Lone worker safety in Australia: the law, policy and risk assessment for working alone

The short answer

Under the model Work Health and Safety Regulations (regulation 48), a business must manage the risks to workers who do remote or isolated work, and must provide a system of work that includes effective communication with them. Every Australian jurisdiction except Victoria has adopted laws based on the model WHS laws; Victoria has its own occupational health and safety laws.

What counts as remote or isolated work?

The model WHS Regulations define remote or isolated work as work that is isolated from the assistance of other persons because of location, time or the nature of the work. Assistance includes rescue, medical assistance and the attendance of emergency service workers.

That covers more people than the word "remote" suggests. A worker can be isolated because of where they are, such as a pump station, a mine bench or a rail corridor with no phone signal; because of when they work, such as a night shift on their own; or because of the work itself, which keeps them out of sight and earshot of anyone who could help. Safe Work Australia's examples include all-night convenience store and service station attendants, sales representatives, long-distance freight drivers, agricultural workers, scientists and park rangers doing field work alone, and health and community workers who are isolated from their colleagues.

Why working alone raises the risk

Safe Work Australia notes that a person working alone may have no second opinion, no help with difficult tasks, and no one around to notice if they are fatigued or making mistakes. Emergencies can be more serious when nobody is there to give first aid or call for help, access to emergency services may be limited, and isolated workers can be exposed to violence. Remote or isolated work can also increase psychosocial hazards, such as a lack of support.

What the law requires

Regulation 48 of the model WHS Regulations has two parts:

• Manage the risks. A person conducting a business or undertaking (PCBU) must manage risks to the health and safety of a worker associated with remote or isolated work, in accordance with Part 3.1 of the Regulations.
• Provide effective communication. In minimising those risks, the PCBU must provide a system of work that includes effective communication with the worker.

Part 3.1 sets out how risks are managed: identify reasonably foreseeable hazards; eliminate risks so far as is reasonably practicable, or if that is not reasonably practicable, minimise them using the hierarchy of control measures; keep control measures effective; and review them, including when they are not working or the work changes.

These sit alongside the general duties every PCBU has, such as providing information, training and supervision, and consulting workers about health and safety. Safe Work Australia also says businesses must make sure workers have ways to access emergency assistance and must prepare an emergency plan. Workers have duties too: to take reasonable care for their own health and safety, and to follow reasonable instructions, policies and procedures.

The model laws only take effect where a state or territory has adopted them, and each jurisdiction may vary them. Check the law and guidance from the work health and safety regulator where your people work (links below).

Working alone risk assessment: what to consider

A risk assessment helps you work out what is reasonably required to keep a lone worker safe. Safe Work Australia suggests considering how long the person might work alone, the time of day, what communication tools are available, the location of the work and access to emergency services, the nature of the work, the worker's skills and capabilities, the risk to mental health, and the support the worker may need. In practice, cover:

• Who works alone or in isolation, where, when and for how long.
• What could go wrong: injury, sudden illness, vehicle incidents, the environment, animals, or aggression from other people.
• How far help is, and how long it would realistically take to reach the person.
• Whether the work could be done without isolation, for example with a second person or at a different time.
• Which communication and alarm arrangements work in each location, including where there is no mobile coverage.
• What workers themselves say about the risks. Consulting workers is part of managing work health and safety.

Be proactive: Safe Work Australia points out that control measures can take longer to put in place at remote locations.

Controls regulators commonly suggest

Regulators give examples rather than a fixed list, and expect you to choose controls with your workers. Examples from Safe Work Australia, SafeWork NSW and WorkSafe Queensland include:

• communication devices and procedures that keep regular contact between workers and supervisors, such as a mobile phone, two-way radio or satellite phone where each actually works;
• a check-in at the start and a sign-off at the end of the work period, or a call-in system at set times;
• telling someone where you are going and when you expect to return;
• duress alarms or alert systems so workers can call for emergency assistance;
• an emergency plan that covers people working remotely or alone, and training in it;
• periodic supervisor visits and support;
• not working alone where there is a risk of work-related violence.

For more on alarm options, see what is a duress alarm.

What "effective communication" means in practice

The Regulations do not prescribe a particular device. The test is whether the system actually works for the work being done, where it is being done. Questions worth asking:

• Does it work where the person is? A mobile phone is not effective communication in a place with no coverage.
• Can the person raise the alarm in an emergency? If they are hurt, a simple, quick way to call for help matters more than a full conversation.
• Does someone receive it and act on it? An alarm that nobody monitors is not a system of work. Decide who receives alarms, at what hours, and who responds.
• Do you know roughly where to send help? Responders need to know where the worker is or was.
• What happens when nobody hears from the worker? Check-in arrangements cover the case where the person cannot raise the alarm themselves.
• Is it maintained and tested? Control measures must stay fit for purpose, so devices need charging, testing and replacing, and people need training to use them.

Common options include scheduled check-ins, two-way radio, satellite communication devices, lone worker apps, and duress or panic alarms. Most workplaces combine more than one, chosen through their risk assessment. If you are deciding between a phone app and a worn button, see lone worker app or SOS button.

Lone worker policy: what a working alone policy usually includes

A lone worker policy (also called a working alone policy) records how your organisation manages remote or isolated work, so everyone knows what is expected. It usually covers:

• Scope. Which roles, tasks, locations and times count as remote or isolated work.
• Responsibilities. What managers, supervisors and workers each do.
• Risk assessment. How working alone is assessed, and when the assessment is reviewed.
• Communication and check-ins. The arrangements for each kind of work, and the equipment provided.
• Raising the alarm. How alarms are raised and received, who responds, and how help is dispatched.
• Missed check-ins. What happens when a worker does not check in or cannot be contacted.
• Emergency plan. How the emergency plan applies to people working alone, and how they are trained in it.
• Training and equipment checks. Induction, refreshers, drills, and charging and testing of devices.
• Work that must not be done alone. Tasks that always need a second person.
• Consultation and review. How workers are consulted, how incidents and near misses are reported, and how often the policy is reviewed.

Remote worker safety: remote or isolated work, or working from home?

"Remote worker" can mean two different things. This guide is about remote or isolated work, where a person is cut off from help because of location, time or the nature of the work. Working from home is a separate topic: WHS laws still apply at home, and Safe Work Australia publishes separate guidance on working from home.

Where Lone Worker SOS fits

Lone Worker SOS is TOM SHAW's answer to the communication gap for people who work beyond mobile coverage. The worker carries a simple panic button; pressing it sends the alarm. A radio gateway in the work vehicle hears the button across the site and sends the alarm out over mobile where there is signal, or by satellite where there isn't. The control centre sees who pressed, which button and where the alarm was received, and dispatches a responder. It is one part of a system of work, alongside your risk assessment, procedures and training.

Sources

• Safe Work Australia, Model Work Health and Safety Regulations (consolidated 1 July 2024): regulation 48 and Part 3.1.
• Safe Work Australia, Remote and isolated work: overview, WHS duties and managing risks.
• Safe Work Australia, Working from home.
• Safe Work Australia, Legislation: which jurisdictions have adopted the model WHS laws.
• State and territory regulators on remote or isolated work: SafeWork NSW, WorkSafe Victoria (working alone), WorkSafe Queensland, WorkSafe WA, SafeWork SA and WorkSafe Tasmania.