Glossary

A Glossary of common and complex terms and their definitions.


abrasive blasting
Propelling a stream of abrasive material at high speed against a surface using compressed air, liquid, steam, centrifugal wheels or paddles to clean, abrade, etch or otherwise change the original appearance or condition of the surface.
ABS
Australian Bureau of Statistics
Absenteeism
The practice of absenting oneself from duties, studies, employment, etc., often for inadequate reasons.
AC
Australian Chamber
ACD
Asbestos-contaminated dust or debris
ACM
Asbestos containing material
Acute toxicity category
A chemical's acute toxicity category is based on the amount of chemical needed to cause adverse effects from ingestion, skin absorption or inhalation of the chemical
ADG
Australian Dangerous Goods
ADG Code
Australian Code for the Transport of Dangerous Goods by Road and Rail; also referred to as the Australian Dangerous Goods Code
administrative control
A method of work, a process or a procedure designed to minimise risk, but does not include an engineering control, or the use of personal protective equipment.
AFA
Individual Flexibility Agreements
AFER
Australian Forum of Explosives Regulators
Age
The age of the employee at the time of death. Age is defined at the difference in years between the date of birth and the date of death.
AgVet
Agricultural and veterinary
AgVet Chemicals
Agricultural and Veterinary Chemicals
AIG
Australian Industry Group
airborne contaminant
A contaminant in the form of a fume, mist, gas, vapour or dust, and includes micro-organisms.
AMA
American Medical Association Guides
AMR
AMR
AMSA
Australian Maritime Safety Authority
ANAO
Australian National Audit Office
AND
Australian Network on Disability
ANU
Australian National University
ANZSIC
Australian and New Zealand Standard Industrial Classification
APEC
Asia-Pacific Economic Co-operation 
APOSHO
Asia-Pacific Occupational Safety and Health Organization 
APS
Australian Public Service
APSC
Australian Public Service Commission
APVMA
Australian Pesticides and Veterinary Medicines Authority
ARC
Australian Research Council
ASCC
Australian Safety and Compensation Council 
ASEA
Asbestos Safety and Eradication Agency
ASEAN-OSHNET
ASEAN Occupational Safety and Health Network
ASEC
Asbestos Safety and Eradication Council
Australian Strategy
Australian Work Health and Safety Strategy 2012-2022
Average
The sum of all observations divided by the number of observations.
AWES
Australian Work Exposures Study
AWES-2
Extended Australian Work Exposures Study
BCA
Building Code of Australia
BCM
business continuity management
Bystander
A person injured or killed as a result of someone elses work activity, while not engaged in a work activity of their own.
Carcinogen
A substance or mixture that causes or is suspected of causing cancer
CASA
Civil Aviation Safety Authority
CCIM
Conference of Chief Inspectors of Mines
CEO
Chief Executive Officer
CFO
Chief Financial Officer
COAG
Council of Australian Governments
Code of Practice
model Code of Practice Codes of practice are practical guides to achieving the standards of health, safety and welfare required under the WHS Act and the WHS Regulations in a jurisdiction. To have legal effect in a jurisdiction a model Code of Practice must be approved as a code of practice in that jurisdiction. To determine if a model Code of Practice has been approved in a particular jurisdiction, check with the relevant WHS regulator. Under a WHS Act in a jurisdiction, approved codes of practice are admissible in court proceedings. Courts may regard an approved code of practice as evidence of what is known about a hazard, risk or control and may rely on the code in determining what is reasonably practicable in the circumstances to which the code relates.
ComPARE Project
Compensation Policy and Return to Work Effectiveness Project
Consulation RIS
Consultation Regulation Impact Statement
control measure
An action taken to eliminate or minimise health and safety risks so far as is reasonably practicable. A hierarchy of control measures is set out in the WHS Regulations to assist duty holders to select the highest control measures reasonably practicable.
CPM
Comparative Performance Monitoring
CRG
Communications Reference Group
Danger
(under the GHS) is a signal words on a label or safety data sheet that is used to indicate the relative level of severity of a hazard; Danger is used for more severe or significant hazards.
dB
Decibel - The unit for measuring sound levels.
DEEWR
Department of Education, Employment and Workplace Relations
DG
Dangerous goods
Direct costs
Direct costs include items such as workers compensation premiums paid by employers or payments to injured or incapacitated workers from workers compensation jurisdictions.
DRIS
Decision Regulation Impact Statement
Duty Holder
A duty holder refers to any person who owes a work health and safety duty under the WHS Act including a person conducting a business or undertaking (PCBU), designer, manufacturer,  importer, supplier, installer of products or plant used at work (upstream duty holders), an officer and workers. More than one person can concurrently have the same duty in which case the duty is shared. Duties cannot be transferred.
EA
Enterprise Agreement (Safe Work Australia Enterprise Agreement 2015 - 18)
ECF
Employee Consultation Forum
ERG
Evidence Reference Group
ESD
ecologically sustainable development
EU-OSHA
European Agency for Safety and Health at Work
FAQ
Frequently asked question
FAQs
frequently asked questions
Flammability category
A chemicals flammability category is based on how easily under normal conditions that the chemical will ignite.
FMC
Fatality Media Collection
FOI
Freedom of information
FOI Act
Freedom of Information act 1982
FOPS
Falling objects protective structure
Frequency rate
The number of claims expressed as a rate per hour worked. For serious claims, this is typically per million hours worked.
FTE
full time equivalents
G20
Group of Twenty
G20 countries
The Group of Twenty is the premier international forum for cooperation on global economic governance. The members of the G20 are: Argentina, Australia, Brazil, Canada, China, France, Germany, India, Indonesia, Italy, Japan, Republic of Korea, Mexico, Russia, Saudi Arabia, South Africa, Turkey, United Kingdom, United States, and the European Union.
GDP
Gross domestic product: The total value of goods produced and services provided in a country during one year
GHS
Globally Harmonized System of Classification and Labelling of Chemicals
GSP
Gross state product: The sum of all value added by industries within the state during one year. Serves as a counterpart to the gross domestic product (GDP)
GST
Goods and Services Tax
Hazard
A situation or thing that has the potential to harm a person.
hazards
Situations or things that have the potential to harm a person.
HCIS
Hazardous Chemical Information System
HCIS
Hazardous Chemical Information System
Hierarchy of Control
The hierarchy of risk control shows ways of controlling risks, ranked from the highest level of protection and reliability to the lowest.
HRW
High risk work
HSC
Health and safety committee: A consultative body established under the model WHS Act. The committee's functions include facilitating co-operation between workers and the person conducting a business or undertaking to ensure worker's health and safety at work, and assisting to develop work health and safety standards, rules and procedures for the workplace.
HSR
Health and safety representative: A worker who has been elected by a work group under the model WHS Act to represent them on health and safety issues.
HSRs
Health and safety representatives
HWCA
Heads of Workers' Compensation Authorities
HWSA
Heads of Workplace Safety Authorities
IAGDP
Indigenous Australian Government Development Program
IALI
International Association of Labour Inspection   
IAP
International Advisory Panel
Iatrogenic injuries
The worker died due to medical intervention
ICD
Irritant contact dermatitis
IEA
International Ergonomics Association
IGA
Intergovernmental Agreement for Regulatory and Operational Reform in Occupational Health and Safety
ILO
International Labour Organization
Indirect costs
Indirect costs include items such as lost productivity, loss of current and future earnings, lost potential output and the cost of providing social welfare programs for injured or incapacitated workers.
IPF
Integrated planning framework
IPS
Information Publication Scheme
ISSA
International Social Security Association
JFM survey
Job Family Model survey
Jurisdiction
The territory over which authority is exercised
KPI
Key performance indicator
LDB
low density asbestos fibre board
LTI
Lost time injury: A lost-time injury is defined as an occurrence that resulted in a fatality, permanent disability or time lost from work of one day/shift or more.
LTIFR
Lost Time Injury Frequency Rate Lost-time injury frequency rates refer to the number of lost-time injuries within a given accounting period, relative to the total number of hours worked in that period. LTIFR is a proxy measurement for safety performance.
MAPS
Motivations, Attitudes, Perceptions and Skills project
Mean
The sum of all observations divided by the number of observations.
Median
The middle value in a distribution when all values are ordered from lowest to highest. The median divides a distribution in half, which means 50% of observations will be higher than the median and 50% will be lower. If there is an odd number of observations, the median value is the middle value.
Members
Safe Work Australia Members
METs
Metabolic equivalent of task
MHF
Major hazard facility
MO
Marine Order
model WHS Act
model Work Health and Safety Act - The model WHS Act forms the basis of the WHS Acts that have been implemented in most jurisdictions across Australia. The main object of the Act is to provide for a balanced and nationally consistent framework to secure the health and safety of workers and workplaces.
model WHS laws
model Work Health and Safety laws - The model WHS laws consist of the model WHS Act, model WHS Regulations and model Codes of Practice.
model WHS Regulations
model Work Health and Safety Regulations - The model WHS Regulations set out detailed requirements to support the duties in the model WHS Act.
MonCOEH
Monash Centre for Occupational and Environmental Health
MoU
Memorandum of understanding
MSD
Musculoskeletal disorder
MSDs
Musculoskeletal disorders
MTIFRs
Medically treated injury frequency rates
MUA
Maritime Union of Australia
Musculoskeletal
Relating to muscles and to the skeleton
MWCNTs
Multi-walled carbon nanotubes
NAIs
National assessment instruments
National Standard
National Standards draw together best practice from Australian state and territory OHD authorities into a framework that will promote, for the first time, a nationally uniform approach to the management of OHS. [superseded by model WHS laws, regs and codes]
NCIS
National Coronial Information System
NCOP
National Code of Practice - National codes of practice declared by the National Commission under s.38(1) of the National Occupational Health and Safety Commission Act 1985 (Cwlth) are documents prepared for the purpose of advising employers and workers of acceptable preventive action for averting occupational deaths, injuries and diseases in relation to workplace hazards. It should be noted that National Commission documents are instruments of an advisory character, except where a law, other than the National Occupational Health and Safety Commission Act, or an instrument made under such a law, makes them mandatory. The application of any National Commission document in any particular State or Territory is the prerogative of that State or Territory. {superseded by model WHS laws, regs and codes}
NDS
National Data Set for Compensation-based Statistics
NFC
Notifiable Fatality Collection
NHEWS
National Hazard Exposure Worker Surveillance survey
NHRMC
National Health and Medical Research Council
NICNAS
National Industrial Chemicals Notification and Assessment Scheme
NMSF
National Mine Safety Framework
NOHARMS
National occupational hazard and risk management surveillance
NOHSC
National Occupational Health and Safety Commission
NOPSEMA
National Offshore Petroleum Safety and Environmental Management Authority
Notifiable
An incident that is required, under the model WHS Act, to be notified to regulators. Only the most serious safety incidents are intended to be notifiable and they trigger requirements to preserve the incident site pending further direction from the regulator. These include the death of a person, a serious injury or illness or a dangerous incident. Safe Work Australia receives information from jurisdictions on all notifiable fatalities and publishes monthly and annual summaries of this information.
NRSPP
National Road Safety Partnership Program
OCU
Occupational contact urticaria
OECD
Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development 
Officer
An officer within the meaning of section 9 of the Corporations Act 2001 (Cth) other than each partner within a partnership. Broadly, an officer is a person who makes, or participates in making, decisions that affect the whole, or a substantial part, of the organisation's activities. Each partner within a partnership is not an officer but a PCBU in their own right. Under the model WHS Act, an officer must exercise due diligence to ensure compliance by the PCBU with its health and safety obligations.
OHS
Occupational Health and Safety
OSDs
Occupational skin diseases
OSH
Occupational Safety and Health   
PATH
Personality and total health
PATH
Personality and Total Health through Life project
PBS
Portfolio Budget Statements
PCBU
Person conducting a business or undertaking. The model WHS Act places the primary duty of care on the PCBU. The term PCBU is an umbrella concept used to capture all types of working arrangements or structures. A PCBU can be a: company; unincorporated body or association; sole trader or self-employed person. Individuals who are in a partnership that is conducting a business will individually and collectively be a PCBU.
PCBUs
Person conducting a business or undertaking. The model WHS Act places the primary duty of care on the PCBU. The term PCBU is an umbrella concept used to capture all types of working arrangements or structures. A PCBU can be a: company; unincorporated body or association; sole trader or self-employed person. Individuals who are in a partnership that is conducting a business will individually and collectively be a PCBU.
Person with management or control of a workplace
The person with management or control of a workplace must ensure, so far as is reasonably practicable, that the workplace, the means of entering and exiting the workplace and anything arising from the workplace are without risks to the health and safety of any person.
PGPA
Public Governance, Performance and Accountability Act 2013
Plant
Includes any machinery, equipment, appliance, container, implement or tool, and any component or anything fitted or connected to these things.
Policy
A definite course of action adopted as expedient or from other considerations
PPE
Personal protective equipment
Presenteeism
The practice of continuing to go to work, especially when not working at a fully productive rate due to illness, stress, exhaustion caused by working beyond one's set hours, etc., often in an attempt to show commitment to one's employment.
RCCBs
Residual-current circuit breakers
RCDs
Residual-current devices
Regulation Impact Statement
A Regulation Impact Statement (RIS) is a tool used by governments, when introducing or abolishing regulation, to assess the likely impact of viable options against the default position of no change in a way that is transparent and accountable.
RERG
Research and Evaluation Reference Group
RIS
Regulation Impact Statement (RIS) is a tool used by governments, when introducing or abolishing regulation, to assess the likely impact of viable options against the default position of no change in a way that is transparent and accountable.
Risk
The possibility that harm (death, injury or illness) might occur when exposed to a hazard.
Risk control
Taking action to eliminate health and safety risks so far as is reasonably practicable, and if that is not possible, minimising the risks so far as is reasonably practicable. Eliminating a hazard will also eliminate any risks associated with that hazard.
risks
The possibility that harm (death, injury or illness) might occur when exposed to a hazard.
RTO
Registered training organisation
RTW
Return to Work
SDS
Safety Data Sheet
Seacare
Seafarers Safety, Rehabilitation and Compensation Authority
sedentary
Being still or not moving often enough.
Serious claims
An accepted workers' compensation claim for an incapacity that results in a total absence from work for one working week or more. It includes claims that receive common-law payments. Claims that arise from a journey to or from work, or during a recess period, are not compensable in all jurisdictions and are excluded, as are compensated fatalities.
SIG-Explosives members
Strategic issues group - Explosives members
SIG-WHS
Strategic Issues Group - Work Health and Safety
SIG-WHS members
Strategic issues group - Work health and safety members
SIG-Workers' Compensation members
Strategic issues group - Workers' compensation members
SIRA
State Insurance Regulatory Authority
SMEs
Business Index - Small and Medium Enterprises'
SMS
Safety Management System
SRCC
Safety, Rehabilitation and Compensation Commission
SSC
Shared Services Centre
Structure
Anything that is constructed, whether fixed or moveable, temporary or permanent, and includes buildings, masts, towers, framework, pipelines, transport infrastructure and underground words (shafts or tunnels). Also includes any component or part of a structure.
Substance
Any natural or artificial substance whether in the form of a solid, liquid, gas or vapour.
Supply
Supply and re-supply of a thing provided by way of sale, exchange, lease, hire or hire-purchase arrangement, whether as principal or agent.
SWA
Safe Work Australia - A tripartite body made up of the Chair, Safe Work Australia Members and the Chief Executive Officer
SWCNTs
Single-walled carbon nanotubes
SWMS
Safe Work Method Statement
TARS
Transport and Road Safety
Term
For import
TGA
Therapeutic Goods Administration
The Agency
The Safe Work Australia Agency
the Chair
Safe Work Australia Chair
the corporate plan
Safe Work Australia Corporate Plan 
the Government
Australian Government
the operational plan
Safe Work Australia Operational Plan 
TIF
Traumatic Injury Fatalities
TOOCS
Type of Occurrence Classification System - A suite of four classifications to code the way an injury occurred, comprising: - the Nature of injury/disease classification - the Bodily location of injury/disease classification- the Mechanism of incident classification, and  - the Agency of injury/disease classification. Version 3.1 is used for coding the data presented in this report. Fatalities are only coded by Mechanism and Agency.
TRIFRs
Total recordable injury frequency rates
UN
United Nations
UNSCEGHS
UN Sub-Committee of Experts on the Globally Harmonized System of Classification and Labelling of Chemicals
UNSCETDG
The UN Sub-Committee of Experts on the Transport of Dangerous Goods  
UNSW
University of New South Wales
UoC
Units of competency
V a.c.
Volts alternating current
V d.c.
Volts direct current
VET
Vocational Education and Training
Volunteer
A person who acts on a voluntary basis regardless of whether they receive out of pocket expenses.
Volunteer association
A group of volunteers working together for one or more community purposes where none of the volunteers, whether alone or jointly with any other volunteers, employs any person to carry out work for the volunteer association.
Warning
(under the GHS) is a signal word on a label or safety data sheet that is used to indicate the relative level of severity of a hazard; Warning is used for less severe or significant hazards.
WC
Workers' compensation
WES
Workplace exposure standards
WHO
World Health Organization
WHS
Work health and safety
WHS Duties
WHS laws require organisations that employ paid workers ensure, so far as is reasonably practicable, the physical and mental health and safety of workers, including volunteers.
WHS Regulator
Manages compliance and enforcement of WHS laws; has enforcement and arbitration powers.
WHSC
Work Health and Safety Committee
WHSQ
Workplace Health and Safety Queensland
WIN
Workplace Inclusion Network
Work group
A group of workers represented by a HSR who in many cases share similar work conditions, for example all the electricians in a factory, all people on night shift, all people who work in the loading bay of a retail storage facility.
Worker
Any person who carries out work for a PCBU, including work as an employee, contractor, subcontractor, self-employed person, outworker, apprentice or trainee, work experience student, employee of a labour hire company placed with a 'host employer' and volunteers.
Worker fatality
Fatalities that resulting from an injury sustained in the course of a work activity
Workplace
Any place where work is carried out for a business or undertaking and includes any place where a worker goes, or is likely to be, while at work. This may include offices, factories, shops, construction sites, vehicles, ships, aircraft or other mobile structures on land or water.
Workplace bullying
The repeated and unreasonable behaviour directed towards a worker or group of workers that creates a risk to health and safety.
Workplace exposure standards
A workplace exposure standard for a particular chemical sets out the legal concentration limit of that chemical that must not be exceeded.
WRMC
Workplace Relations Ministers' Council