Small Business Health & Safety Checklist
A practical checklist to help Australian small business owners meet their WHS and OHS obligations - covering physical safety and psychosocial hazards.
What's in this small busines health and safety checklist
This checklist walks you through six key areas of workplace health and safety compliance:
- Leadership and safety culture
- Physical hazard identification and control
- Psychosocial hazard management
- Incident reporting and emergency preparedness
- Return to work
- Ongoing compliance and documentation
Each section contains clear, actionable items so you can quickly see what's in place and where the gaps are.
How to use this checklist
Work through each section and mark every item your business currently has in place. If you answer "no" to any item, note it as a gap - not a failure, but a starting point.
Use your results to prioritise the areas that need the most attention, and revisit the checklist at least once a year or whenever there are changes to your team, processes or legislation.
Why health and safety checklists matter
In Australia, WHS and OHS obligations extend beyond physical hazards. Since 2021, all jurisdictions have introduced legal requirements to identify and manage psychosocial hazards too - things like excessive workload, bullying, poor support and role ambiguity.
Non-compliance carries real regulatory risk. A structured checklist helps small business owners move from guesswork to a systematic approach, protecting both their people and their business.
FAQs
How often should a small business review its WHS and OHS compliance?
At a minimum, your WHS and OHS policies and performance should be formally reviewed once a year. You should also trigger a review whenever there are changes to legislation, work processes, equipment or personnel - not just on an annual schedule.
Does WHS compliance apply to contractors and visitors, not just employees?
Yes. As a small business owner, your duty of care extends to everyone who enters your workplace - employees, contractors and visitors alike.
This means your hazard identification, safety controls and incident reporting processes need to account for all people on site, not just your direct staff.
What records does a small business need to keep for WHS compliance?
At a minimum, small businesses should be documenting workplace inspections, hazard and risk registers, incident reports, training records, safe work procedures, emergency management plans and risk assessments.
These records need to be securely stored and kept current - they may be requested by a regulator in the event of an incident or audit, and gaps in documentation can expose your business to significant legal and financial risk.
Hello 👋 I’m Joel the founder of Foremind.
Are you ready for simplified support & compliance?
Answers to the frequently asked questions.
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