, check which Act applies and change the section numbers, the regulator and the terms before anyone signs.

Which law the terms follow

The duties come from the Work Health and Safety Act 2011 (Qld), which follows the national model law: the primary duty of the person conducting the business or undertaking in section 19, officers' due diligence in section 27, workers' duties in section 28, consultation in section 47, and notifiable incidents in sections 35 to 39. Workplace Health and Safety Queensland is the regulator that receives notifications.

What makes this document work

Commitments a supervisor can check

The eight commitments name the plant's real hazards: every moulding machine, robot and conveyor guarded and interlocked, plant isolated and tagged out before anyone reaches in, and hearing, eye, hand and foot protection replaced when worn. A commitment that names the machine can be audited on the floor.

Every role has a line, from director to visitor

The responsibilities table runs seven rows and ties two of them to the Act: directors carry due diligence under section 27 and workers take reasonable care under section 28. Shift supervisors own pre start checks and first response, so nobody can say safety belonged to someone else.

Reporting has a clock on each step

Incidents are reported before the shift ends, entered within 24 hours and investigated within 5 working days, and the callout says notifiable incidents go to Workplace Health and Safety Queensland immediately with the site left undisturbed under section 39.

Questions people ask

Who should sign a WHS policy statement?

The most senior person who can commit resources, usually the managing director or chief executive, because the policy is a promise the business must fund. A signature from a safety officer alone suggests the policy belongs to one department. Many businesses also have the board note the policy, which helps officers show due diligence.

How long should a WHS policy statement be?

Short enough to be read on a noticeboard, usually one to three pages. The statement sets the commitments and the duties; the detail lives in procedures for isolation, chemicals, manual handling and the rest. This example keeps procedures out and points to the incident steps only because every worker needs them on day one.

What makes an incident notifiable in Queensland?

A death, a serious injury or illness, or a dangerous incident, as defined in sections 35 to 37 of the Work Health and Safety Act 2011 (Qld). Serious injuries include those needing immediate treatment as an inpatient. Dangerous incidents include uncontrolled spills, fires, explosions and electric shocks, even when nobody is hurt.

Does Victoria use the same WHS laws?

No. Victoria has its own Occupational Health and Safety Act 2004, regulated by WorkSafe Victoria, with different terms such as employer instead of person conducting a business or undertaking. A plant in Victoria should rewrite the section references and the regulator name rather than reuse this Queensland version unchanged.

How many health and safety representatives does a workplace need?

There is no fixed number. Workers can ask for representatives to be elected, and the business must then agree work groups with them, often by shift, area or trade. This plant uses three work groups, one per shift, so a representative is always on site whenever the machines are running.

Should the policy list targets such as lost time injuries?

The statement can commit to setting targets without naming the numbers, which change every year. Put the figures in the yearly safety plan and report them to the board, as commitment 8 does. Leading measures such as near misses reported or inspections completed show effort better than injury counts alone.

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