Australian Work Health and Safety Principles in Education and Care
Who holds which duties under WHS law, how the National Quality Framework sits alongside it, and why your service's procedures come first.
Last reviewed September 2026 · Part of Manual Handling Training for Childcare and Early Childhood Educators
Key learning points
- Describe the general duties of approved providers as PCBUs and of educators as workers
- Understand that WHS law is broadly consistent nationally, with Victoria under its own Act
- Explain how the National Quality Framework relates to manual handling safety
- Understand consultation, training and supervision as parts of the safety system
- Explain why following your service's procedures matters
The model WHS laws
Most Australian states and territories have adopted the model Work Health and Safety Act and Regulations developed by Safe Work Australia. Victoria has not — it operates under its own Occupational Health and Safety Act 2004 and regulations, which use different wording but place very similar duties on employers and employees. Whichever law applies to your service, the practical expectations for manual handling are much the same.
Under the model laws, the organisation running the service — the approved provider, whether that is a company, a council, a community committee or a family day care scheme — is the person conducting a business or undertaking, or PCBU, and carries the primary duty of care. Educators, cooks, administrators and trainees are workers with their own duties. Neither side can manage safety alone.
What the approved provider, as PCBU, is generally expected to do
- Provide and maintain a working environment that is safe, so far as is reasonably practicable
- Identify hazardous manual tasks in the service and put risk controls in place
- Provide suitable equipment — adjustable cots, change tables with steps, adult chairs, buggies with working brakes — and keep it maintained
- Provide information, training, instruction and supervision
- Consult educators about health and safety matters that affect them
- Have systems for reporting hazards, incidents, early symptoms and equipment faults
What an educator, as a worker, is generally expected to do
- Take reasonable care for their own health and safety
- Take reasonable care that their actions do not harm others, including children and colleagues
- Comply with reasonable instructions given by the provider or nominated supervisor
- Co-operate with reasonable workplace policies and procedures
- Use equipment as intended, and only when shown how
- Report hazards, incidents, near misses, discomfort and faulty equipment
The hazardous manual tasks Code of Practice
Safe Work Australia publishes a model Code of Practice, Hazardous Manual Tasks, which most jurisdictions have adopted or mirrored. It sets out how to identify hazardous manual tasks, assess the risk factors and apply the hierarchy of controls. It is written for every industry, including education and care, and this course follows its approach. Your state or territory regulator — SafeWork NSW, WorkSafe Victoria, Workplace Health and Safety Queensland, WorkSafe WA, SafeWork SA, WorkSafe Tasmania, WorkSafe ACT or NT WorkSafe — publishes guidance built on it.
Where the National Quality Framework fits
Two systems, both apply
- Work health and safety law
- Protects workers and others at the workplace. Administered by the WHS regulator in your state or territory.
- National Quality Framework
- The Education and Care Services National Law and Regulations, administered by state and territory regulatory authorities with ACECQA. Requires safe environments and adequate supervision for children, and expects leadership that supports a professional, well workforce.
- Where they meet
- A cot that is hard to reach into, a change table with no steps or a buggy with a failing brake is a WHS hazard for you and a safety issue for children under the National Regulations.
- What this course is
- General manual handling education that supports both. It is not approved or required by ACECQA or any regulatory authority, and it does not replace induction and training your provider must give you.
Follow your service
Your service's policies, procedures and the nominated supervisor's instructions always take precedence over this course. Where the two differ, follow your workplace procedure and raise the difference with your room leader or director.
Consultation
Consultation means educators get a genuine say in decisions that affect their safety. The people in the room notice problems first — the cot in the corner no one can get close to, the storage shelf where the heavy sensory tubs live above head height, the buggy that pulls to the left. Raising these is part of the safety system. Many services use room meetings, staff meetings, a health and safety representative or a simple hazard log for this.
Requirements differ
Work health and safety requirements, regulators and codes of practice differ between Australian states and territories, and between providers and individual services. Family day care educators and OSHC services have their own arrangements. This course provides general education only and is not legal advice about your circumstances.
Practical scenario
Scenario: the quick lift over the gate
A colleague tells you the fastest way to move toddlers between rooms is to lift each child over the half-height safety gate rather than opening it. She has done it for years and nothing has happened.
What is the appropriate response?
Reveal the explanation
Do not adopt it. Lifting a toddler over a gate means holding a moving load at arm's length above waist height, then lowering it beyond a barrier — an awkward posture with high force, repeated for every child. Open the gate and let children walk through, which is also better for their independence. Raise the practice with your room leader, because a long habit without an injury is luck, not evidence of safety.
Knowledge check
These questions are for your own learning. They are not part of the final assessment.
1. Which of the following is an educator's duty under Australian WHS principles?
Workers must take reasonable care for themselves and others and co-operate with reasonable policies and instructions. Providing equipment and procedures is the provider's duty.
2. Which statement about WHS law across Australia is correct?
The model WHS laws are widely adopted, Victoria operates under its own Act with comparable duties, and WHS law applies wherever work is done, including a family day care residence.
3. How does the National Quality Framework relate to this course?
WHS law and the National Quality Framework both apply. This course is not approved or required by any regulatory authority; providers set their own training requirements.
4. A service procedure conflicts with something you read in an online course. What should you do?
Service-specific procedures reflect the actual rooms, children and equipment. Follow them and escalate any concern through consultation.
Sources and further reading
The framework this module summarises, from the regulators themselves. Your workplace procedures always take precedence.
- Safe Work Australia — Model Code of Practice: Hazardous manual tasks — The national code the state and territory regulators adopt or mirror.
- Safe Work Australia — Lifting, pushing and pulling (manual tasks)
- Safe Work Australia — Model WHS laws
- ACECQA — National Quality Framework — Education and Care Services National Law and Regulations.