Workplace emergency plan template for Australia

A workplace emergency plan tells people how to respond, evacuate, summon emergency services, obtain medical help and communicate during foreseeable emergencies at that particular site. It must be maintained, tested and explained to relevant workers. This fillable framework helps a person conducting a business or undertaking (PCBU) assign the decisions, routes and people needed to make the plan usable. It is not an approved site plan until the business has checked its actual hazards, layout, workforce and jurisdiction, consulted the relevant people and tested the procedures.

Safe Work Australia's emergency-plans guidance summarizes the model WHS Regulation 43 requirements: effective emergency response, evacuation, prompt emergency-service notification, medical help, communication, testing and worker information/training. The model is not itself every state's enacted law. Victoria has a separate OHS regime, and higher-risk premises such as major hazard facilities, mines, healthcare or sites with large hazardous-chemical inventories can have additional duties. Check the applicable state/territory regulator and specialist rules before declaring the plan complete.

The observed Complys AU WHS software page is a broad commercial owner. This page's distinct task is a copyable, site-specific emergency-plan structure. Safe Work Australia also offers its own template; this version adds decision, shift, change and handover prompts, and should link to the official guidance rather than claim official status.

1. Site identity and plan control

Use separate annexes if one business has different sites or very different work areas. An assembly point suitable for an office may be unsafe for an outdoor chemical release or moving vehicle incident. Mark who owns shared areas and how multiple businesses coordinate. Ensure visitors and contractors know which instructions apply to them.

2. Emergency scenarios and first actions

List credible events from the actual work: fire or smoke, medical emergency, chemical spill, gas leak, power failure, severe weather, equipment failure, vehicle incident, violence/security threat, building damage or a person needing rescue from height or a confined space. Do not insert a specialist rescue method merely because it appears in a generic template; a competent rescue plan and trained people are required for those hazards.

Stop point: where a worker cannot safely determine whether to evacuate, shelter or keep clear of an affected area, the plan needs a competent scenario-specific decision before work continues. Do not direct ordinary workers to investigate a release, enter smoke, perform high-angle rescue or isolate live equipment outside their training. Call 000 for emergency services in Australia when needed; record the site address, entry point and hazards to tell responders. A local emergency number may be needed for site security or internal coordination, but it must not obscure the public emergency route.

3. Roles and communication

Give roles to people actually present on each shift; an office-only coordinator cannot be the sole decision-maker for overnight loading. Test whether radios, alarms, phones, visual signals and backup methods reach noisy, remote or hearing-impaired workers. For large or complex sites, establish how area leaders report to the overall coordinator and how contradictory instructions are resolved. Provide information in languages and formats the workforce can use.

Record the notification chain: person discovering emergency → alarm and immediate safe action → coordinator and emergency services → workers/visitors/contractors → neighbouring sites or public where relevant. Separate the urgent emergency call from later statutory incident notification; the latter has its own legal criteria and timeframes. A system that logs an incident is not the same as a call to emergency services or a regulator.

4. Evacuation and accountability

Attach a current, legible map showing alarms, exits, alternate routes, stairs, accessible routes, assembly or refuge areas, first-aid equipment and emergency vehicle access. Walk the route rather than copying the building plan. Check locked doors, shared tenancies, traffic lanes, lifts, high-security areas and work at temporary sites. Decide what to do if the primary route or assembly point is affected by smoke, water, chemical release or vehicle movements.

A headcount should be based on a record of who is actually on the site, not a stale employee list. Do not send untrained people back inside to search for someone missing. Tell responders the last known location and hazards. The plan should identify when evacuation is inappropriate—for example, moving people into an outdoor toxic plume—and who has authority to direct shelter or another response based on the specific scenario.

5. Medical aid and specialist response

The employer/PCBU needs arrangements proportionate to the nature of work, hazards, workplace and people there. If a rescue technique needs specialist training or equipment, test its availability on every relevant shift. “Call the fire brigade” does not replace a safe means to keep other workers clear or to summon responders promptly; equally, an internal rescue team should not attempt beyond its competence. The emergency plan should point to the separate work-at-height, confined-space, chemical or first-aid procedures where relevant, and state how they connect.

6. Test, train, review and maintain

The model regulation requires the plan to be maintained so it remains effective and includes testing and information, training and instruction. Safe Work Australia's guidance explains that the nature of work, hazards, size, location and workforce should shape it. Do not invent a universal drill frequency for every Australian workplace. Set a risk-based schedule under the local law, site/sector rules and plan, and test the response that matters: alarms heard on night shift, alternate exits, headcounts, responder access and communication failure.

Brief new starters and contractors before they need the plan. Refresh instructions when the route, alarm, staff, hazard or muster point changes. After a drill or real event, record the lessons and update the plan; do not merely file an attendance sheet. Review whether someone working alone, visiting briefly or lacking a mobile device could use the same procedure.

Example: a spill near the main exit

A workshop stores cleaning chemicals by a loading bay. A container is damaged and the release affects the usual exit. The person who discovers it raises the alarm, keeps others clear and gives the coordinator the product name and location. The coordinator uses the scenario plan to direct people away from the affected area by an alternate route, contacts emergency services when required, provides the SDS and site access information, and checks visitors against the sign-in record. No worker is told to mop up an unidentified chemical. The site resumes only after the competent responder has addressed the hazard and the coordinator records an all-clear. The drill later tests the same alternate route and communication chain.

What a final workplace plan must add

Complete the site maps and emergency procedures for actual hazards; consult affected workers and other businesses; confirm first aid, responder contact, accessibility and every shift's role coverage; test alarms and routes; and check the relevant state/territory law. Major hazard facilities, mines, healthcare and high-quantity hazardous-chemical sites need specialist review of any additional duties. For Victoria, do not cite model regulation 43 as its enacted law; WorkSafe Victoria identifies the OHS Act 2004 and OHS Regulations 2017 as its framework.

The observed Complys AU WHS page describes keeping records and actions, but marketing is not proof of an implemented emergency-plan, alarm or evacuation function. A suitable CTA after product QA is: Ask Complys to demonstrate whether its current Australian product can hold your approved plan version, training, drills and corrective-action record. It cannot replace emergency services, a competent site plan or regulator notification.

Source, claim, owner, link, product and writer-side QA register — 5 October 2026

Terminal writer-side disposition: READY. No Complys repository or live page was modified.