Workplace violence: creating a safe work environment

Workplace violence is any threat or act of physical or psychological harm at work, including aggression from clients, the public, co-workers or someone from outside. Under the WHS laws it is a hazard you have to manage, like any other. That means finding out where it can happen, controlling the risk, training people to spot and respond to it, and reviewing what you do after an incident.

Violence is often thought of as a punch or a weapon. Verbal threats, intimidation, harassment and bullying cause harm too, and they can be just as damaging over time.

Violence is a WHS hazard

Safe Work Australia lists violence and aggression as a psychosocial hazard, next to bullying and harassment. Psychosocial hazards are risks that come from how work is designed, managed and carried out, and they can cause psychological or physical harm.

The primary duty of care under section 19 of the WHS Act covers both physical and psychological health. The business must provide a workplace that is without risks to health and safety, so far as is reasonably practicable. Workers have duties too. Under section 28, they must take reasonable care of their own health and safety and must not adversely affect anyone else's. Workers also have the right to raise and report violence, and the business has to listen.

The model Code of Practice: Managing psychosocial hazards at work sets out how to identify, assess and control these risks. It's the place to start for a full program.

Who is most at risk?

Anyone can be affected, but exposure is higher in some work. Roles that often see more aggression include:

• health care, aged care and home care, where workers deal with distressed or unwell people
• policing, security, corrections and other protective services
• retail, hospitality and any job that handles cash or deals with intoxicated customers
• education, where staff face aggression from students, parents or carers
• roles that work alone, after hours or in isolated locations

Look at the risk factors too. Some are personal, such as a person's history or mental health. Some are situational, such as the type of task, the time of day or how crowded the space is. Some are organisational, such as poor rostering, no clear policy, or a culture where aggression is ignored.

Types of violence to plan for

Grouping incidents by who causes them helps you pick the right controls.

These categories don't cover every case, so use them as a starting point and check your own incident records.

What to do: a practical process

Work through the same steps you'd use for any hazard.

1. Identify where violence can happen. Look at incident reports, near misses, complaints and feedback from staff. Walk the workplace at the times when it's busiest or quietest.
2. Assess the risk. Consider how likely each type is, how serious the harm could be, and who would be exposed. Write it down. The workplace violence risk assessment form gives you a structure.
3. Apply controls, starting at the top. Remove the risk where you can: change the layout so the worker isn't cornered, take the cash away, or stop lone work in a risky setting. Engineer it out with barriers, duress alarms, lighting and cameras. Use administrative controls such as policies, rosters, flagging and procedures. Training comes after that, not instead of the others.
4. Set a policy and say no to it. Write down what behaviour is not acceptable, what happens when someone breaks the rules, and how workers report it. Then apply the rules the same way every time.
5. Train everyone. Staff should know the policy, recognise early warning signs such as raised voices, pacing or threats, and know how to step back, call for help and leave.
6. Plan the response. Decide who responds, how they call for help, when police are called, and how first aid and support are given. Practise it.
7. Report and review. Every incident gets a report. Investigate it, fix the cause, check the controls worked and review the risk assessment.

The workplace violence prevention plan pulls these steps together. For the broader approach to hazards, see psychosocial hazards contributing to work-related stress.

Respond well when it happens

When an incident occurs, the first priority is the safety of the people involved. After that:

• Get the worker to a safe place, and check on their physical and mental state.
• Call emergency services if there's an immediate threat or an injury. Don't wait to decide whether it's serious enough.
• Record what happened while it's fresh: who was involved, what was said or done, what was witnessed, and what action was taken.
• Offer support, such as a debrief, time off, access to an employee assistance program or a referral to a health professional.
• Let the worker know what happens next, including how the investigation will be run.
• Review the controls. Did the risk assessment cover this? Did the procedure work? What needs to change?

Psychological harm can take longer to recover from than a physical injury, so don't close the incident just because the physical injury has healed.

Culture makes the difference

Policies don't stop aggression if people think it will be ignored. Managers need to model respectful behaviour, act on reports, and protect the person who speaks up. Workers need to know they can raise a concern without it costing them their job. Regular toolbox talks, short check-ins and clear feedback on what was done after a report all help.

Consult workers when you change the controls. Under section 47 of the WHS Act, the business must consult workers who are likely to be affected by a risk, and that includes the people who face the aggression every day.

Common questions

Is verbal abuse a WHS issue or just bad behaviour? If it's a risk to health and safety, it's a WHS issue. Repeated verbal abuse, threats and intimidation can cause psychological harm, so you have to manage them as a hazard.

Do we need a separate policy for workplace violence? A standalone policy makes it clear what's expected, but many businesses fold it into a broader psychosocial hazards or code of conduct policy. Either works, as long as the controls and the reporting path are clear.

What if the aggression comes from a client? You still have to manage the risk. Set up client flagging, plan safe ways to end visits or calls, train staff in de-escalation, and make sure people can leave a situation safely.

What should a worker do if they're threatened? Get away from the threat if you can, call for help, and report the incident as soon as it's safe. The business should then investigate, support the worker and review its controls.

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This guide is general information, not legal advice. Check the current law with your WHS regulator.