Retail and Supermarket WHS Manual

This is the retail and supermarket edition of the WHS Manual. It has the same chapters as the general WHS Manual, rewritten for independent and chain shops, supermarkets and shopping-centre tenancies, so you only need one of the two and should not buy both. It names the plant, substances, licences, laws and approved codes a store meets, from the dock and the stockroom to the till, and points to the retail SWMS, procedures, registers and checklists in our range. The cover page is ready for your business name and logo. Part A is the management system, in 23 numbered chapters. Part B holds the full text of 62 policies and procedures (41 that apply to every business and 21 for retail and supermarket work), each on its own pages in the same editable file, so you can edit, issue and sign off each one without buying it separately.

Need the SWMS for your work? Browse SWMS templates, or add policies, forms and registers with the Retail and Supermarket WHS Management System.

What Is Included In Our Retail and Supermarket WHS Manual?

• WHS policy statement with an approval sign-off
• Duties and roles for owners, store managers, team leaders and shop staff
• Chemicals held for sale and for cleaning, safety data sheets and spill control
• LPG cylinder exchange cages, batteries and asbestos in older shops
• Manual tasks, stocking, racking, falling stock, ladders and mezzanines
• Pallet trucks, forklifts, order pickers and the licences that apply
• Loading dock, tail lifts, balers, compactors, lifts and escalators
• Slicers, knives, hot food and coolroom and freezer entry
• Cash handling, robbery and hold-up, customer aggression and shoplifters
• Working alone, opening and closing, late trading, fatigue and young workers
• Emergency plan for customers and staff, and first aid
• A list of 45 retail SWMS, procedures, forms and registers and when to use each one
• Part B: the full text of 62 policies and procedures, from risk, hazard and incident management to manual handling, hazardous substances, emergencies and return to work, plus 21 for retail and supermarket work

Legislation and Codes of Practice Referenced

• Work Health and Safety Act 2011 (Qld): the meaning of reasonably practicable (s 18), our primary duty of care (s 19, including our duty to customers and other people our work affects in s 19(2)), more than one duty holder (s 16), duties of persons who manage or control a workplace (s 20) and of persons who manage or control plant (s 21), codes of practice (ss 26A, 274 and 275), duties of officers (s 27), duties of workers and others (ss 28 and 29), notifiable incidents (ss 35 to 39), consultation (ss 46 to 49), the right to cease unsafe work (ss 84 to 86), and no levy on workers (s 273). The WHS Act does not apply to the extent the Electrical Safety Act 2002 applies (sch 1)
• Electrical Safety Act 2002 (Qld): serious electrical incidents (s 11), the electrical safety duty (s 30), and codes of practice (ss 44 and 45)
• Petroleum and Gas (Production and Safety) Act 2004 (Qld): gas work and the gas work licence (ss 725 and 726)
• Fire Services Act 1990 (Qld): the occupier’s duties to keep the means of escape free from obstruction and to maintain a fire and evacuation plan (ss 146L and 146O)
• Environmental Protection Act 1994 (Qld): the general environmental duty (s 319) and notifying environmental events (ss 320A to 320D)
• Workers’ Compensation and Rehabilitation Act 2003 (Qld): claims and the employer’s injury report (ss 131 and 133), rehabilitation and return to work (ss 226 to 232), and the protection of injured workers (ss 232A to 232G)
• Penalties and Sentences Act 1992 (Qld): the value of a penalty unit (s 5(1)(d))
• Work Health and Safety Regulation 2011 (Qld): managing risks (ss 32 to 38), information, training and instruction (s 39), facilities, first aid, emergency plans and personal protective equipment (ss 40 to 47), remote or isolated work (s 48), exposure standards (ss 49 and 50), ignition sources and flammable material (ss 52 and 53), falling objects (ss 54 and 55), noise (ss 56 to 59), hazardous manual tasks (s 60), confined spaces (ss 62 to 77), psychosocial hazards (ss 55A to 55H), falls (ss 78 to 80), high risk work licences (ss 81 to 89 and sch 3), plant (Regulation chapter 5, including guarding in s 208, hot and cold parts in s 209, emergency stops in s 211, maintenance and inspection in s 213, powered mobile plant in ss 214 and 215 and industrial lift trucks in s 218), registration of plant designs and items (ss 243 to 246 and sch 5), construction work (Regulation chapter 6), hazardous chemicals (Regulation chapter 7, including safety data sheets in s 344, the register in s 346, manifests and placards in ss 347 to 350 and sch 11), asbestos (Regulation chapter 8) and the dictionary (sch 19)
• Work Health and Safety (Codes of Practice) Notice 2022 (Qld): the list of approved codes of practice
• Electrical Safety Regulation 2026 (Qld): overhead electric lines (ss 10 to 15 and sch 2), unsafe equipment and cords (ss 17 and 18), electrical equipment used for manufacturing work and service work (ss 123 to 139), notifying serious electrical incidents (s 292), and the dictionary (sch 10)
• Petroleum and Gas (Safety) Regulation 2018 (Qld): gas systems and ignition sources near cylinders (s 122), cylinders in enclosed spaces (s 131), carrying cylinders in enclosed vehicles (ss 141 to 144) and supplying fuel gas in cylinders to consumers (ss 145 to 148)
• Workers’ Compensation and Rehabilitation Regulation 2025 (Qld): the criteria for appointing a return to work coordinator (s 149)
• Building Fire Safety Regulation 2008 (Qld): evacuation routes and locking doors (ss 5, 7, 8 and 11)
• 17 Queensland approved codes of practice, named in full in the manual

What You Get

• An editable Microsoft Word manual (416 pages), A4 portrait, with a cover page ready for your business name and logo, a contents list, Part A (23 numbered chapters) and Part B (62 policies and procedures)
• Business details and document control typed once and filled in on every page, plus a space for your logo
• A WHS policy statement with an approval sign-off
• Roles, procedures, a risk matrix, record-keeping periods, definitions and references
• Part B: the full text of 62 policies and procedures, each starting on a new page
• Links by name to the matching SWMS, forms and registers in our range

Review it and adjust it to suit your business, your sites and the way your team works, and talk it through with your workers. If you have any trouble downloading this template, you can contact us at any time. Please make sure you read our Disclaimer before downloading.