The Occupational Health and Safety Act 2004 (OHS Act) and Occupational Health and Safety Regulations 2017 (OHS Regulations) require employers to provide OHS information in appropriate languages and forms, ensuring that employees with limited English proficiency are able to fully comprehend information, receive proper training, and engage in consultations. Additionally, these employees must be appropriately represented in workplace health and safety consultation.

This compliance code (the Code) offers practical guidance to help employers meet these obligations. It was developed by WorkSafe in consultation with both employer and employee representatives.

 

Communication duties under Victoria’s occupational health and safety laws

To establish and maintain a working environment that’s safe and without health risks, employers must provide occupational health and safety information to employees in appropriate languages and forms and ensure that employees are appropriately represented in consultation on work health and safety. This also applies to any employees whose language skills require using languages other than English.

Victoria’s Occupational Health and Safety Act specify communication duties in a range of situations: 

  • When negotiating agreements about designated workgroups, one of the matters to be taken into account is whether the employees speak other languages.
  • When consulting employees, including contractors, on occupational health and safety issues.
  • When resolving health and safety issues, employers must notify employees, any health and safety representatives or health and safety committee as to whether the employer intends to participate in the issue resolution personally or nominates an employer representative, and if they nominate a rep, the nominee’s name and position description. Such notifications must be in the appropriate languages.
  • Employers must ensure that details of agreements to resolve a health and safety issue are communicated to employees in any language agreed to be appropriate by the parties involved in the resolution. 
  • There are also provisions for materials such as safety data sheets to be prepared in other languages in addition to English.

 

Language barriers

Communicating occupational health and safety information, instructions and training are central to reducing the risk of work injury and illness. Employees need to receive and understand occupational health and safety information, be able to raise and discuss issues and be trained in safe work practices. An ongoing dialogue on relevant issues is essential to work safety, and this needs to be accessible for all employees.

The Code notes that in some workplaces, language and related cultural barriers can pose serious challenges to communication. In dealing with this, employers need to keep in mind that language proficiency may be a sensitive issue. A person’s ability to learn is not determined by their ability to communicate in English, or their level of language proficiency.

Nevertheless, employers must ensure they’re aware of any issues that may reduce the effectiveness of occupational health and safety communication in their workplace, and take steps to address them. While English language proficiency may be a noticeable factor, it’s not the only one that can affect understanding. 

Some employees may not be able to read and write the languages they speak. This can apply both to employees who speak fluent English and those who speak other languages. For this reason, employers need to use the simplest and clearest ways possible to present information, for example, using unambiguous images, diagrams and demonstrations to support verbal messages.

 

Cultural Barriers

Cultural barriers can also affect communication. Examples of cultural factors that could affect conversations with employees about occupational health and safety include:

  • differences in how people from different cultures interpret language, body language or gestures 
  • assumptions that the employer or supervisor must not be questioned or disagree with
  • an employee's fear of losing their job
  • being unaware of the occupational health and safety laws in place to protect employees.

Employers need to consider these when communicating, consulting and checking for understanding.

 

Guidance Provided by the Compliance Code

The Code allows employers to effectively communicate health and safety messages in workplaces where multiple languages are spoken. 

Starting with the need to understand and plan the information needs of your workforce, the Code describes a step-by-step process from building a language profile through various forms of communication, the use of translating and interpreter services, multilingual facilitators, teaching common workplace terms and tailoring ongoing training to language needs.

You can download the Compliance Code: Communicating occupational health and safety across languages here.