Work health and safety training is not a nice to have—it’s a legal obligation for every Australian workplace. While ensuring initial training for all relevant staff is essential, it’s only the beginning. For a number of reasons, staying up-to-date with the latest training is necessary so that everyone at any time can perform, react to or prevent issues appropriately.
It might sound like government red tape, but the reality is that ongoing OHS refresher training serves a vital purpose. In this article, we’ll explore why regular refresher training isn’t just about compliance—it’s a crucial investment in workplace safety and employee wellbeing.
Why Refresher Safety Training is Paramount in the Workplace
- Maintains Staff and Workplace Safety
Keeping everyone’s knowledge and recall fresh and ensuring you follow the latest best-practices helps protect your people and places. Preventing risk should be the number one workplace safety priority. - Keeps Information Fresh
Everyone has a lot on their plate, so it stands to reason that not all information is retained all of the time. Muscle and brain memory rely on repetition. You want your team to be in a situation whereby, if a crisis were to occur, their response would be immediate and second-nature. - Instills Ongoing Best Practice
Things change. Processes tighten, regulations get updated, technologies advance, and information that was once current is now redundant. Keeping on top of these changes ensures compliance and best practice at all times. - Fills Training Gaps
You may conduct internal workplace audits or inspections that reveal system or process errors. Ongoing training is an excellent way to address those inconsistencies and ensure the correct procedures and processes are implemented. - Encourages Positive Workplace Culture
Keeping work safety top-of-mind reinforces to staff your commitment to protect them. When culture is nurtured at the business head, the body follows. Employees will feel empowered to follow best-practice and are more likely to trust the company or organisation’s safety procedures. - Ensures Compliance
As we already know, workplace safety isn’t just a box to tick—it’s a legal requirement.
FAQs
The answer depends on the course in question.
For example, working at heights is particularly dangerous and, tragically, Australian workplace accidents and fatalities continue to occur. For this reason, certain industries are very particular with their contractors and staff, and may regard certifications older than two years to be redundant, therefore calling on refresher safety training.
Low voltage rescue certifications are typically valid for 12 months only, so will certainly require an information refresher and re-certification.
If you’re enrolled with Sydney Safety Training, you don’t have to worry about returning to ground zero for your training. We provide a series of short health and safety refresher training courses for confined spaces, working at heights and low-voltage rescue.
- Confined Space Refresher Safety TrainingThe Confined Space Refresher Training is a one-day course compliant with the core elements of the National Standard for Safe Working in a Confined Space. It also revisits the Australian Standard AS/NZ 2865 (2009) Safe Working in a Confined Space.
- Working at Heights Safety Refresher TrainingThe Working at Heights Refresher Training is a one-day course conducted weekly and on one Saturday each month.
- Low-Voltage Rescue Safety Refresher Course TrainingThe Low-Voltage Safety Refresher Training should be undertaken each year, as certification is only valid for 12 months.
We make the application simple. Just jump into any of the above links and follow the prompts to enrol. Alternatively, call our team on 02 9892 3370.
Contact Us About Health and Safety Refresher Training
Safety in the workplace should be an ever-green topic. It’s important to talk it, think it and train for it regularly. We hope this information is valuable to you. Please contact us if we can help with more information or answer any questions.