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Working at heights
Last updated September 2024
This chapter explains how to meet your legal obligation to minimise fall risks in your workplace.
What are the health and safety risks of working at heights?
Definition: Working at Heights
Working at heights refers to any circumstance in which a worker is exposed to the risk of a fall. A worker will be working at height if they are performing work above ground level or near a trench or pit.
Working at heights refers to any circumstance in which a worker is exposed to the risk of a fall. A worker will be working at height if they are performing work above ground level or near a trench or pit.
Working at heights creates fall risks.
Definition: Fall Risk
A fall risk is any task that has the potential to result in workers injuring themselves by falling from a height.
A fall risk is any task that has the potential to result in workers injuring themselves by falling from a height.
Important: Under the Work Health and Safety Act (WHS Act), there is no minimum height for there to be a fall risk. The minimum height is 2 metres under Victorian legislation.
Caution: Fall risks have the potential to cause significant injury and even death. According to Safe Work Australia’s Key Work Health and Safety Statistics Australia 2024, falls from height was the second-highest contributor to worker fatalities in Australia in 2023, with a concerning increase by 71% since 2022, from 17 to 29 fatalities.
Important: Working at heights can be dangerous to the worker performing work at height and anyone who is below them, as they are exposed to a risk of the worker or the worker’s equipment falling on them.