Work Health and Safety Policy

Purpose. This policy states Everlasting's commitment to the health and safety of its workers, families, contractors and visitors across all four sites and every activity, from transfers and mortuary work to excavation, cremation and ceremonies.

1.Purpose

Everlasting will provide and maintain a working environment that is safe and without risks to health so far as is reasonably practicable. This policy applies to every worker, contractor, volunteer, student and visitor at every site and vehicle operated by the business. It sets the framework under which the procedures, registers and training in the quality system operate.

2.Legal framework

The business operates under the Occupational Health and Safety Act 2004 (Victoria) and its regulations, and aligns its practice with the model Work Health and Safety laws for work carried out interstate. Compliance codes for confined spaces, excavation, manual handling, hazardous substances and plant apply to cemetery, mortuary and fleet work. Officers of the business will exercise due diligence by keeping informed of hazards and resourcing controls.

3.Industry hazards

Funeral, cemetery and crematorium work carries hazards that general workplaces do not. Everlasting will identify, assess and control these hazards using the hierarchy of controls and will record the outcome in the relevant register. Workers must report every hazard, incident and near miss on the day it occurs.

• Manual handling of deceased persons, coffins and caskets
• Infectious disease exposure in transfers and the mortuary
• Formaldehyde and other embalming chemicals
• Sharps, blades and aspirators
• Excavation collapse and confined space entry in graves, vaults and crypts
• Cremator heat, combustion gases and implanted device explosion risk
• Fatigue from 24-hour first-call rosters
• Emotional strain and exposure to traumatic cases

4.Responsibilities

The General Manager is accountable for this policy and its resourcing. Department leads must implement the procedures for their area, complete site inspections and act on incident reports within the timeframes in the incident procedure. Every worker must follow procedures, use the personal protective equipment provided, complete required training and vaccinations, and stop work and report if a task cannot be done safely.

• General Manager: policy, resources and monthly review
• Department leads: procedures, inspections, incident follow-up
• Compliance and Records Manager: registers, audits, training records
• Health and safety representatives: consultation and issue resolution
• All workers: follow procedures, wear PPE, report hazards

5.Consultation

Everlasting will consult workers on matters that affect their health and safety through elected health and safety representatives, monthly toolbox talks and the quarterly safety committee. Changes to procedures, plant, chemicals or rosters will be discussed with affected workers before they are introduced. Consultation outcomes will be recorded in toolbox talk records and committee minutes.

6.Health monitoring and vaccination

Workers who transfer or care for deceased persons must hold current hepatitis B immunity, tetanus and influenza vaccination unless a medical exemption is recorded. Embalmers will participate in formaldehyde exposure monitoring at least annually. The Compliance and Records Manager will hold vaccination and monitoring records confidentially and will alert workers 60 days before a booster is due.

7.Wellbeing and psychological safety

Exposure to grief, traumatic deaths and coronial cases affects workers over time. Everlasting will provide a confidential employee assistance program, structured debriefs after difficult cases and a fatigue management roster for first-call staff. Managers must check in with workers after any traumatic case and will record that a debrief was offered.

8.Review

This policy will be reviewed every twelve months, after any notifiable incident, or when legislation changes. The current version is the one held in the document library; printed copies are uncontrolled.