WHS Induction Checklist

It follows the WHS Act structure: the policy, the hazards, the risks and the controls, the emergency, and the worker obligations and rights. The worker rights section is the WHS-specific part — the right to raise a concern, the right to refuse dangerous work, the right to be consulted — and it is the part that distinguishes the WHS induction from the general HSE induction. Work through it, sign the block, and file it.

How to use the template

1. Set the worker details — the name, the role, the site, the start date
2. Walk the WHS policy section — the policy, the management commitment, the reporting
3. Walk the hazards and risks section — the hazards, the risks, the controls in place
4. Walk the emergency section — the alarm, the assembly, the first aider, the muster
5. Walk the worker rights section — the right to raise a concern, to refuse dangerous work, to be consulted
6. Sign the block — the inductor and the worker, the date, the file reference

Worked example

A new worker on the processing plant: the name, the role, the site, the start date; the WHS policy the management commitment and the reporting; the hazards the machinery, the chemicals, the noise, the manual handling, and the controls in place for each; the emergency the alarm, the assembly, the first aider; the worker rights the right to raise a concern, to refuse the dangerous work, to be consulted on the WHS matters; the signatures the WHS officer and the worker. The WHS induction, signed and filed.

Standard & legal context

The WHS induction is the duty under the Australian WHS Act 2011 (the information and the training for the worker) and the equivalent state regulations, and the same structure is the international WHS practice. The UK MHSVR 1999 and the US OSHA general duty clause carry the equivalent duties, and the worker rights section maps to the UK health and safety law and the US OSHA section 11(c). The ISO 45001:2018 clause 7.2 competence and clause 5.4 consultation carry the duty at the management system level.

Common mistakes

1. Inducting on the policy and not the rights — the worker rights section is the WHS-specific part, and the induction without it is the one that fails
2. No consultation right in the induction — the worker right to be consulted is the WHS duty, and the induction records it
3. One induction for every role — the role-specific hazards are the point, and the induction is tailored to the role
4. No follow-up — the induction is day one, and the check-in at the end of the first week is where the gaps are caught