Violence and aggression

All workers and other people at workplaces are potentially at risk of experiencing some form of violence or aggression. Workers most at risk are those who have regular contact with the general public or provide direct services to clients. Higher risk industries and occupations include:

• health care and social assistance – includes nurses, doctors, paramedics, allied health workers, child protection workers, and residential and home carers
• public administration and safety – such as police officers, protective service officers, security officers, prison guards, welfare support workers and frontline service workers in large government agencies
• retail and hospitality – particularly for new and young workers, includes workers at grocery outlets, pharmacies, petrol stations, restaurants, bars and takeaway food service
• education and training – including teachers and education assistants.

Violence and aggression may cause physical and psychological injury or harm can lead to:

• feelings of isolation, social isolation or family separation
• loss of confidence and withdrawal
• physical injuries as a result of assault
• stress, depression, anxiety, post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD)
• illness such as cardiovascular disease, musculoskeletal disorders, immune deficiency and gastrointestinal disorders; e.g. as a result of stress
• suicidal thoughts.

Workplace violence can result in significant direct and indirect costs for the organisation including lost productivity, repairing property damage, and medical and legal fees. 

Everyone in the workplace has a duty to manage hazards and risks to physical and psychological health and safety.  A workplace where mental health and wellbeing is a priority benefits everyone.

The Work Health and Safety Act 2020 (WHS Act) and the Work Health and Safety (General) Regulations 2022 (WHS Regulations) outline the responsibilities and duties relating to workplace health and safety in Western Australia.  There are laws, codes of practice and guidance documents that can help you understand your obligations related to workplace bullying.

Company officers including directors must exercise due diligence to ensure the business complies with work health and safety (WHS) laws.  This involves taking reasonable steps to ensure the business has the necessary resources and processes in place to eliminate or reduce risks for their workers including those associated with workplace violence and aggression.

• Violence and aggression at work: Code of practice provides practical guidance on managing violence and aggression in the workplace.
• Workplace behaviour: Code of practice provides practical guidance for managing various forms of inappropriate or unreasonable workplace behaviour including bullying, harassment, violence, aggression, discrimination and misconduct.
• Psychosocial hazards in the workplace: Code of practice outlines general principles for the prevention and management of psychosocial hazards in the workplace.  It also provides practical guidance for addressing issues such as inappropriate behaviour and exposure to factors such as fatigue, stress and trauma which can negatively impact the health of your workers.

If you are a person conducting a business or undertaking (PCBU) and manage or control a workplace, you must protect your workers from violence and aggression. This involves managing risks and providing your workers with the necessary information and support to ensure their physical, mental and emotional safety by:

• providing and maintaining a work environment that is without risks to health and safety
• providing and maintaining safe systems of work
• monitoring the health and safety of workers and the conditions at the workplace to ensure that work related illnesses and injuries are prevented
• providing appropriate information, instruction, training or supervision to workers and other persons at the workplace to allow work to be carried out safely.

You must also consult with your workers on any health and safety issues that could affect them. 

Workers need to know what the procedures are for managing and responding to violence and aggression in the workplace. This information should be included in induction training for new workers. Information to workers could include:

• the nature and causes of violence and aggression in their organisation or industry sector including potential triggers
• suggested measures to prevent such problems occurring and best practices for their reduction and elimination
• the laws and regulations covering violence and aggression, both specifically and generally
• how to report incidents and how they will be investigated
• the services available to assist workers exposed to work-related violence and aggression.

As a worker, you must take reasonable care for your own health and safety and not adversely affect the health and safety of others. You must comply with reasonable instructions and cooperate with reasonable health and safety policies or procedures.

See Workers and others at the workplace for more information.

A violence aggression prevent plan includes finding out what workers are exposed to, the types of behaviour they experience, the frequency and severity of incidents, and what can be done to prevent or mitigate the risk of exposure which needs a systematic and holistic approach. This can include:

• measures and procedures for preventing violence and aggression in the workplace
• measures and procedures for dealing with workplace violence and aggression immediately should it occur or if it is likely to occur, including communicating risks and the need for assistance
• measures and procedures for workers to report incidents of workplace violence and aggression to the PCBU or supervisor
• information about how the PCBU will investigate and deal with incidents or complaints of violence and aggression.

The Violence and aggression at work: Code of practice outlines the steps for developing a violence and aggression prevention plan. Once your prevention plans is established, it should be periodically reviewed to ensure it remains relevant.

The first step in the risk management process is to identify hazards in the workplace.  This may include violent or aggressive behaviour from a worker, a client, customer or other person.  Check if violence and aggression is occurring or if there are factors that could contribute by:

• consulting with your workers regularly, conducting anonymous surveys and gathering their feedback during meetings
• checking accident reports, injury records or client histories to find out about previous incidents
• conducting workplace inspections to identify risks of exposure
• reviewing means of access to and exit for workers before/after working hours
• reviewing working arrangements
• analysing feedback from clients to identify problems areas.

The second step is to assess the risk of injury or harm occurring. A risk assessment is an effective way of understanding the causes of the violence and aggression and prioritising what needs to be addressed.

Some example risk assessments can be found in the Violence and aggression at work: Code of practice.

The third step is to implement control measures to eliminate or reduce the risk of the violence or aggression occurring so far as is it is reasonably practicable.  When determining control measures for psychosocial hazards, you must consider:

• how long, how often and how significantly your workers may be exposed to violence and aggression
• how violence and aggression may interact or combine with other types of psychosocial hazards such as stress, bullying and harassment, work pressure, inadequate support and fatigue
• the way the work is designed including job demands and tasks
• the systems of work, including how work is managed, organised and supported
• the design, layout and environmental conditions of the workplace (including employer-provided accommodation, if applicable). This includes the ability of your workers to enter and exit the workplace safely and the facilities they can access for their welfare such as eating areas and bathrooms.
• plant, substances and structures in the workplace
• interactions and behaviours in the workplace
• information, training, instruction and supervision provided to workers.

Some controls for the management of violence and aggression risks are more effective than others and are ranked from the highest level of protection and reliability to the lowest.

Elimination
Elimination controls are the most effective and reliable form of control.  Examples include:

• banning people with a history of violence and aggression
• refusing service to clients who expose workers to violence and aggression
• providing alternative methods of customer service to eliminate face-to-face interactions

Substitution
Substitution controls offer a safer alternative such as:

• using EFTPOS machines instead of cash
• minimising discomfort in waiting rooms and using signs to advise current waiting times
• using way-finding volunteers at hospitals to reduce customer frustration.

Isolation 
Isolation controls separate workers from the hazard.  Physical barrier examples can include:

• controlled-access doors where access is via a security card or code
• screens to reduce the risk of attack from clients; e.g. on buses, at counters
• interview rooms in hospitals, community health clinics and mental health clinics designed with controlled access and separate emergency egress to isolate aggressive clients.

Administrative barrier examples can include:

• service agreements that outline acceptable behaviour and consequences when clients or members of public are violent or aggressive
• posters outlining acceptable behaviours and consequences of unacceptable behaviours
• signs warning that cameras are in use.

Administrative
Administrative controls include:

• training workers in appropriate systems of work, dealing with difficult clients and conflict management skills
• implementing job rotation to reduce the amount of time workers are in stressful situations or working with high-risk clients
• implementing customer feedback procedures.

Personal protective clothing and equipment (PPE)
Examples include:

• PPE for protection from contact with body fluids
• protective body gear or riot gear in prisons or high security detention centres
• personal duress alarms.

Choosing the right control measures depends on your workplace. Talk to your workers, health and safety representatives, and health and safety committees if you have them. 

Practical steps for controlling risks and case study examples can be found in the Violence and aggression at work: Code of practice.

The last step is to review the effectiveness of your control measures to check they are working as planned.  As a PCBU, you need to consult with your workers to review the effectiveness of the control strategies put in place.  Start by asking:

• have incidents of violence and aggression decreased?
• have any new risks been introduced following implementation of the risk control?
• are there other controls which may be more effective?

After an incident occurs, it is important to look at whether or not controls were applied, their effectiveness and whether they need altering, amending or replacing. There should be ongoing analysis of reported incidents to work out whether additional measures should be provided to workers.