Workplace Health and Safety Audit Checklist

What a workplace health and safety audit is

A workplace health and safety audit is a structured review of how your organisation manages health and safety in practice. Rather than looking at a single hazard, it works across the whole workplace — from whether policies are actually read and understood, through to how plant is maintained and how incidents are investigated. The audit uses a fixed set of questions so that each review produces a comparable record you can act on and revisit. The checklist is the tool that supports this work. Answer each question with **Yes**, **No**, or **Not Applicable**, and record what you observed so the result is evidence-based rather than a matter of impression.

Why it matters

A health and safety management system only works if its parts connect: policies that nobody can find, responsibilities that nobody owns, and hazards that are never assessed all undermine each other. Regular auditing surfaces those gaps before they turn into incidents. The audit also checks arrangements that are easy to overlook day to day, such as: - whether health and safety information is readily available to all personnel - whether responsibilities are assigned to competent staff who know their role statements - whether environmental hazards such as noise pollution or UV radiation have been assessed and controlled - whether training records are maintained and kept up to date - whether emergency, first aid, and infection control procedures exist and are followed

What a good audit covers

This checklist is organised into sections that follow the way health and safety operates in a workplace: 1. **Policy communication and responsibilities** — access to policies, procedures, and guidelines; familiarity with the policy statement; assignment of responsibilities to competent staff; role statements. 2. **Purchasing and contractors** — access to purchasing policies, awareness of purchasing requirements, procurement that considers health and safety specifications, and procedures to ensure contractors comply with standards before work begins. 3. **Consultation** — discussion of health and safety matters, a designated workplace health and safety officer for workplaces with thirty or more employees, appointed representatives where employees request them, and a health and safety committee or equivalent forum. 4. **Risk management** — familiarity with the risk management process, assessment and control of hazards including clear signposting of potential dangers, and access to risk management policies. 5. **Manual handling** — procedures to identify manual handling hazards, established safe methods, and appropriate training. 6. **Hazardous substances** — access to relevant policies, safety data sheets for all hazardous substances used, and documented procedures for safe handling and storage. 7. **Plant and equipment** — written safe operating procedures, access to manufacturer manuals and instructions, and operation and maintenance in line with manufacturer specifications. 8. **Work environment** — access to information on safe and healthy environmental conditions, and assessment and control of environmental hazards such as noise pollution and UV radiation. 9. **Training and competency** — introductory induction training for all personnel, role-specific training, and up-to-date training records. 10. **Incident reporting and investigation** — written procedures for reporting, recording, and investigating accidents and incidents, on-site records, and thorough investigation of all incidents. 11. **Emergency preparedness** — a displayed site plan and written emergency procedures covering fires, medical emergencies, bomb threats, evacuations, natural disasters, chemical spills, and workplace violence, plus training for all staff. 12. **First aid** — adequate facilities including kits and a designated first aid room, documented procedures, and enough trained and certified personnel on site. 13. **Infection prevention and control** — access to information, written procedures, consistent practice, and identification of biological hazards. 14. **Rehabilitation and stress** — access to the workplace rehabilitation policy and procedures, an accredited rehabilitation coordinator for workplaces with thirty or more employees, documented and reviewed individual rehabilitation plans, consultative decision-making, awareness of who the designated support advisor or counsellor is, and information and resources on managing workplace stress.

Who should carry it out

The audit is best completed by someone who can both inspect the workplace and question the paperwork — a health and safety officer, a manager with health and safety responsibility, or an external assessor. Because several items ask whether employees are familiar with or aware of something, you will need to speak with staff directly, not simply check that a document exists. For larger workplaces the sections can be split between assessors and the results combined.

Using the audit better

Treat each **No** as a finding rather than a failure. Note what was missing, who should fix it, and by when, then review the audit against your accident and incident records to see whether earlier findings were resolved. Repeat the process on a regular cycle and after any significant change to the workplace, its equipment, its substances, or its contractors.

Frequently Asked Questions

The audit moves from foundational governance to physical and people controls before checking how the workplace responds when something goes wrong. It opens with contextual fields such as the date conducted, who prepared it, and the location. From there it examines whether health and safety policies and information are accessible and understood, and whether responsibilities are assigned to competent staff who are aware of their role statements. Purchasing controls, contractor management, and consultation arrangements are then checked, including whether a qualified health and safety officer is designated and whether a committee or equivalent forum exists. Risk management, manual handling, hazardous substances, and plant and equipment follow, covering hazard identification, safe operating procedures, manufacturer manuals, and maintenance. The audit then looks at the work environment, training and competency, incident reporting and investigation, emergency preparedness, first aid, infection prevention and control, rehabilitation, and workplace stress. It closes with sign-off fields for signature, finish time, and the actual inspection start and end dates.

Most items in this audit are answered on a Yes, No, or Not Applicable scale. Use Not Applicable only when an item genuinely does not apply to your workplace — for example, an item that references a threshold or arrangement your site does not have. Yes should mean the practice is in place and verifiable, not merely intended. When you answer No, record what is missing and who is responsible for correcting it, so the audit produces an action list rather than a score.

You can work through the sections in order as a single inspection, or split the audit across assessors and combine the results. Before you start, confirm the site plan and emergency procedures are available and that the relevant policies, procedures, guidelines, and safety data sheets can be located. Some items ask whether staff are familiar with or aware of something, so you will need to speak with employees, not only inspect documents. Build your evidence from a mix of what you observe, what the records show, and what staff tell you.

The audit supports your obligations under workplace health and safety law by helping you check that policies are communicated, responsibilities are allocated, hazards are assessed and controlled, incidents are reported and investigated, and emergency and first aid arrangements are in place. It also references arrangements such as designating a qualified health and safety officer and appointing an accredited workplace rehabilitation coordinator for workplaces with thirty or more employees. Use the checklist to document what you find; it does not replace the specific requirements that apply to your jurisdiction or industry.

Re-audit on a regular cycle and after any significant change — a new site, new plant or substances, new contractors, or a serious incident. The value comes from follow-through: treat every No as an action with an owner and a date, and review the completed audits alongside accident and incident records to see whether the issues you identified are actually being closed out.

Written by

Arne Reis

Founder

Process optimizer with 25 years of expertise, focused on operational excellence in quality, maintenance, EHS, and commissioning. Emphasizes innovative solutions and top-quality standards.

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