Code of Practice
In 2024, a Code of Practice (CoP) was introduced into Queensland regulations for Amusement Devices and Attractions and is the first instance of its kind in Australia.
A code of practice is a guide to achieving the standards of occupational safety and health required under legislation. Some CoPs are voluntary; however the Amusement CoP is statutory in Queensland (mandatory) and must be complied with. You can be confident that other States and Territories are watching its application in Queensland…
The Codes give more detailed advice about how PCBUs, Managers and operators can meet the requirements of the Regulations.
Codes of Practice are not legislation, but they give practical guidance on ways to comply with the Acts and Regulations. In a WHS matter, the Courts may regard a Code of Practice as evidence of what is known about a hazard, risk or control, and rely on it to determine what is ‘reasonably practicable’ in the circumstances to which the code relates.
Work Safe Inspectors can use the codes to suggest ways of remedying health and safety risks in the workplace, and they can also use the codes as evidence when Acts or Regulations have not been complied with. As can be seen in the following diagram, compliance with Australian Standards is not sufficient, as they are considered the lowest level of compliance.
The code may also be used by workers and safety and health representatives who need to understand the hazards and risks associated in the circumstances described in the code. A CoP will help those with the functions and responsibilities for managing risk in the circumstances described in the code. The CoP is a big document, with more than 800 points of compliance, and despite its daunting size, Aidaptive has a guided pathway process to help you meet your legal and insurance obligations.
The Aidaptive pathway:
- Step 1. Determine what parts of the CoP is relevant to your amusement business.
- Step 2. Measure your existing compliance
- Step 3. Determine the gaps to compliance and the risks that these gaps might present
- Step 4. Prepare a Corrective Action plan to close the gap on compliance and reduce the risks
- Step 5. Produce documentation, plans, instructions and engineering effort to resolve the Corrective Actions.
- Step 6. Periodic “health check” – looking at how well the business and its people maintain their compliance to the CoP requirements, and any minor “catch-ups”
Conducted as a confidential process, Aidaptive’s CoP Tool measures this gap, allowing you to see the size and significance of the compliance shortfall, and more importantly, the areas requiring correction.