Risk Assessment Matrix and Risk Rating Guide

A risk assessment matrix template in Excel for Queensland businesses: a 5×5 matrix with consequence from Insignificant to Catastrophic across and likelihood from Rare to Almost Certain down, each cell showing its score and its colour. The Scoring Guide gives a description for every consequence and likelihood, and the Rating Actions sheet says what each rating requires you to do. The Calculator works out the score, the rating and the action for each risk before and after controls, and says whether the risk has been reduced. Three worked tasks show how scores are reached. The guide states plainly that a rating ranks risks and does not decide what the law requires.

What Is Included In Our Risk Assessment Matrix and Risk Rating Guide?

• A Start Here sheet: type your details once and they appear on every sheet and printed page
• The 5×5 risk matrix with likelihood and consequence scores, every cell scored 1 to 25 and coloured High, Substantial, Low or Very Low
• A Scoring Guide with a description for each consequence (Insignificant to Catastrophic) and each likelihood (Rare to Almost Certain)
• A Rating Actions sheet with the action required for High Risk, Substantial Risk, Low Risk and Very Low Risk, and a box for the review interval your business sets
• A Calculator: choose likelihood and consequence and it shows the score, the rating and the action, with a second block for the residual score and whether the risk was reduced
• A Worked Use sheet scoring three common tasks before and after controls, with the reason the score changed
• A step-by-step How to Rate a Risk guide and a list of common mistakes
• A plain-English summary of the Queensland rules on managing risk, including that a rating is a tool and not a legal test

Legislation and Codes of Practice Referenced

• Work Health and Safety Act 2011 (Qld): ss 18, 47, 49
• Work Health and Safety Regulation 2011 (Qld): ss 34 to 38, 291, 299
• How to Manage Work Health and Safety Risks Code of Practice 2021

What You Get

• An editable Microsoft Excel workbook with no macros
• Drop-down lists, frozen headings, working score and rating formulas and colour highlighting
• Room for 100 scored risks on the Calculator sheet, with more rows when you need them
• Print-ready pages with your business details repeated on every printed page
• Drop-down options you can change on the Lists sheet

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.