You may need to comply with this code if you conduct a business that involves working in confined spaces or have a duty to manage the risks of working in confined spaces.
A confined space is an enclosed or partially enclosed space that:
- is not designed or intended primarily to be occupied by a person
- is, or is likely to be, a risk to health and safety due to an atmosphere that does not have a safe oxygen level, contains contaminants, or is at risk from engulfment.
Following this code of practice will assist you achieve compliance with your legal obligations under work health and safety laws. However, compliance with such obligations may be achieved by following another method, if it provides an equivalent or higher standard of work health and safety than that set out in this code.
Duties in relation to confined spaces include:
- managing health and safety risks associated with a confined space, including risks when entering, working in, on or near a confined space, as well as the risk of inadvertent entry
- ensuring, so far as reasonably practicable, that a worker does not enter a confined space until all the duties in relation to the confined space have been complied with
- establishing first aid and rescue procedures to be followed in the event of an emergency in the confined space
- management of hazards through controls such as communication and safety monitoring, signs, isolation of connected plant and services, and controls to maintain a safe atmosphere within the confined space.
