(from Violence in the Workplace Guide, WorkCover 2002)
1. Hazard identification
Meet with your staff, volunteers or young people's advisory group to identify hazards in your service, particularly those related to violence.
Discuss:incident reports and undocumented incidents of violence
physical injury and accident reports
complaints previously received by the service
past repairs to equipment and the building. Insurance claims
what makes young people feel safe or unsafe about using your service, particularly if they have not used your service for the first time
what equipment could be potentially used as a weapon, ie knives, pool cues
the physical design of the service
the culture of the service, ie whether hassling and out downs are tolerated
training and consistency of staff and volunteer response to challenging behaviour
Write the list of hazards here:
2. Hazard assessment
For each risk, discuss how likely it is that an incident might occur and how serious the outcome might be.
Use the matrix below to assess and prioritise each risk. Write the grading on the previous page next to the hazard.
3. Hazard control
download Hazard Control (the rest of this page) as a PDF file (48KB)
The aim of hazard control is to identify ways to eliminate risks. If it is not possible to reduce all risks then look at ways to reduce them or their impact.
This should also be discussed with your staff, volunteers or young people's advisory group.
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Working with Young People with Alcohol or Other Drug Issues: A self-paced learning package Published: 2006 Funded by NSW Drug & Alcohol Workforce Development Council. Written & compiled by Kristy Delaney, YAPA, and Matt Stubbs & John Howard, Ted Noffs Institute. Additional material by Nick Manning, YAPA, & by Shopfront Youth Legal Centre. Opinions are the author's.
Be careful! YAPA and the authors took reasonable care to ensure that this information was correct at the time of publishing. However health information, and government regulations, laws and standards are complex and changing. The authors may not have health, safety, or legal qualifications, and information provided is general - it is not specific health, legal or professional advice. Do not rely on it - check with other publications and authorities and if necessary get qualified, medical, legal or professional advice for your situation.
