Workplace Emergency Plans: Australian Legal Requirements
A plan that has never been tested, communicated or practised is not much of a plan. Here is what the WHS laws expect.
By Britt Brennan, REACHAU | Updated 16 October 2026
Every workplace covered by the Work Health and Safety (WHS) laws must have an emergency plan. In Western Australia that means the Work Health and Safety Act 2020 (WA) and its regulations. The Person Conducting a Business or Undertaking (PCBU) is responsible for it.
More importantly, an inadequate plan can cost lives. When an emergency happens, people need to know exactly what to do.
Quick answer
The WHS regulations (clause 43 in the model regulations) require an emergency plan covering five areas: emergency response, evacuation, notifying emergency services, medical treatment and assistance, and communication. The PCBU must also make sure the procedures are tested and that workers are given information, training and instruction. Always check the current wording with SafetyWA or your WHS adviser for your workplace.
What you will learn
- Who is legally responsible for the emergency plan
- The five mandatory components
- Why testing and training are required, not optional extras
- How first aider roles should be set out in the plan
- What remote and regional workplaces need to do differently
1Who Is Responsible
A PCBU has a duty to prepare, maintain and implement an emergency plan. That includes employers, self-employed persons and organisations that manage or control a workplace.
The responsibility cannot be delegated away.
Even if an external consultant writes the plan, the PCBU stays responsible for making sure it is implemented, tested and kept current. Writing the document is the start, not the finish.
If you manage a business, you own this obligation. If you are a safety officer or first aider, knowing what a compliant plan looks like helps you spot gaps and raise them with whoever is accountable.
2What a Workplace Emergency Plan Must Include
The regulations set out the emergency procedures a plan must provide for. Each of the five areas below is a requirement, not a suggestion.
| Required component | What it must cover |
|---|---|
| 1. Effective emergency response | The actions workers and others should take when an emergency occurs, including who coordinates the response and what authority they have to direct others. |
| 2. Evacuation procedures | Documented evacuation routes, assembly points communicated to all workers, and procedures that account for workers with disability or impaired mobility. |
| 3. Notification of emergency services | How emergency services will be contacted and who is responsible. The plan should not assume one person will always be available to make the call. |
| 4. Medical treatment and assistance | Where first aid kits are, who the trained first aiders are, and how care will be given until emergency services arrive. |
| 5. Effective communication | How the emergency coordinator will communicate with everyone at the workplace, including large facilities, outdoor sites and places with limited mobile coverage. |
Common gap to check
Many plans document evacuation routes but forget workers with mobility impairments, or assume mobile phones will work everywhere on site. Both are compliance risks worth reviewing.
3Testing and Training Are Also Required
Writing the plan is not enough. The regulations also require the procedures to be tested and workers to receive information, training and instruction on how to carry them out. This is a separate obligation from producing the document.
| Situation | What it means |
|---|---|
| A drill that finds a problem | This is a success. You found a gap before an emergency and can fix it without consequences. |
| A real emergency that finds the same problem | This is a preventable failure. The outcome can include injury, death and legal liability for the PCBU. |
Drills should happen regularly, with the frequency based on the risk of the workplace. Higher-risk sites should drill more often. Every worker should know, without needing to look it up:
- Where the evacuation routes and assembly points are
- How to raise the alarm
- Who the emergency coordinator is and how to reach them
- Where the first aid kits are and who the trained first aiders are
- Their own role, if they have one
If workers cannot answer these without hesitation, the plan has not been communicated well. That is a compliance gap and a practical risk.
4First Aider Roles Should Be Set Out in the Plan
The plan should identify first aiders by name or role and say what they are expected to do in different emergencies. It should also make clear that first aiders do not give care beyond their training.
| What the plan should specify | Why it matters |
|---|---|
| Names or roles of trained first aiders | Workers need to know who to go to. If first aiders are listed by name only and that person is away, the plan breaks down. Listing by role is more robust. |
| What first aiders are expected to do | Different emergencies need different responses. A plan that only says "contact the first aider" is not specific enough. |
| Currency of first aid certificates | Out-of-date certificates are both a compliance risk and a practical one. The accepted guidance is to renew CPR every 12 months and the full first aid certificate (HLTAID011 Provide First Aid) every 3 years. |
A common gap worth auditing now.
Many plans list first aiders whose certificates expired years ago. The plan looks compliant on paper. In a real emergency, it is not. Check dates as part of your next plan review.
For more on what businesses need, read our guide to first aid requirements for businesses.
Test your own workplace
Take the free 2 minute workplace first aid readiness check to see where your plan and first aid cover have gaps, or ask about on-site training built around your site.
5Remote and Regional Workplaces Have Extra Needs
In remote locations, standard communication may not be available. The plan must say how emergency services will be contacted when mobile coverage is missing or unreliable.
Remote plans should address
- Alternative communication such as satellite devices, personal locator beacons or HF radio
- First aid numbers that suit the number of workers on site
- A level of first aid training that reflects the distance from medical help
- How to manage a medical emergency for an extended time before help arrives
The level of first aid training and the number of first aiders should reflect the distance from medical services. Workers in remote and isolated environments may need HLTAID013 Provide First Aid in Remote or Isolated Areas rather than standard workplace certification. It covers extended care and serious injuries when evacuation may take hours or longer.
| Workplace type | Course | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| Standard workplaces | HLTAID011 Provide First Aid | The nationally recognised standard for most workplace first aid needs. |
| Remote and regional | HLTAID013 Remote or Isolated Areas | Extended training for worksites where help may be hours away. |
| Childcare and education | HLTAID012 Education and Care Setting | For education and care services with specific staffing and response obligations. |
6Keep the Plan Accessible and Current
The plan must be in writing and accessible to workers. It should be reviewed regularly and updated when things change, including personnel, layout, operations or risks.
A plan written three years ago may not reflect your workplace at all.
If staff have changed, certificates have expired, the layout has moved or new hazards have appeared, your plan is out of date. An out-of-date plan can send people to exits that no longer exist or to first aiders who no longer work there.
Review your plan at least once a year, and straight after any significant change, incident or near miss. Record that the review happened and what changed.
For more on remote workplaces, read what HLTAID013 covers for remote workplaces.
Frequently Asked Questions
Who is responsible for the workplace emergency plan under WHS law?
The PCBU. They must prepare, maintain and implement the plan. This applies to employers, self-employed persons and organisations that manage or control a workplace. It cannot be delegated away, even if a consultant writes the plan.
What must a workplace emergency plan include?
Under the WHS regulations (clause 43 of the model regulations), the plan must provide for effective emergency response, evacuation procedures, notification of emergency services, medical treatment and assistance, and effective communication. The procedures must be tested, and workers must be given information, training and instruction.
How often should emergency drills be run?
The regulations require regular testing, with frequency based on the risk profile of the workplace. There is no single interval that suits every site. Higher-risk workplaces should drill more often.
What are the first aid requirements for remote and regional workplaces?
First aid numbers and the level of training should reflect the distance from medical services. Remote plans must say how to contact emergency services when standard options are unavailable, such as satellite devices or personal locator beacons. Many remote workers need HLTAID013 rather than standard workplace certification.
What happens if a workplace has no emergency plan?
It is a breach of the WHS regulations and exposes the PCBU to penalties. More importantly, workers will not know what to do when an incident happens, and the result can be preventable injury or death.
A Plan Is Only Worth What It Produces in the Moment
Emergency planning can feel like paperwork until the moment it matters. At that point, the difference between a plan that works and one that does not is measured in outcomes, not documents. Trained first aiders with current certificates are one of the most direct ways to back your written plan with real capability.
The question worth asking before the next drill
If an emergency happened at your workplace right now, would your workers know exactly what to do without being told? Would your first aiders' certificates hold up? Would your plan match the real layout, people and risks? If you are not sure, that is worth fixing today.
REACHAU first aid training focuses on understanding what to do, why it matters and how to act when someone needs help.
View upcoming first aid sessionsTraining and Assessment is delivered by Britt at Regional Education and Career Help Australia on behalf of ABC First Aid RTO 3399.
This article is general information and not legal advice. Check the current WHS laws for your workplace.
