PUN301 Occupational Health and Safety Law and Policy
To view more information for this unit, select Unit Outline from the list below. Please note the teaching period for which the Unit Outline is relevant.
| Unit code: | PUN301 |
|---|---|
| Credit points: | 12 |
| Timetable | Details in HiQ, if available |
| Availabilities |
|
| CSP student contribution | $1,118 |
| Domestic tuition unit fee | $2,976 |
| International unit fee | $4,236 |
Unit Outline: Semester 2 2024, Kelvin Grove, Internal
| Unit code: | PUN301 |
|---|---|
| Credit points: | 12 |
| Coordinator: | Nektarios Karanikas | nektarios.karanikas@qut.edu.au |
Overview
This Unit provides an overview of the different law and policy aspects of occupational health and safety at an enterprise level.
The Unit focuses on legislative compliance for organisations, the relevant Acts and Regulations, as well as how Policy is used to design implementation and verification strategies. In addition, the Unit has an emphasis on preparing the student with the requirements to appropriately analyse and inform employers within the scope of practice of a senior safety advisor/safety manager.
The Unit assessments provide students with the opportunity to apply the knowledge and skills gained in an organisational context. OHS Professionals are expected to appropriately inform an organisation's senior management (Duty Holders) to assist them in exercising their due diligence. The assessments address both strategic analysis of policy and law, as well as application in response to incidents or breaches.
Learning Outcomes
On successful completion of this unit you will be able to:
- Research OHS Policy and Law and apply it in organisational environments to influence improved decision making by duty holders;
- Apply relevant legislation and standards in the context of OHS management for legislative compliance
- Research OHS Policy and Law and apply it in incidents/accidents to influence improved responses by duty holders
- Integrate relevant legislation and standards across OHS, Industrial Relations, Rehabilitation and other safety-related areas in an organisational or/and incident context
- Apply relevant legislation and standards for the purpose of managing third party interactions, due diligence and legal proceedings
Content
Major topics include the Australian work health and safety legislative framework, relationships between OHS law and other statute laws (e.g., worker compensation and industrial relations), the impact of industrial relations on OHS practice, due diligence and third-party interactions.
Learning Approaches
This Unit will be run using a flexible delivery approach. The integration of theory and practice is achieved by linking the theoretical concepts with appropriate readings and case law. Teaching methods include mainly lectures (face-to-face, live streamed and recorded, complemented by online sessions (recorded) and self-directed learning.
Students are expected to undertake self-directed learning and should pace their studies in line with the schedule provided on the online platform. Each week's session has links to a range of readings/resources that expand on the material in the study module and are in addition to the resources listed below.
Active participation and discussion in the taught sessions is strongly encouraged to allow for the exchange of ideas between staff and students and to expand upon the theory and knowledge undertaken within the study modules.
The unit hosts guest lecturers from the industry and promotes diverse interpretations and perspectives in informing organisational policies based on legal requirements.
Students have access to various resources, including the Student Success Group and Library. Class and individual consultations with the unit coordinator and formative and summative feedback during the course and on the assessments are offered to support learning.
The unit embeds opportunities to demonstrate and improve industry relevant digital capabilities, including locating relevant literature and navigating data bases; sourcing, collating and critically analysing scholarly research related to OHS; communicating with peers, colleagues, community members and senior managers through digital platforms; negotiating with internal systems to access, upload and download materials, etc.
This Unit is available in both online and internal modes and all taught sessions are recorded for asynchronous access.
Students will need to allocate on average 10 hours per week to successfully meet the learning outcomes in this Unit.
Feedback on Learning and Assessment
Learning feedback will be provided through commentary on assessment items, comments posted on the Discussion Board as well as in class and in response to student queries.
Assessment
Overview
There are two (2) items of assessment in this unit only.
Unit Grading Scheme
7- point scale
Assessment Tasks
Assessment: Report
You will be required to analyse and evaluate a situation related to real-world OHS management aspects and write a report, demonstrating a thorough understanding of OHS law and related legislation in the context of the scenario given.
This type of report might be produced by OHS/HSE professionals in their role of offering advice to management on the alignment of OHS policies and management practices with legislative obligations.
This assignment is eligible for the 48-hour late submission period and assignment extensions.
Assessment: Case Study
You will be required to analyse and critically evaluate an OHS incident replicating real-world circumstances, and document your findings and recommendations in a report demonstrating a thorough understanding of Common law and Statute law/OHS law implications.
This type of activity might be asked of OHS/HSE professionals in their role of offering first/preliminary advice to management following an adverse event (e.g., serious injury or fatality) and/or collaborate with law professionals on such occasions.
This assignment is eligible for the 48-hour late submission period and assignment extensions.
Academic Integrity
Students are expected to engage in learning and assessment at QUT with honesty, transparency and fairness. Maintaining academic integrity means upholding these principles and demonstrating valuable professional capabilities based on ethical foundations.
Failure to maintain academic integrity can take many forms. It includes cheating in examinations, plagiarism, self-plagiarism, collusion, and submitting an assessment item completed by another person (e.g. contract cheating). It can also include providing your assessment to another entity, such as to a person or website.
You are encouraged to make use of QUT’s learning support services, resources and tools to assure the academic integrity of your assessment. This includes the use of text matching software that may be available to assist with self-assessing your academic integrity as part of the assessment submission process.
Further details of QUT’s approach to academic integrity are outlined in the Academic integrity policy and the Student Code of Conduct. Breaching QUT’s Academic integrity policy is regarded as student misconduct and can lead to the imposition of penalties ranging from a grade reduction to exclusion from QUT.
Resources
Resource Materials
Prescribed text(s)
Johnstone, R. & Tooma, M. (2022). Work Health and Safety Regulation in Australia. The Federation Press.
Other
Additional reading lists, sound recordings, web pages, videos and more to assist with the teaching and learning process within the unit will be shared via the Learning Management System and during the lectures.
Risk Assessment Statement
Substantial computer-based work will be required and students should ensure they have a reliable and modern connection to the internet. Students should ensure that their workstations are adjusted in accordance with ergonomic guidelines and that regular rest breaks are taken.
Course Learning Outcomes
This unit is designed to support your development of the following course/study area learning outcomes.PU65 Graduate Diploma in Occupational Health and Safety
- Apply advanced theoretical and technical knowledge and skills to current and emerging issues and opportunities in occupational health and safety promotion and management.
Relates to: Report, Case Study - Apply critical and creative thinking, problem-solving, decision-making and technical skills and incorporate diverse perspectives to evaluate and generate sustainable solutions to complex problems in occupational health and safety.
Relates to: Report, Case Study - Interpret and tailor written and oral communication styles and strategies to inform diverse audiences about complex knowledge and ideas in occupational health and safety.
Relates to: Report, Case Study - Work independently or within teams with integrity, ethicality, objectivity and impartiality to plan, manage and complete projects and disseminate knowledge within a culturally safe and socially inclusive environment.
Relates to: Report, Case Study
PU80 Master of Health, Safety and Environment
- Demonstrate knowledge and understanding of an advanced body of theoretical and practical knowledge and emerging challenges within the fields of occupational and environmental health/management
Relates to: Report, Case Study - Demonstrate advanced skills and abilities to describe, appraise and apply the major tools and systems of OHS and EH practice and research to identify and manage complex problems
Relates to: Report, Case Study - Integrate and synthesise complex knowledge and apply critical and reflective thinking to advance the discipline’s body of research.
Relates to: Report, Case Study - Work independently and in teams to interpret and communicate complex scientific, legal and psychosocial data and present it in a format that is easy to understand
Relates to: Report, Case Study - Enact and apply ethical, culturally safe, socially inclusive principles with self, people, and organisations in diverse contexts.
Relates to: Report, Case Study
Unit Outline: Semester 2 2024, Online
| Unit code: | PUN301 |
|---|---|
| Credit points: | 12 |
Overview
This Unit provides an overview of the different law and policy aspects of occupational health and safety at an enterprise level.
The Unit focuses on legislative compliance for organisations, the relevant Acts and Regulations, as well as how Policy is used to design implementation and verification strategies. In addition, the Unit has an emphasis on preparing the student with the requirements to appropriately analyse and inform employers within the scope of practice of a senior safety advisor/safety manager.
The Unit assessments provide students with the opportunity to apply the knowledge and skills gained in an organisational context. OHS Professionals are expected to appropriately inform an organisation's senior management (Duty Holders) to assist them in exercising their due diligence. The assessments address both strategic analysis of policy and law, as well as application in response to incidents or breaches.
Learning Outcomes
On successful completion of this unit you will be able to:
- Research OHS Policy and Law and apply it in organisational environments to influence improved decision making by duty holders;
- Apply relevant legislation and standards in the context of OHS management for legislative compliance
- Research OHS Policy and Law and apply it in incidents/accidents to influence improved responses by duty holders
- Integrate relevant legislation and standards across OHS, Industrial Relations, Rehabilitation and other safety-related areas in an organisational or/and incident context
- Apply relevant legislation and standards for the purpose of managing third party interactions, due diligence and legal proceedings
Content
Major topics include the Australian work health and safety legislative framework, relationships between OHS law and other statute laws (e.g., worker compensation and industrial relations), the impact of industrial relations on OHS practice, due diligence and third-party interactions.
Learning Approaches
This Unit will be run using a flexible delivery approach. The integration of theory and practice is achieved by linking the theoretical concepts with appropriate readings and case law. Teaching methods include mainly lectures (face-to-face, live streamed and recorded, complemented by online sessions (recorded) and self-directed learning.
Students are expected to undertake self-directed learning and should pace their studies in line with the schedule provided on the online platform. Each week's session has links to a range of readings/resources that expand on the material in the study module and are in addition to the resources listed below.
Active participation and discussion in the taught sessions is strongly encouraged to allow for the exchange of ideas between staff and students and to expand upon the theory and knowledge undertaken within the study modules.
The unit hosts guest lecturers from the industry and promotes diverse interpretations and perspectives in informing organisational policies based on legal requirements.
Students have access to various resources, including the Student Success Group and Library. Class and individual consultations with the unit coordinator and formative and summative feedback during the course and on the assessments are offered to support learning.
The unit embeds opportunities to demonstrate and improve industry relevant digital capabilities, including locating relevant literature and navigating data bases; sourcing, collating and critically analysing scholarly research related to OHS; communicating with peers, colleagues, community members and senior managers through digital platforms; negotiating with internal systems to access, upload and download materials, etc.
This Unit is available in both online and internal modes and all taught sessions are recorded for asynchronous access.
Students will need to allocate on average 10 hours per week to successfully meet the learning outcomes in this Unit.
Feedback on Learning and Assessment
Learning feedback will be provided through commentary on assessment items, comments posted on the Discussion Board as well as in class and in response to student queries.
Assessment
Overview
There are two (2) items of assessment in this unit only.
Unit Grading Scheme
7- point scale
Assessment Tasks
Assessment: Report
You will be required to analyse and evaluate a situation related to real-world OHS management aspects and write a report, demonstrating a thorough understanding of OHS law and related legislation in the context of the scenario given.
This type of report might be produced by OHS/HSE professionals in their role of offering advice to management on the alignment of OHS policies and management practices with legislative obligations.
This assignment is eligible for the 48-hour late submission period and assignment extensions.
Assessment: Case Study
You will be required to analyse and critically evaluate an OHS incident replicating real-world circumstances, and document your findings and recommendations in a report demonstrating a thorough understanding of Common law and Statute law/OHS law implications.
This type of activity might be asked of OHS/HSE professionals in their role of offering first/preliminary advice to management following an adverse event (e.g., serious injury or fatality) and/or collaborate with law professionals on such occasions.
This assignment is eligible for the 48-hour late submission period and assignment extensions.
Academic Integrity
Students are expected to engage in learning and assessment at QUT with honesty, transparency and fairness. Maintaining academic integrity means upholding these principles and demonstrating valuable professional capabilities based on ethical foundations.
Failure to maintain academic integrity can take many forms. It includes cheating in examinations, plagiarism, self-plagiarism, collusion, and submitting an assessment item completed by another person (e.g. contract cheating). It can also include providing your assessment to another entity, such as to a person or website.
You are encouraged to make use of QUT’s learning support services, resources and tools to assure the academic integrity of your assessment. This includes the use of text matching software that may be available to assist with self-assessing your academic integrity as part of the assessment submission process.
Further details of QUT’s approach to academic integrity are outlined in the Academic integrity policy and the Student Code of Conduct. Breaching QUT’s Academic integrity policy is regarded as student misconduct and can lead to the imposition of penalties ranging from a grade reduction to exclusion from QUT.
Resources
Resource Materials
Prescribed text(s)
Johnstone, R. & Tooma, M. (2022). Work Health and Safety Regulation in Australia. The Federation Press.
Other
Additional reading lists, sound recordings, web pages, videos and more to assist with the teaching and learning process within the unit will be shared via the Learning Management System and during the lectures.
Risk Assessment Statement
Substantial computer-based work will be required and students should ensure they have a reliable and modern connection to the internet. Students should ensure that their workstations are adjusted in accordance with ergonomic guidelines and that regular rest breaks are taken.
Course Learning Outcomes
This unit is designed to support your development of the following course/study area learning outcomes.PU65 Graduate Diploma in Occupational Health and Safety
- Apply advanced theoretical and technical knowledge and skills to current and emerging issues and opportunities in occupational health and safety promotion and management.
Relates to: Report, Case Study - Apply critical and creative thinking, problem-solving, decision-making and technical skills and incorporate diverse perspectives to evaluate and generate sustainable solutions to complex problems in occupational health and safety.
Relates to: Report, Case Study - Interpret and tailor written and oral communication styles and strategies to inform diverse audiences about complex knowledge and ideas in occupational health and safety.
Relates to: Report, Case Study - Work independently or within teams with integrity, ethicality, objectivity and impartiality to plan, manage and complete projects and disseminate knowledge within a culturally safe and socially inclusive environment.
Relates to: Report, Case Study
PU80 Master of Health, Safety and Environment
- Demonstrate knowledge and understanding of an advanced body of theoretical and practical knowledge and emerging challenges within the fields of occupational and environmental health/management
Relates to: Report, Case Study - Demonstrate advanced skills and abilities to describe, appraise and apply the major tools and systems of OHS and EH practice and research to identify and manage complex problems
Relates to: Report, Case Study - Integrate and synthesise complex knowledge and apply critical and reflective thinking to advance the discipline’s body of research.
Relates to: Report, Case Study - Work independently and in teams to interpret and communicate complex scientific, legal and psychosocial data and present it in a format that is easy to understand
Relates to: Report, Case Study - Enact and apply ethical, culturally safe, socially inclusive principles with self, people, and organisations in diverse contexts.
Relates to: Report, Case Study