Risk Matrix

Risk Matrix
Likelihood
Descriptor	Level	Definition
Rare	Level 1	The event may occur only in exceptional circumstances
Unlikely	Level 2	The event may occur at sometime, say once in 10 years
Possible	Level 3	The event should occur at sometime, say once in 3 years
Likely	Level 4	The event will probably occur in most circumstances, say once a year
Almost Certain	Level 5	The event is expected to occur in most circumstances
Consequence
Descriptor	Level	Definition
Insignificant	Level 1	No Injury
Minor	Level 2	Injury/ill health requiring first aid
Moderate	Level 3	Injury/ill health requiring medical attention
Major	Level 4	Injury/ill health requiring hospital admission
Severe	Level 5	Fatality
Risk Matrix
Likelihood	Consequence
	Insignificant	Minor	Moderate	Major	Severe
Almost Certain	HIGH	HIGH	EXTREME	EXTREME	EXTREME
Likely	MEDIUM	HIGH	HIGH	EXTREME	EXTREME
Possible	LOW	MEDIUM	HIGH	EXTREME	EXTREME
Unlikely	LOW	LOW	MEDIUM	HIGH	EXTREME
Rare	LOW	LOW	MEDIUM	HIGH	HIGH
Key
Extreme:	Notify Workplace Manager and/or Management OHS Nominee immediately. Stop Action/task/process immediately. Corrective actions should be taken immediately.
High:	Notify Workplace Manager and/or Management OHS Nominee immediately. Corrective actions should be taken within 48 hours of notification
Medium:	Notify Nominated employee, HSR / OHS Committee. Nominated employee, OHS Representative / OHS Committee is to follow up that corrective action is taken within 7 days.
Low:	Notify Nominated employee, HSR / OHS Committee. Nominated employee, HSR / OHS Committee is to follow up that corrective action is taken within a reasonable time.
Risk Controls
Elimination	Completely remove the hazard e.g. removal of hazardous substance from the workplace.
Substitution	Change a work practice, substance or piece of equipment to provide a safer environment e.g. substitute old office chairs to ergonomic chairs to reduce the risk of ergonomic injuries.
Engineering	Modify the design of the workplace or plant and/or environmental conditions e.g. the use of a fume extraction system to remove fumes generated by hazardous substance use in labs.
Administrative	Developing procedures and systems to control the interaction between people and hazards e.g. reducing the amount of time of exposure to noise by requiring people to be remote from equipment during operation, providing manual handling training to persons so they are better able to identify/report/control/avoid hazards in the workplace.
Personal Protective Equipment (PPE)	Implementing PPE to prevent physical contact between a person and a hazard e.g. Correct footwear, gloves etc.