Free Risk Assessment Template for Queensland

This free risk assessment template is an editable Microsoft Word form for recording the hazards in a task or workplace, scoring each risk on a 5 x 5 matrix before and after controls, and assigning who will act and by when. It suits almost any Queensland business. The controls are set out in the order the Work Health and Safety Regulation 2011 (Qld) uses, and five hazards are already worked through so you can see how each row is filled in.

Prefer a spreadsheet that does the scoring for you? See the Risk Assessment Template (Excel).

What is in the free risk assessment template

• Assessment details: the task, assessment number, site, date, assessor, next review date, who was consulted, and the related SWMS, procedures and permits
• 5 x 5 risk matrix: likelihood and consequence levels in plain words, with the action each score calls for
• Hierarchy of controls: from elimination down to PPE
• Hazard table: the hazard, who could be harmed, the risk before controls, the control measures, the risk after controls, who acts and the due date
• Five worked hazards: heat and sun, driving for work, hazardous chemicals, electrical equipment and working alone
• Blank rows for the rest of your hazards
• Review record, sign-off and document control for the assessor and the manager

It is an editable Microsoft Word file (5 pages), A4 landscape. Type your business details once and they fill in on every page, and there is a space for your logo.

A worked example: working in heat and sun

This is the first of the five hazards in the template. The risk is scored before controls, the controls are listed with PPE as the last control, and the risk is scored again with the controls in place.

• Hazard: working in heat and sun, outdoors or in hot vehicles, sheds and roof spaces: heat illness, dehydration, fatigue, sunburn and skin damage
• Who could be harmed: workers and contractors
• Risk before controls: likelihood 4 (likely) x consequence 3 (moderate) = 12, a substantial risk
• Controls: plan the hottest and heaviest tasks for the cooler part of the day; provide shade, cool drinking water and a cool place for breaks; give new starters time to adjust; teach the signs of heat illness; and provide light, loose, long-sleeved clothing, a broad-brimmed hat and sunscreen as the last control
• Risk after controls: likelihood 2 (unlikely) x consequence 3 (moderate) = 6, a low risk
• Who acts: supervisor and all workers

How the 5 x 5 risk matrix works

Rate how likely the harm is, from 1 (rare) to 5 (almost certain), and how serious it could be, from 1 (insignificant) to 5 (catastrophic). Multiply the two numbers to get the risk score. The template describes each level and sets out what each score calls for:

• 1 to 4, very low risk: work may proceed; maintain, monitor and review the controls
• 5 to 9, low risk: work may proceed; maintain and review the controls and add more where reasonably practicable
• 10 to 15, substantial risk: stop if the risk is immediate and add controls before work continues
• 16 to 25, high risk: do not start, or stop work now, and put controls in place before work starts or resumes

The matrix ranks risks so you know what to fix first. It does not decide what the law requires: where a regulation sets a specific control, you follow it (section 33 of the Work Health and Safety Regulation 2011 (Qld)). To go deeper, read how to use a 5×5 risk matrix, or use the Risk Assessment Matrix and Risk Rating Guide, an Excel matrix with a scoring calculator.

How to do a risk assessment in five steps

1. Describe the task and talk to the people who do it. A business must consult the workers who are, or are likely to be, directly affected, so far as is reasonably practicable, when it identifies hazards and assesses risks (sections 47 and 49 of the Work Health and Safety Act 2011 (Qld)), and the people doing the job know how the work is really done, including cleaning, maintenance and what happens when something goes wrong.
2. List the hazards. Walk the work area, read incident, injury and near miss records, and check manuals and safety data sheets. The Regulation requires you to identify reasonably foreseeable hazards (section 34), so give each one its own row.
3. Score each risk. How likely is harm, and how serious could it be? Score it before controls (the initial risk).
4. Choose controls in order. Eliminate the risk if that is reasonably practicable. If it is not, substitute, isolate or use engineering controls, then use administrative controls, and use PPE last (sections 35 and 36). Score the risk again with the controls in place.
5. Record the actions, sign it off and review it. Name who will act and by when. Review the controls when one does not control the risk, before a change at the workplace that is likely to create a new or different risk that the control may not control, when a new hazard is found, when consultation shows a review is needed or when a health and safety representative requests a review (section 38).

The hierarchy of controls is explained in our guide to the hierarchy of controls, and the Hierarchy of Controls Risk Control Worksheet takes one hazard through every step. Still finding hazards? Start with how to identify hazards in the workplace.

When do you need a risk assessment in Queensland?

Every business must eliminate risks to health and safety so far as is reasonably practicable and, where it cannot, minimise them so far as is reasonably practicable (section 17 of the Work Health and Safety Act 2011 (Qld)). Section 18 says what reasonably practicable weighs up: how likely the harm is, how serious it could be, what you know or ought to know about the hazard and the ways to control it, whether those ways are available and suitable, and last of all the cost. The Regulation turns that into a process: identify hazards, eliminate or minimise the risks, keep the controls effective and review them (sections 34 to 38).

Those sections do not say every risk needs a written assessment, but the How to Manage Work Health and Safety Risks Code of Practice 2021 says a risk assessment should be done when:

• you are not sure how a hazard could result in injury or illness
• the work involves several hazards and it is not clear how they could combine to create new or greater risks
• changes at the workplace could affect how well your controls work

A business must follow a Queensland code of practice that applies to it, or manage the risk in a way that gives an equivalent or higher standard of health and safety (section 26A of the Work Health and Safety Act 2011 (Qld)). The code adds that a detailed assessment is not always needed: where a regulation requires a specific control, where a code or other guidance sets out a way to control the risk that suits your situation, or where well-known, effective controls used in your industry suit your workplace, you can put those controls in place without a detailed assessment.

Some activities do need a written risk assessment. These include entering or working in, on or near a confined space (section 66 of the Work Health and Safety Regulation 2011 (Qld)), general diving work (section 176) and electrical work on or near energised electrical equipment (section 199 of the Electrical Safety Regulation 2026 (Qld)). High risk construction work needs a safe work method statement before it starts (section 299 of the Work Health and Safety Regulation 2011 (Qld)), and a general risk assessment does not take its place. Use the free SWMS template for Queensland for that work.

Risk assessment, JSA, SWMS or hazard register?

They are different records for different jobs:

• Risk assessment: the hazards in a task, area or activity, who could be harmed, the risk scores and the controls. This template.
• JSA (job safety analysis) or JSEA (job safety and environmental analysis): the same thinking applied one job step at a time, usually by the supervisor and crew before a job starts. See what is a JSA and the JSA and JSEA Form Template (Job Safety Analysis).
• SWMS: the statement required before high risk construction work starts. See the difference between a SWMS and a JSA.
• Hazard register: a running list of the hazards across your workplace. Log them in the Free Hazard Register Template and let anyone report one with the Free Hazard Report Form Template.
• Risk register: the risks you are managing, scored and reviewed over time. See what a risk register is and what to include and the WHS Risk Register.

Risk assessments for specific hazards

For hazards with their own rules, use an assessment written for them:

• Plant Risk Assessment Template
• Confined Space Risk Assessment
• Risk Assessment for Manual Tasks
• Working at Heights Risk Assessment
• Chemical Risk Assessment Form
• Working Alone Risk Assessment
• Psychosocial Hazard Risk Assessment Template

Examples from the construction industry are in risk assessment examples for construction work, and when a risk assessment should be carried out has the triggers in more detail. Review the template, adjust it to suit your business, your sites and the way your team works, and talk it through with your workers.

Risk assessment template: frequently asked questions

This page is general information about work health and safety in Queensland, not legal advice.