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4. Healthy, safety and wellbeing
What you need to know
TAFE Queensland is committed to providing a safe, healthy and productive working environment for all people who work, study, visit a campus or have the potential to be affected by TAFE Queensland activities.
The Work Health and Safety Act 2011 (Qld) applies to you and includes a number of work health and safety (WHS) obligations. You will contribute significantly to meeting your obligations for WHS at TAFE Queensland by putting in place these top five priorities, referred to as the Student High 5s:
- Take care of your own health and safety and don't do anything that will affect the safety of others;
- Obey safety signage and wear appropriate personal protective equipment (PPE);
- Follow directions given by TAFE Queensland staff and employers;
- Only use property, plant and equipment for its intended purposes; and
- Report all injuries, incidents, hazards or near misses to your teacher or other staff, or employers.
You are entitled to challenge, in a respectful manner, directions or decisions of TAFE Queensland staff and employers if you consider them to be unlawful, unreasonable, or to potentially endanger a person's health or safety.
What you need to know
You are expected to use personal protective equipment (PPE) and wear any other clothing necessary to meet the work health and safety requirements of your program.
If you choose not to wear the personal protective equipment and other clothing required for a task you will be excluded from the activity.
What you need to know
You are required to familiarise yourself with emergency procedures for your specified areas of study.
Know where your emergency assembly area is and the designated evacuation routes nearest to where you are undertaking education and training.
During emergency evacuations or lockdowns, your supervisor or teachers will act as emergency co-ordinators. For your safety, please ensure that you follow the instructions of the officer in control.
What you need to know
If you have noticed a potential safety hazard in your learning environment, or are involved in a WHS accident or incident you should report it to a TAFE Queensland staff member.
Your safety and the safety of others is the most important thing. TAFE Queensland will work to ensure that your health and safety is secured, and from there the incident is investigated and managed.
Scope of Sexual Misconduct
What you need to know
What is Sexual Misconduct:
TAFE Queensland is committed to creating a safe and respectful environment where sexual misconduct is not tolerated.
TAFE Queensland is also committed to raising awareness, preventing and responding to all reports of sexual misconduct for students and the wider TAFE Queensland community.
Sexual Misconduct includes sexual harassment or sexual assault, sexual touching, sexual acts, conduct involving child abuse material, making or distributing sexually explicit photos or videos without consent, or certain other behaviours of a sexual nature.
Sexual misconduct can involve behaviour by a person of any sex or gender. It can occur between strangers or those who know each other well, including those involved in a consensual intimate relationship.
Prevention of Sexual Misconduct:
TAFE Queensland aims to eliminate all forms of sexual misconduct from its campuses and commits to providing a safe, equitable and inclusive environment where students are able to participate in all institute activities.
TAFE Queensland encourages and values reasonable active Bystander Intervention by members of the TAFE Queensland community to prevent or stop sexual misconduct form occurring or continuing. Bystander Intervention includes:
(a) Noticing the situation/events;
(b) Deciding if it is a problem;
(c) Accepting responsibility to take action;
(d) Making a plan to step in; and
(e) Reporting the details of the allegation to TAFE Queensland.
Disclosing and Reporting Incidents
What you need to know
Disclosing and Reporting Incidents:
TAFE Queensland encourages individuals to report incidents of sexual misconduct and provides options ranging from anonymous disclosure to lodgements of formal reports for investigation. These can be made verbally to any staff member or in writing.
Disclosures:
Students may make a disclosure (rather than a formal report) of sexual misconduct even though they may not want TAFE Queensland to investigate or to take any specific action in response to the incident. They may later decide to make a formal report to TAFE Queensland about the same incident. Disclosures may be made anonymously.
Reports:
Students may make a report (rather than an informal disclosure) of sexual misconduct if they want TAFE Queensland to investigate and/or take action on the alleged incident and the report is about TAFE Queensland related conduct, including conduct by:
(a) Other students;
(b) Staff members; or
(c) Visitors or contractors.
Investigation:
As part of the misconduct investigation TAFE Queensland will contact the alleged victim-survivor to seek a personal account of the alleged incident and seek of other reports made relating to the incident (e.g. Police), and that the incident was TAFE Queensland related prior to taking any further investigation.
In the case that a student is the alleged perpetrator of the incident TAFE Queensland will contact the alleged perpetrator and advise them of the allegation and the commencement of the investigation process. They will be invited to respond to the allegations of sexual misconduct, with the principles of natural justice being followed at all times. If necessary, an alleged perpetrator may be advised of an immediate Interim Suspension. This will be advised in writing.
Based on the assessment of evidence, supporting documentations, and outcomes of the misconduct investigation, TAFE Queensland will make a decision on the allegations, including:
(a) Unsubstantiated: All of the alleged misconduct is unsubstantiated, and the allegation is dismissed;
(b) Substantiated: The alleged misconduct allegation is substantiated (in full or in part).
The outcome of the investigation and any decided penalties (actions) will be communicated in writing to the student/s involved.