Australia's Science Forum

A teacher brought to our attention that when we all sign the RiskAssess documents - teachers and Laboratory personnel - we are signing and committing ourselves legally to this statement:
I have assessed the risks associated with performing this experiment in the classroom on the basis of likelihood and
consequences using the School's risk matrix, according to International Organization for Standardization Standard ISO
31000:2009 and the Risk Management Guidelines, HB 436:2013.

Have any of you ever sighted and read the two standards in this statement?
ISO 31000:2009 AND HB 436:2013 ?

How do we know when we sign it that the experiment actually is compliant to both of those standards?
Where do we stand - legally - if we have signed for something that is not compliant and there is an issue.?

Our school does not have a copy - neither does head office.
Personal copies of each are $118.12,and 214.81 respectively
Network/cut/paste copies are 220.63, and 408.14 respectively.

I have alerted HOD and it is HIS problem, but until this is resolved, I do not intend signing any more RiskAssess documents.

I do not blame you at all. Thank goodness we do not have that problem at D of E schools.

Why don't you go back to Risk assess and ask them if they have a copy of the standards you can access?? They must know what they are if they are quoting them!?

That sounds like a good idea Rae. Presumably everyone should have access to these documents if that is what risk assessments are to be based on. Which sort of begs the question, what is everyone else basing their risk assessments on? Risk assessments are supposed to be done for sporting activities, end of year "hobby" type activities, excursions, presumably for wood work, metal work, cooking... have they all read these documents? Have they used a risk matrix? Would they know one if they fell over it?

If you open the link at 'School's risk matrix' and scroll to page 5 of the document, there's a matrix copyrighted by Philip Crisp. This is the one we use, surely complies with all the doo-dahs?

Yes, xenon, I've seen that matrix on page 5, but I went looking for it . Just wondering if anyone else has seen it, or why we do not have access to the documents referred to.

We use the matrix too

Just reading back through the Risk assess document and found this:

It is recommended that your school obtain copies of ISO Standard 31000:2009 and
the Risk Management Guidelines HB 436:2004, and that persons carrying out risk
assessments be familiar with them. Copies of these documents may be obtained from
your national Standards Organization.

So I guess we can't get the information from them.

Hmmm