Events and Entertainment WHS Manual

This is the events and entertainment edition of the WHS Manual. It has the same chapters as the general WHS Manual, written for event producers, production crews, riggers, stage and structure contractors, amusement operators and market and fair organisers, so you only need one of the two. It follows an event in order, from planning and bump-in to temporary structures, rigging, power, amusement devices, fireworks, crowd management, weather, emergencies and bump-out, and it points to the events SWMS, plans, checklists and registers in our range that match. 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 76 policies and procedures (41 that apply to every business and 35 for events and entertainment 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.

What Is Included In Our Events and Entertainment WHS Manual?

• WHS policy statement with an approval sign-off
• Duties and roles for the event organiser, production manager, event safety officer, rigger, stage crew, amusement operator and volunteers
• Stages, roofs, marquees and grandstands treated as construction work, with the licences and inspections that follow
• Rigging and dogging licences, chain hoists and trusses, and flown rigs over crews and crowds
• Work at height, EWPs, harnesses and falling objects
• Temporary power, generators, safety switches and test and tag
• Amusement devices and inflatables: registration, daily and annual checks and log books
• Fireworks, flame and special effects, and the display host duties
• LP gas, food stalls, fuel and carbon monoxide
• Crowd management, security and liquor, weather and wind limits, vehicles and pedestrians
• Emergency plan and first aid for crowds, collapse, crush, storm, fire and device failure
• A table of the matching SWMS, plans, checklists and registers
• Part B: the full text of 76 policies and procedures, from risk, hazard and incident management to manual handling, hazardous substances, emergencies and return to work, plus 35 for events and entertainment work

Legislation and Codes of Practice Referenced

• Work Health and Safety Act 2011 (Qld): the meaning of a business or undertaking and of a structure (ss 4 and 5), workers including volunteers (s 7), reasonably practicable (s 18), our primary duty of care (s 19), duties of persons who manage or control a workplace (s 20), codes of practice (ss 26A, 274 and 275), duties of officers (s 27), duties of workers and others (ss 28 and 29), volunteers (s 34), notifiable incidents (ss 35 to 39), authorisation of plant and work (ss 42 and 43), consultation (ss 46 to 49), the right to cease unsafe work (ss 84 to 86), no levy on workers (s 273), and the extent to which it applies where the Electrical Safety Act applies (schedule 1 part 2 division 2 item 4)
• Electrical Safety Act 2002 (Qld): serious electrical incidents and dangerous electrical events (ss 11 and 12), electrical equipment (s 14), electrical installations (s 15), electrical work (s 18), the primary duty (s 30), codes of practice (ss 44 and 45), and electrical work and contractor licences (ss 55 and 56)
• Explosives Act 1999 (Qld): explosives, fireworks and pyrotechnics (schedule 2), authority to possess an explosive (s 34), fireworks operator licences (s 35) and the incident notice (s 56)
• Petroleum and Gas (Production and Safety) Act 2004 (Qld): gas work and the gas work licence (ss 725 and 726)
• Workers’ Compensation and Rehabilitation Act 2003 (Qld): claims and the employer’s injury report (ss 131 and 133), and rehabilitation and return to work (ss 226 to 232)
• Environmental Protection Act 1994 (Qld) and Waste Reduction and Recycling Act 2011 (Qld): environmental harm, noise and waste, including asbestos waste
• Working with Children (Risk Management and Screening) Act 2000 (Qld): the blue card for regulated activities, including volunteers
• Liquor Act 1992 (Qld): licences and permits for the sale and service of liquor at events
• Security Providers Act 1993 (Qld): licensing of security staff and crowd controllers
• Food Act 2006 (Qld) and Public Health Act 2005 (Qld): temporary food stalls and public health
• Tobacco and Other Smoking Products Act 1998 (Qld): smoking and vaping at events
• Fire Services Act 1990 (Qld): the fire services notified of a fireworks display under the Explosives Regulation 2017
• Building Act 1975 (Qld) and Local Government Act 2009 (Qld): temporary buildings and structures, and council approvals for events
• Transport Operations (Road Use Management) Act 1995 (Qld): driving under the influence of liquor or a drug (s 79), and the road rules
• Heavy Vehicle National Law (Queensland): driving a heavy vehicle while impaired by fatigue, and the duty not to ask or require it (ss 228 and 26E)
• Anti-Discrimination Act 1991 (Qld): discrimination, including against workers with an impairment
• 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), airborne contaminants and hazardous atmospheres (ss 49 to 53), falling objects (ss 54 and 55), noise (ss 56 to 59), manual tasks (s 60), falls (ss 78 to 80), high risk work licences (ss 81 to 85 and Schedule 3), plant, amusement devices and registration (chapter 5, including ss 206 to 220, 238 to 243 and 246, and Schedule 5), construction work, SWMS and the Queensland rules for falls, ladders and general construction induction (chapter 6, including ss 202, 289 to 306M and 316), hazardous chemicals (chapter 7 and Schedule 14), asbestos (chapter 8), crystalline silica (chapter 8A), and the dictionary (Schedule 19)
• Work Health and Safety (Codes of Practice) Notice 2022 (Qld): the list of approved codes of practice
• Electrical Safety Regulation 2026 (Qld): overhead and underground electric lines (ss 10 to 15 and Schedule 2), amusement work (ss 126 to 130), service work equipment and safety switches (ss 137 to 139), construction equipment and AS/NZS 3012 (s 140), energised electrical work (ss 199 to 204), and notifying and preserving the site of serious electrical incidents and dangerous electrical events (ss 292 and 296)
• Explosives Regulation 2017 (Qld): fireworks displays (ss 156 to 172), including the display host (s 157), the fireworks contractor and operator (ss 158 to 165), the safety and security requirements (s 162), insurance (s 167) and the notices (ss 169 to 171)
• Petroleum and Gas (Safety) Regulation 2018 (Qld): LP gas cylinders in vehicles and premises (ss 131, 141 and 143), and listed gas devices (Schedule 1)
• Building Fire Safety Regulation 2008 (Qld): evacuation routes (s 7)
• Workers’ Compensation and Rehabilitation Regulation 2025 (Qld): the criteria for appointing a return to work coordinator (s 149)
• Transport Operations (Road Use Management – Accreditation and Other Provisions) Regulation 2015 (Qld): the function of a traffic controller and who may perform it (ss 51, 54 and 55)
• Environmental Protection Regulation 2019 (Qld)
• How to Manage Work Health and Safety Risks Code of Practice 2021
• Work Health and Safety Consultation, Co-operation and Co-ordination Code of Practice 2021
• Amusement Devices Code of Practice 2023
• Managing the Risk of Falls at Workplaces Code of Practice 2021
• Managing Risks of Plant in the Workplace Code of Practice 2021
• Managing Noise and Preventing Hearing Loss at Work Code of Practice 2021
• Managing the Work Environment and Facilities Code of Practice 2021
• First Aid in the Workplace Code of Practice 2021
• Hazardous Manual Tasks Code of Practice 2021
• Scaffolding Code of Practice 2021
• Managing Risks of Hazardous Chemicals in the Workplace Code of Practice 2021
• Labelling of Workplace Hazardous Chemicals Code of Practice 2021
• Preparation of Safety Data Sheets for Hazardous Chemicals Code of Practice 2021
• How to Manage and Control Asbestos in the Workplace Code of Practice 2021
• How to Safely Remove Asbestos Code of Practice 2021
• Managing respirable crystalline silica dust exposure in construction and manufacturing of construction elements Code of Practice 2022
• Traffic Management for Construction or Maintenance Work Code of Practice 2008
• Mobile Crane Code of Practice 2024
• Managing the risk of psychosocial hazards at work Code of Practice 2022
• 2 Queensland approved codes of practice, named in full in the manual

What You Get

• An editable Microsoft Word manual (about 520 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 (76 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 76 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.