Surviving Remote Work: Your Guide to Safety and Compensation

Remote and Isolated Work Environments

Workers in remote or isolated settings may encounter challenges in obtaining assistance during emergencies. Certain situations, such as night shifts at service stations, can heighten the risk of work-related violence and aggression.

Defining Remote or Isolated Work: Remote or isolated work involves tasks that distance individuals from others, making it challenging to access help, including rescue, medical assistance, and emergency services. This isolation can result from factors like location, time, or the nature of the work itself. Even in the presence of others, a worker, such as a solitary cleaner in a city office building at night, can be considered isolated.

Examples of remote and isolated workers include:

  1. Farm workers performing solitary tasks like ploughing, sowing, irrigation changes, and bore running.
  2. Overnight attendants at convenience stores and service stations.
  3. Sales representatives, including real estate agents.
  4. Long-distance freight-transport drivers.
  5. Scientists, park rangers, and field workers operating alone.
  6. Health and community workers providing services in isolation to the public.

Risks Associated with Remote or Isolated Work: Workers in remote or isolated settings face several risks:

  1. Increased vulnerability.
  2. Higher susceptibility to work-related violence and aggression.
  3. Limited access to help during emergencies.
  4. Potential lack of crucial information, training, instructions, or supervision.
  5. Elevated risk of psychological distress, leading to anxiety, stress, fear, depression, and an increased risk of serious injury or suicide.

Managing Risks: Workers and management can collaborate to mitigate the risks associated with remote and isolated work.

For Workers:

  1. Inform someone about your whereabouts and expected return before leaving.
  2. Ensure you have communication equipment (e.g., mobile phone, 2-way radio, or satellite phone).
  3. Carry sufficient water and food.
  4. Avoid working alone in situations prone to work-related violence.
  5. Establish a call-in system, especially in agricultural settings, using 2-way radios.
  6. Keep first-aid equipment accessible and know how to use it.
  7. Have access to an emergency position-indicating radio beacon (EPIRB) or GPS tracking system.
  8. Maintain a nearby card with emergency numbers and property GPS coordinates.

Watch this video about how to minimise risks and stay in touch when you’re working in remote or isolated areas.

For Businesses (Persons Conducting a Business or Undertaking - PCBU):

  1. Implement measures to protect remote and isolated workers.
  2. Ensure effective communication and assistance for workers.
  3. Prevent risks to the health and safety of all individuals associated with the business or undertaking.

The four-step risk management process and additional guidance from the "Managing the Work Environment and Facilities Code of Practice 2021" (PDF, 0.57 MB) and the "How to Manage Work Health and Safety Risks Code of Practice 2021" (PDF, 0.65 MB) provide comprehensive information for businesses.

Step 1: Identify the Hazard As a PCBU, prioritizing the health and safety of workers, whether in remote or short-term isolated work, is crucial. Start by identifying hazards related to work tasks and environments, considering factors like location, time, and nature of work. Methods include inspections, worker consultations, and reviewing available information.

Step 2: Assess the Risk Conduct a risk assessment by evaluating potential consequences and the likelihood of hazards occurring. Factors include the duration and timing of isolated work, communication methods, location safety, nature of tasks, and worker characteristics. Refer to the Managing the Work Environment and Facilities Code of Practice 2021 for comprehensive guidance.

Step 3: Control the Risk Once hazards are identified and assessed, choose control measures. Ideally, eliminate risks, but if not feasible, minimize them. Options include automation, buddy systems, workplace design, communication systems, movement records, training, supervision, and other preventive measures. Adapt control strategies based on the specific work environment and nature of the tasks.

Step 4: Review Risk Controls Risk management is ongoing. Regularly review the work environment, processes, equipment, and relevant factors to identify new hazards and risks. According to work health and safety laws, review control measures when they prove ineffective, new risks emerge, hazards are identified, workers request a review, there are changes in business dynamics, or after a health and safety incident.

Compliance with the Work Health and Safety Act 2011 is essential for safeguarding the health, safety, and welfare of all workers and affected individuals.

Codes of practice

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