What is workplace health and safety?
Workplace health and safety, also known as occupational health and safety, is the management of risks to health and safety for everyone at work.
Under Victoria’s health and safety law (Occupational Health and Safety Act 2004) employers have a duty to protect the health and safety of employees – and independent contractors (such as non-employee gig workers) engaged by the employer – while at work. Employers must, so far as is reasonably practicable, provide and maintain a working environment that is safe and without risks to health. Employers must also eliminate or reduce risks so far as is reasonably practicable.
WorkSafe has powers to make sure Victoria’s health and safety law is being followed. For more information about WorkSafe visit www.worksafe.vic.gov.au/
What are my platform’s obligations to my health and safety at work?
Platforms that employ workers must:
- provide and maintain a safe working environment, so far as is reasonably practicable, for their employees and non-employee gig workers
- eliminate or reduce, so far as is reasonably practicable, risks and hazards, and notify WorkSafe of serious workplace incidents
- ensure, so far as is reasonably practicable, that persons, other than employees, are not exposed to risks to their health or safety arising from the conduct of the undertaking of the employer.
For information on what is meant by ‘employer’ for the purposes of the Occupational Health and Safety Act 2004, visit WorkSafe Victoria.
Platforms with one or more employees have obligations to report certain incidents to WorkSafe. Self-employed persons (which includes non-employee gig workers in certain circumstances) also have obligations to report certain workplace incidents to WorkSafe. For more information visit Report an incident, WorkSafe Victoria.
A platform’s health and safety obligations will depend on the circumstances. Platforms generally have less control over the work undertaken by non-employee gig workers. This means a platform’s level of responsibility under the Occupational Health and Safety Act 2004 for a non-employee gig worker may be different to that of an employee.
For more information, visit WorkSafe Victoria.
What are my health and safety obligations as a gig worker?
If you’re employed by a platform, you must:
- take reasonable care of your own health and safety at work
- take reasonable care to not cause or contribute to a risk to the health and safety of other people at your workplace
- follow your platform’s reasonable safety rules and requirements.
For information on what is meant by 'employer' for the purposes of the Occupational Health and Safety Act 2004, visit WorkSafe Victoria.
If you're a non-employee gig worker, you may be considered a 'self-employed person' under Victoria’s health and safety laws. This means that you must not expose other people to risks to their health or safety, so far as is reasonably practicable. 'Self-employed' gig workers have obligations to report certain incidents to WorkSafe. For more information visit Report an incident, WorkSafe Victoria.
For more information about your health and safety obligations, visit www.worksafe.vic.gov.au.
What can I do about safety risks or incidents at work?
If you have an employer or a Health and Safety Representative, you can raise health and safety issues with them. You can also seek advice from WorkSafe.
If you’re a union member, your union may be able to help you with your workplace health and safety concerns. For more information WorkSafe Victoria.
For information on what is meant by ‘employer’ for the purposes of the Occupational Health and Safety Act 2004, visit WorkSafe Victoria.
Visit WorkSafe Victoria for more information about the sorts of risks and incidents that you can report to WorkSafe.
WorkSafe also has information on steps gig workers can take to make their work safer.
When I’m providing gig work services to a customer or client in their home, who has responsibilities for my health and safety?
You have responsibilities under the Occupational Health and Safety Act 2004. Your platform and your customer (or client) may also have legal responsibilities.
When you work in somebody’s home, that setting is your ‘workplace’. The person who manages or controls that workplace home setting, which may be your customer (or client), as an owner or otherwise, must ensure so far as is reasonably practicable that the workplace (and the way it is entered and exited) are safe and without risks to health.
Platforms that employ workers must:
- provide and maintain a safe working environment, so far as is reasonably practicable, for their employees and non-employee gig workers
- eliminate or reduce, so far as is reasonably practicable, risks and hazards, and notify WorkSafe of serious workplace incidents
- ensure, so far as is reasonably practicable, that persons, other than employees, are not exposed to risks to their health or safety arising from the conduct of the undertaking of the employer.
For information on what is meant by ‘employer’ for the purposes of the Occupational Health and Safety Act 2004, visit WorkSafe Victoria.
If you’re employed by a platform, you must:
- take reasonable care of your own health and safety at work
- take reasonable care to not cause or contribute to a risk to the health and safety of other people at your workplace
- follow your platform’s reasonable safety rules and requirements.
If you're a non-employee gig worker, you may be considered a 'self-employed person' under Victoria’s health and safety laws. This means that you must not expose other people to risks to their health or safety, so far as is reasonably practicable.
What is WorkCover?
Workers' compensation is a type of insurance. Employers pay an amount for insurance (a premium) on behalf of their workers. Workers can make a claim for compensation (payments to cover losses) through this insurance, for a work-related injury or illness.
Payments may include:
- weekly payments for when you have a limited or no capacity for work
- medical expenses and rehabilitation.
In Victoria, the most common workers' compensation scheme is WorkCover and WorkSafe is Victoria’s workplace injury insurer.
Visit WorkSafe Victoria for more information.
Am I eligible for WorkCover?
Victoria’s compensation law defines who a worker is, for the purposes of WorkCover.
Employees are 'workers' under this law and are eligible for WorkCover.
Certain non-employee gig workers are also treated as 'workers' under this law. Non-employee gig workers who meet the definition of 'worker' are eligible to claim WorkCover. Find more information.
You or your platform can check with WorkSafe as to whether you are considered a 'worker' eligible for WorkCover. You may need to obtain independent legal advice to identify your rights and obligations.
Visit our work status page for more information on the differences between employment and independent contracting.
I was injured at work. How do I make a WorkCover claim for lost earnings and medical expenses?
You can visit www.worksafe.vic.gov.au/claims to download a claim form and find out more about:
- how to make a claim
- the information you’ll need to make a claim
- giving your employer your claim form.
A WorkSafe agent will then either accept or reject the claim.
I was injured in a transport accident while working. Can I make a claim for lost earnings and medical expenses?
If you were injured in a transport accident but aren’t eligible to make a WorkCover claim, you may be eligible to make a claim for compensation from the Transport Accident Commission (TAC).
The TAC scheme provides for payments towards lost earnings and medical expenses for 'transport accident' injuries.
'Transport accidents' are incidents directly caused by the driving of:
- a 'motor vehicle', which are motor cars, motorcycles, trucks, and buses
- a railway train, or
- a Tram.
Cyclists (bicycle riders) and pedestrians (people on foot) are generally eligible to make a TAC claim if injured in a transport accident.
The TAC scheme also covers cyclists who are injured in a collision (crash) with:
- a motor vehicle that is not moving
- an open or opening door of a motor vehicle
- the opening or closing of a door of a bus, tram, or railway train.
You can visit www.tac.vic.gov.au to find out more about:
- how to make a claim
- the information you’ll need to make a claim.
If I’m not eligible to make a WorkCover claim or a TAC claim, what can my platform do to help me while I can’t work because of a work-related injury or work-related illness?
Your platform may have taken out insurance for its gig workers who can’t claim WorkCover, including to provide you payments when you can’t work due to work-related injury or illness and to cover certain expenses.
Your platform may have told you whether it has taken out insurance for its gig workers.
Sometimes this information will be in the contract between you and the platform, or in a policy. If you're unsure, check with your platform.
Under Standard 6 of the Voluntary Fair Conduct and Accountability Standards (the Standards), platforms in taking a best practice approach to what they do, would ensure that non-employee gig workers have access to insurance to compensate them for loss of income, if they are unable to work due to a work-related injury. The Standards seek to encourage platforms to further improve their practices to ensure work arrangements are fair and transparent. Read more information on the Standards.
What are my options if I’m not eligible to make a WorkCover or TAC claim, and my platform hasn’t taken out any insurance to cover me for a work injury or illness?
You may consider taking out your own personal accident or illness insurance.
Sometimes this is a requirement for gig workers in the contract between you and the platform.
Other types of insurance, covering injuries to other people or property damage, may be relevant to your work.
Visit Business insurance for more information about insurance products.
I don’t agree with a decision about my claim. What can I do?
If a decision has been made about your WorkCover claim and you don’t agree with it, you can dispute the decision by applying to the Workplace Injury Commission. For more information visit the Workplace Injury Commission.
WorkSafe provides a free service called ‘WorkCover Assist’ to help you with the dispute process at the Workplace Injury Commission. For more information visit WorkCover Assist.
If a decision has been made about your TAC claim and you don’t agree with it you can dispute the decision. For more information visit TAC Dispute Resolution.
If you’ve made a claim under your own insurance for work, and disagree with your insurer’s decision about your claim, visit www.afca.org.au to see if the Australian Financial Complaints Authority (AFCA) can help to resolve your dispute. AFCA is the dispute resolution scheme for insurance.
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