Within Australia’s high-risk sectors, such as construction, mining, manufacturing, and logistics, the practice of occupational health and safety (OHS) has historically focused on “slips, trips, and falls” as well as machine guarding. However, with the advancement of technology, the shifting climate, and intricate supply chains, it’s evident compliance isn’t enough for effective risk management. This is where the strategic benefits of hiring an OHS consultant with occupational hygiene knowledge come in.
Today’s OHS consultants are shifting from toolbox talks and hazard checklists to proactively managing risks such as airborne contaminants, noise exposure, heat stress, and even biological threats. These risks do not lead to immediate injury, but rather inflict damage over time to health, productivity, and increase costs associated with compensation.
In this blog, we will discuss the integration of OHS consulting with occupational hygiene and how it is transforming Australian workplaces—along with the reason why businesses should demand more from their consultants.
Why Occupational Hygiene Should Always Be Included
Australia’s WHS laws especially under the model WHS Act and regulations adopted by most states require proactive care. This means coming up with a plan that considers all reasonably foreseeable risks and including every hazard that may affect health in the long run. This is where occupational hygienists provide a level of detail that most safety advisors simply do not possess.
As an example, an OHS consultant may diagnose exposure to dust as a separate problem. An occupational hygienist will always do more by:
Carrying out quantitative exposure assessments
Measuring the outcomes against the Workplace Exposure Standards (as of January 2024, updated by Safe Work Australia).
Providing recommendations on control measures which go beyond basic PPE to engineering ventilation systems, process isolation, or hazard elimination at the source.
Meeting these control requirements is a must in addition to being good practice. They are also a basic minimum to meeting the expectations of auditors, insurers, and regulators.
Where Occupational Hygienists and OHS Consultants Work Together
The occupational hygienist and OHS consultant bring the most value while strategically safety planning in a collaborative approach as the occupational hygienist provides the technical details.
An example is as follows:
The OHS consultant will check the WHS policies to confirm that they are structured around the hierarchy of controls and check if all the necessary compliance procedures were put in place.
The occupational hygienist follows up by testing the effectiveness of the controls with air or audiometric monitoring.
As a team, they can integrate the findings into the risk registers, SWMS, and the training materials to ensure that the workforce understands the “why” along with the “what” with regards to the safety protocols.
This is particularly useful in food manufacturing and laboratories or heavy industry, where risk visibility is crucial and compliance is a must.
The Changing Risk Profile in Australia
Emerging and re-emerging hazards in Australia’s workplaces include:
Silica dust exposure in the construction industry and stone benchtop manufacturing
Outdoor and remote work heat stress as the climate grows more intense
Commercial indoor air quality concerns in the post-pandemic period
Chemical exposure from disinfectants, adhesives, and solvents used daily, but poorly understood These are not observable risks. They need a technical evaluation of the metrics involved, standard interpretation, and bespoke solution implementation. Even so, many businesses still hire OHS consultants without the occupational hygiene partnerships or credentials to address these challenges in a meaningful way.
Addressing WHS Compliance Challenges Proactively
WorkSafe Victoria, SafeWork NSW, and WHSQ from Queensland are well-known regulators that have been actively prosecuting companies for long-term exposure risks that are “reasonably foreseeable.”
Exposure monitoring gaps, lack of updated risk assessments for known hazardous substances, integration of occupational hygienists into OHS consulting frameworks, and lack of proactive approaches are areas of concern that have and will continue to impose fines and damage reputations to businesses.
IHs, or occupational hygienists, actively mitigate risks and demonstrate a higher duty of care.
Turning Safety into a Business Advantage
Focus areas for Australian businesses WHS have a perceived notion to be a cost now include productivity and performance drivers, and enablers of efficiency. Effective OHS management is associated with reduced absenteeism, enhanced staff retention, better insurance premiums, and improved supplier credibility. However, these gains will be achieved only when a corporate safety management system is implemented.
For this reason, the next evolution of WHS consulting must offer occupational hygiene capabilities, or strong collaboration with certified hygienists.
Final Thought: Don’t Settle for Surface-Level Safety
If you fail to include exposure monitoring, control verification, and ongoing health risk assessments in your workplace safety program, you could be just scratching the surface. Work with OHS specialists who value true prevention and bring compliance occupational hygiene to the front lines.
After all, the best safety systems are the ones that not only protect your employees’ physical wellbeing, but also their long-term health.