New model Code of Practice on addressing workplace fatigue risk released

Australia's national policy body has released a new model Code of Practice that gives workplaces clear guidelines on managing fatigue risks, and duty holders are expected to act before tired crews get hurt.

Safe Work Australia has published a new model Code of Practice offering practical advice to employers on managing health and safety risks linked to workplace fatigue.

Quick summary

• What was released: a new model Code of Practice covering fatigue risks at work.
• Published by: Safe Work Australia.
• Who must act: employers and other duty holders carrying work health and safety duties.
• Core obligation: eliminate fatigue hazards where reasonably practicable, or minimise whatever cannot be removed.
• Where to read it: the regulator's website, alongside supporting guidance material.

Safe Work Australia says employers must prevent work-related fatigue and ensure it doesn't pose a danger in their workplace. To achieve this, the safety agency says employers need to engage with workers and ought to create work processes that remove or reduce risks to the greatest extent possible.

“Managing fatigue-related risks may mean changes to work hours and shift design, providing sufficient breaks while at work and between periods of work, providing additional tools or equipment to assist with tasks or altering the way tasks are completed to allow for flexibility,” says Safe Work Australia.

What the model Code expects employers to do

Fatigue management begins with the design of work rather than reminders pinned to a lunchroom wall.

Written for every jurisdiction, the Code provides guidance that scales from small crews to national operations.

Effective fatigue management, in the regulator's framing, becomes a risk management exercise: identify hazards, assess exposure, apply controls, then review what changed.

Practical steps drawn from the model Code include:

• Reviewing rosters, start times and consecutive nights of work
• Scheduling adequate breaks during, and between, periods of duty
• Supplying plant or tools that cut physically demanding effort
• Rotating monotonous or high-consequence tasks between available crews
• Consulting the people doing the job before rosters are finalised
• Recording decisions so fatigue management can be audited later

Practical fatigue resources for your workplace

Documented controls mark the difference between good intent and hard evidence.

Our editable templates cover the paperwork inspectors most often ask to see:

• Workplace Fatigue Management Plan — sets out roles, controls, reporting lines and review dates.
• Workplace Fatigue Risk Assessment Form — scores exposure and captures agreed actions.
• Fatigue Risk Assessment Form for New Zealand — mirrors that process for trans-Tasman operations.

Embedding fatigue controls into management systems

Documented management systems turn regulator guidance into daily habit.

Fatigue controls belong inside the management systems already running your business — hazard registers, risk assessments, incident reporting and periodic review.

Our template packages arrive as complete management systems, editable in Word so every clause matches how an operation actually runs:

• Construction management systems — early starts, overtime and remote sites
• Manufacturing management systems — rotating rosters and machine-paced lines
• Transport and logistics management systems — driving hours plus tight schedules
• Aged care and nursing management systems — night duty and quick turnarounds
• Mining and resources management systems — fly-in rosters and long swings
• Cleaning services management systems — irregular rosters and after-hours cover
• Security services management systems — lone patrols and overnight posts
• Emergency services management systems — callouts and unpredictable demand
• Food services management systems — pre-dawn production runs

Each package ties fatigue controls to plant, chemical and manual task procedures, so your management systems read as one coherent document set instead of nine unrelated files.

Industries where fatigue risk runs high

Round-the-clock rostering makes fatigue a live concern for essential services providers and their contractors.

• Health services — extended rosters, on-call duty and clinical handovers
• Transport and freight services — overnight linehaul with narrow delivery windows
• Aged care services — broken rosters and heavy manual tasks
• Disability support services — overnight care in isolated locations
• Utility and network services — storm response plus emergency callouts
• Drilling and exploration services — extended swings in remote country
• Waste collection services — kerbside rounds beginning before sunrise
• Hospitality and accommodation services — late closes and split rosters
• Trade and maintenance services — shutdown work and long travel time
• Warehousing and distribution services — peak-season overtime

Professional services firms carry the same duty; desk-based roles still generate errors once hours stretch.

Related workplace safety news

Regulatory news moves quickly, and documentation lagging behind guidance creates exposure.

Recent coverage worth reading includes:

• Safe Work Australia releases a new model Code of Practice for silica dust — news of another Code finalised for hazardous exposures.
• Consultation on the draft model Code for managing fatigue risks — earlier news about the draft that has now been finalised.
• New model code of practice: Elevating Work Platforms — news detailing duties for operators working at height.

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