Is a written risk assessment mandatory in Australia, and how often must it be reviewed?

Not in every case. The person conducting a business or undertaking (PCBU) must always identify hazards and eliminate or minimise risks, but the model Work Health and Safety (WHS) Regulations require a written document only for specific work. There is no fixed review period: control measures must be reviewed whenever one of the listed triggers occurs.

Short answer

• General duty: manage risks under Part 3.1 of the WHS Regulations (identify hazards, eliminate or minimise, hierarchy of controls, maintain, review). Writing is good practice but not a general legal requirement.
• Written documents required for, among others: safe work method statements (SWMS) for high risk construction work, confined space risk assessments and entry permits, silica risk control plans, emergency plans and major hazard facility safety cases.
• Review triggers (regulation 38): control not effective, before a change, new hazard, consultation result, or a request by a health and safety representative (HSR).
• Victoria (OHS Act 2004 and OHS Regulations 2017) has its own wording; check the Victorian text for specific hazards.

What Part 3.1 requires

Regulations 32 to 38 of the Commonwealth WHS Regulations 2011 set a fixed sequence. The duty holder must identify reasonably foreseeable hazards (34), eliminate risks so far as is reasonably practicable or, if not, minimise them (35), and follow the hierarchy of controls: substitution, isolation or engineering controls first, then administrative controls, then personal protective equipment (36). Controls must remain fit for purpose, suitable and correctly installed and used (37). Workers must be consulted when hazards are identified and controls decided (Act, section 49).

When a written record is legally required

Other parts of the Regulations add their own records, for example air monitoring results kept for 30 years (regulation 50) and confined space training records kept for 2 years (regulation 76). Even where writing is not compulsory, a record is the practical way to show an inspector or a court that risks were managed so far as is reasonably practicable.

How often to review

The Regulations deliberately set no calendar interval. Regulation 38 requires review and, if needed, revision of a control measure:

1. when it does not control the risk so far as is reasonably practicable (for example monitoring results are poor or a notifiable incident occurs because of the risk);
2. before a change at the workplace, a system of work, a process or a procedure that may create a new or different risk;
3. when a new relevant hazard or risk is identified;
4. when consultation shows that a review is necessary;
5. when an HSR requests it, believing one of the first four triggers applies and the review was not adequate.

Many organisations add a fixed internal interval (often annual) to their management system. That is a company rule, useful for audits, not a legal deadline.

Comparison with the EU and Türkiye

The EU Framework Directive 89/391/EEC requires the employer to be in possession of a risk assessment, and national laws set how it is documented. In Türkiye, Article 10 of Law No. 6331 obliges every employer to carry out or commission a risk assessment, and the Regulation on OSH Risk Assessment (İş Sağlığı ve Güvenliği Risk Değerlendirmesi Yönetmeliği) has it prepared by a team and renewed at the latest every 2, 4 or 6 years in very hazardous, hazardous and less hazardous workplaces (Article 12), and earlier whenever something changes. Australia relies instead on event-based review.

Common mistakes

• Treating an SWMS as a general risk assessment. It is a specific document for high risk construction work and must be followed on site.
• Waiting for an "annual review" after a serious incident. The incident itself triggers the review.

Related on excodex

• Occupational safety and health in Australia: law, authorities and employer duties
• Workplace risk assessment: process, team, records and review
• General principles of prevention and the hierarchy of controls
• Is a safety committee or a worker safety representative required in Australia?

Standards and further reading

• Work Health and Safety Regulations 2011 (Cth), Part 3.1 and regulations 43, 50, 66, 67, 299, 529CB, 555 and 560: https://www.legislation.gov.au/F2011L02664/latest/text
• Law No. 6331 on Occupational Health and Safety (6331 sayılı İş Sağlığı ve Güvenliği Kanunu), Article 10
• Ministry of Labour and Social Security (ÇSGB), Manual Handling Regulation application guide (2025), which cites Article 12 of the Regulation on OSH Risk Assessment: https://www.csgb.gov.tr/Media/hsdfu2fk/elle-ta%C5%9F%C4%B1ma-i%C5%9Fleri-y%C3%B6netmeli%C4%9Fi-uygulama-rehberi-18-03-2025.pdf
• Work Health and Safety Act 2011 (Cth), sections 17 to 19 and 47 to 49: https://www.legislation.gov.au/C2011A00137/latest/text

This article is general occupational safety and health information prepared by the excodex editorial team. It does not replace the applicable legislation, standards, manufacturers' instructions or the assessment of a competent OSH professional or occupational physician.