Creating an inclusive WHS plan for employees with disabilities

An inclusive WHS plan sets out how your business finds and removes the barriers that stop workers with disabilities from working safely. It names the physical, communication and procedural barriers on your site, says who is responsible for each one, and describes how you will consult workers and review the plan. Build it into your existing WHS system rather than keeping it as a separate document.

The law already asks you to do this. Under the Work Health and Safety Act 2011, a business must protect the health and safety of every worker, including workers with disabilities, so far as is reasonably practicable. An inclusive plan is the practical way to show how you do that, and it also helps with your obligations under anti-discrimination law.

What is an inclusive WHS plan?

An inclusive WHS plan is the part of your safety system that deals with the needs of each worker, not just the average one. It starts from the question "can this person work here safely and fully?" and then asks what needs to change if the answer is no.

It should cover four things:

• Barriers. What in the workplace, the work, or the way it is communicated makes it harder for someone with a disability to work safely.
• Controls. What you will do about each barrier, such as an adjustment, a different procedure or a change to the site.
• Consultation. How workers with disabilities, and their representatives, help design and check the controls.
• Review. How you will check that the controls work and update them when they do not.

Start with the barriers

Most barriers fall into three groups: physical, communication and procedural. Walk through your site and your processes with these in mind, and talk to the workers who face them.

Physical barriers

Physical barriers limit how a person can get around, use equipment or reach a workspace. They are the most visible, and often the easiest to fix. Look for:

• steps, stairs and kerbs without an alternative route
• narrow doorways and corridors
• workstations and tools that cannot be adjusted
• equipment or materials stored out of reach
• routes to first aid, amenities and exits that a worker cannot use alone

Communication barriers

Communication barriers stop a worker getting or sharing information. They can leave someone out of toolbox talks, safety meetings or emergency instructions without anyone noticing. Look for:

• safety information only in printed form, or only in one format
• no captions, interpreting or plain-language version of training
• noisy areas where alarms and instructions cannot be heard
• inductions and forms that rely on complex or technical language

Procedural barriers

Procedural barriers come from how work is organised. A rule that looks neutral can still exclude someone. Look for:

• rigid rosters that do not allow for medical appointments or treatment
• standard training that ignores different ways of learning
• emergency procedures with no provision for a worker who needs help to leave
• job descriptions that list physical requirements the job does not really need

Record each barrier in your risk register or hazard log, the same way you would any other risk. That keeps it in the same process as your other controls.

The key elements of an inclusive plan

Inclusive recruitment

Inclusion starts at recruitment. Write job descriptions that state the real physical demands of the role, so people can decide whether they can do the work with or without an adjustment. Offer other ways to apply and to take part in interviews, such as more time, a phone interview or a different format for tests.

Consultation with workers

The WHS Act requires a PCBU to consult, so far as is reasonably practicable, with workers who carry out work for the business about matters that affect their health and safety (section 47). For workers with disabilities, that means asking them directly what would help, not guessing. Offer them the same chance to speak up as everyone else, through the channels they can use. A worker consultation record helps you show what was raised and what you did about it.

Reasonable adjustments

An adjustment is a change to the way the work is done or the workplace, so that a worker with a disability can do it safely. Common examples include:

• assistive technology or equipment
• changed start and finish times, or rest breaks
• modified tasks or a different sequence of work
• flexible working arrangements
• physical changes, such as ramps, handrails or lower benches

An accommodation request form gives the worker a clear way to ask, and gives you a record of what was agreed and why.

Inclusive training and communication

Offer training in more than one format, and check that workers can use it. Options include written, audio and visual versions, captioned video, and hands-on demonstrations. Ask whether the training works for them, and change it if it does not.

Use plain language in policies and procedures. If a worker uses a screen reader or needs an alternative format, provide the document that way from the start.

Inclusive emergency procedures

Workers with disabilities may need help in an emergency, and the standard evacuation plan may not cover them. Make sure your emergency response plan answers these questions:

• Who needs help to leave, and how will you know?
• Are the evacuation routes, alarms and assembly points accessible?
• Who is trained to help, and what is their role?
• How will alarms reach a worker who cannot hear them or see a flashing light?
• Do workers with disabilities take part in drills?

Plan a drill, see where it does not work for a worker with a disability, and fix it. Keep the individual details confidential, and share with each worker only what they need to be safe.

Support and feedback

Give workers a way to raise concerns early, without fear of being treated differently for it. Regular check-ins, a clear issue process and a named contact all help. A consultation policy can set out how this works in your business.

For mental health and wellbeing, the same principles apply. Our post on psychosocial hazards and work-related stress covers how to assess and control those risks.

Legal obligations to plan around

Three areas of law overlap with an inclusive plan. The details differ by state and territory, so check them with your regulator.

• WHS law. The primary duty of care in section 19 of the WHS Act applies to all workers. Workers have their own duties under section 28, including to take reasonable care of their own health and safety.
• Disability discrimination. The Disability Discrimination Act 1992 prohibits discrimination on the basis of disability in employment. It allows an employer to rely on unjustifiable hardship as a defence when deciding whether an adjustment must be made, so keep a record of how you reached each decision.
• Fair work. The Fair Work Act 2009 sets the minimum entitlements that apply to employees, including leave and flexible working requests. Its general protections also stop an employer taking adverse action against a worker because of a disability.

Review the plan

Review the controls when they stop working, when the work or workplace changes, when a new hazard appears, and when a worker raises a problem. Under the WHS Regulations, a control measure must be reviewed in these situations, including when it does not work as intended or when a health and safety representative asks for a review (regulation 38).

A simple review asks:

1. Is the barrier still there?
2. Is the adjustment working for the worker?
3. Has anything changed in the role, the site or the team?
4. Did any worker raise a concern, or was there an incident or near miss?
5. Do the emergency arrangements still work for everyone on the roster?

Record the answers and the date. That record is the evidence that the plan is working, not just written.

Checklist for an inclusive WHS plan

• [ ] Physical, communication and procedural barriers are listed for each site and role
• [ ] Each barrier has a control, an owner and a review date
• [ ] Workers with disabilities were consulted, and can see the plan
• [ ] Adjustments are requested and recorded through a clear process
• [ ] Training and policies are available in formats workers can use
• [ ] The emergency plan covers workers who need help, and has been drilled
• [ ] The plan is reviewed on a set schedule and after any change

Common questions

Do I have to ask workers if they have a disability? No. Workers do not have to disclose a disability. Make it easy to ask for an adjustment, and keep any health information confidential.

What if an adjustment is expensive? Look at the options first. Many adjustments cost little or nothing, such as a change to a roster or a different task order. If an adjustment would impose unjustifiable hardship on the business, take advice before you decline it, and keep a record of your reasons.

Does an inclusive plan replace my WHS risk assessment? No. It sits alongside the risk assessment and uses the same process. Barriers are hazards, and they go in the same register.

Who should own the plan? Someone with authority to make changes to the site, roster and training, usually a manager, working with the health and safety representative and workers.

Read next

• Mental health at work: nurturing employee wellbeing
• Fire evacuation plan: guide to effective implementation

How SafetyDocs helps

SafetyDocs has consultation, return-to-work and anti-discrimination policies that you can adapt, plus the forms that go with them. Documents are sent in the crew's languages, with the English original kept as the record. When a policy changes, everyone who signed the old version is asked to sign the new one, so you can show that people have seen the update.

This is general information, not legal advice. Check the current law with your WHS regulator and your state or territory anti-discrimination agency.