Preventing slips, trips and falls at work

Background

This guidance provides information and examples to help understand common causes of slips, trips and falls at level and under 2 m, including falls from stairs and ramps but excluding incidents from vehicles. Slips, trips and falls over 2 m are covered by Regulation 3.3 Prevention of Falls in the Occupational Health and Safety Regulations 2017.

Slips, trips and falls from a height of less than 2 m can cause a variety of injuries including:

• sprains
• cuts
• fractures
• dislocations
• head or back injuries.

This guidance provides an overview of:

• how to plan for and ensure safe entry, exit and movement around the workplace
• what is needed for the effective maintenance of the work environment
• other actions and considerations that support good planning and maintenance
• how to communicate and work with relevant duty holders
• addressing slips, trips and falls hazards
• legislation and standards that are relevant to slips, trips and falls.

The guidance includes:

• indoor and outdoor workplace environments
• workplaces with consistent conditions like hospitals
• ‘dynamic’ workplaces such as construction sites, where environments and tasks are constantly changing.

This guidance has been adapted with permission from Workplace Health and Safety Queensland’s Guide to preventing slips, trips and falls at work.

The guidance is available as a series of webpages in 6 parts, navigable with the following links. Use the navigation tool on each page to move through the various parts in turn.