Work Health and Safety in the Salon
Why WHS matters
Work health and safety is not paperwork you do once; it is the way you set up your chair, handle a hot tong and respond when a client faints. In an Australian salon, the model Work Health and Safety Act and Regulations plus your state or territory regulator set the legal baseline, and your salon's own policies sit on top of that. Know the difference between a hazard (something with potential to harm) and a risk (the likelihood and severity of that harm).
Core concepts
- Duty of care applies to the employer (PCBU) and to workers, including you. Workers must follow reasonable instructions, use PPE and report hazards.
- Hierarchy of control: eliminate, substitute, isolate, engineer, administrate, then PPE last. Questions often ask for the highest level of control, so learn the order.
- Hazardous substances and dangerous goods: SDS must be available for every chemical, decanted products must be labelled, and ventilation is an engineering control.
- Manual handling: avoid bending over basins, adjust chair and bed heights, and use team lifts for heavy stock.
- Emergency procedures: know evacuation routes, assembly points, fire blanket and extinguisher locations, first-aid kit and trained first-aiders, and incident reporting.
- Electrical safety: test-and-tag, no cords across walkways, no water near power points.
Traps in questions
Do not confuse PPE with elimination. Do not say a hazard is "reported to the client". Remember that a near miss is still reportable internally, and that a worker cannot simply refuse to use PPE because it is uncomfortable.
Worked example
A stylist notices a frayed cord on a blow dryer. Rule of thumb: tag it out, remove it from service, report it, then record it. That is isolation plus administrative control, not just PPE.