By name: ohs-regulation-checker-vic description: Complete Victorian Occupational Health and Safety Regulations 2017 reference. Use this skill whenever generating OHS compliance content for Victorian workplaces, risk assessments, regulatory references, or any document that cites Victorian OHS Regulation provisions. Covers all chapters of the OHS Regulations 2017 (Vic) from preliminary definitions through to transitional provisions. Key difference from harmonised WHS states: construction provisions at Part 5.1 (rr 261–373), SWMS at rr 276–300, falls at Part 3.3 (rr 41–49), confined spaces at Part 3.4 (rr 50–77). Not intended as a standalone user tool — loaded by action skills such as swms-review and construction-audit when Victorian jurisdiction is detected.
Victorian OHS Regulations 2017 — Complete Reference
Purpose
This skill provides the complete verified text of the Occupational Health and Safety Regulations 2017 (Vic), extracted directly from the official Victorian legislation (current as at 26 November 2024). It ensures Claude cites accurate regulation numbers, provisions, and requirements when producing occupational health and safety reports, compliance analyses, and OHS documentation for Victorian jurisdictions.
Critical Rules
- Only cite provisions that appear in the chapter files. Never fabricate or assume regulation numbers or content.
- Citation format: Use "r [number]" for individual regulations, e.g. "r 41 of the Occupational Health and Safety Regulations 2017 (Vic)" or "rr 50–77" for a range.
- Use conservative, factual language when describing regulatory obligations. Avoid subjective terms like "significant risk" or "deterioration" — describe what the regulation requires in objective terms.
- Always use Australian English spelling (e.g. behaviour, organisation, colour, defence, licence [noun]).
- If a provision cannot be located in these files, state that the specific regulation should be verified against the current legislation and indicate which chapter it is likely found in.
- Standards references: Only cite Australian Standards that are explicitly referenced in the Regulation text. Do not assume or add standards from general knowledge.
- Victorian terminology: Regulations use 'employer' instead of 'PCBU', 'employee' instead of 'worker', 'construction excavation' and 'site-specific safety and health planning' instead of 'WHS management plan'.
Chapter Index
Read the relevant chapter file(s) based on the regulatory domain of the query:
| File | Chapter | Key Regulations | When to Read |
|---|---|---|---|
chapters/ch01-preliminary.md |
Ch 1 — Preliminary | rr 1–16 | Definitions, objectives, application, incorporated documents, regulatory requirements framework |
chapters/ch02-general-duties.md |
Ch 2 — General duties and issue resolution | rr 18–25 | Installation/maintenance of risk controls, health monitoring, consultation, issue resolution procedures |
chapters/ch03a-manual-handling-noise.md |
Ch 3 — Physical hazards — Part 3.1–3.2 | rr 26–40 | Hazardous manual handling (rr 26–28), noise exposure (rr 29–40), hearing protection, audiometric testing |
chapters/ch03b-falls.md |
Ch 3 — Physical hazards — Part 3.3 | rr 41–49 | Fall hazard identification, control measures, ladder use, emergency procedures |
chapters/ch03c-confined-spaces.md |
Ch 3 — Physical hazards — Part 3.4 | rr 50–77 | Confined space hazards, entry permits, atmosphere testing, rescue procedures, training |
chapters/ch03d-plant.md |
Ch 3 — Physical hazards — Part 3.5 | rr 78–127 | Plant hazard identification, design duties, guarding, operator controls, emergency stop devices, inspection, maintenance, plant registration |
chapters/ch03e-high-risk-work.md |
Ch 3 — Physical hazards — Part 3.6 | rr 128–139 | High risk work licensing, training, competency assessment, assessor authorisation |
chapters/ch04a-hazardous-substances.md |
Ch 4 — Hazardous substances — Part 4.1 | rr 140–171 | Hazardous substance identification, SDS, labelling, exposure monitoring, health monitoring, registers |
chapters/ch04b-carcinogens-lead.md |
Ch 4 — Hazardous substances — Parts 4.2–4.3 | rr 172–205 | Carcinogenic substances (rr 172–176), lead exposure limits (rr 177–205), biological monitoring, medical removal |
chapters/ch04c-asbestos.md |
Ch 4 — Hazardous substances — Part 4.4 | rr 206–244 | Asbestos exposure control, contaminated workplaces, removal prohibitions, management duties |
chapters/ch04d-crystalline-silica.md |
Ch 4 — Hazardous substances — Part 4.5 | rr 245–260 | Crystalline silica exposure monitoring, engineered stone processes, exposure limits |
chapters/ch05a-construction.md |
Ch 5 — Hazardous industries — Part 5.1 | rr 261–373 | Construction hazards, site-specific planning, SWMS requirements (rr 276–300), fall protection, machinery safety, inductions, excavation notices |
chapters/ch05b-major-hazard.md |
Ch 5 — Hazardous industries — Part 5.2 | rr 374–452 | Major hazard facility management, safety cases, emergency response plans, competency requirements |
chapters/ch05c-mines.md |
Ch 5 — Hazardous industries — Part 5.3 | rr 453–596 | Mine management, hazard control, incident reporting, underground entry, competency, emergency planning |
chapters/ch06-licensing.md |
Ch 6 — Licensing and registration | rr 597–650 | Licence administration (applications, competency, renewal, suspension, cancellation) |
chapters/ch07-admin.md |
Ch 7 — Administrative matters and enforcement | rr 651–699 | Notices, review of decisions, enforcement, incident reporting, WorkSafe Commissioner functions |
chapters/schedules.md |
Schedules | Schedule 1–16 | Licence types, competency standards, GHS concentration limits, major incident facility hazard criteria |
Workflow
- Identify the regulatory domain from the user's query
- Read the relevant chapter file(s) using the
viewtool — read only what is needed, not all files - Cite provisions accurately from the extracted text
- Cross-reference between chapters where appropriate (e.g. Ch 2 risk management process applies alongside Ch 3 hazard-specific requirements)
- Flag any gaps — if the query requires provisions from the OHS Act 2004 (not covered in this skill) or from Codes of Practice, note this clearly
Common Query Routing
| Query Topic | Primary Chapter(s) | Key Regulations |
|---|---|---|
| Noise assessment / hearing protection | Ch 3 (Part 3.2) + Ch 2 | rr 29–40, rr 18–22 |
| Dust / crystalline silica survey | Ch 4 (Part 4.5) + Ch 2 | rr 245–260, rr 18–22 |
| Hazardous chemical exposure monitoring | Ch 4 (Part 4.1) + Ch 2 | rr 140–171, rr 18–22 |
| Asbestos identification / removal | Ch 4 (Part 4.4) | rr 206–244 |
| Confined space entry | Ch 3 (Part 3.4) + Ch 2 | rr 50–77, rr 18–22 |
| Fall prevention | Ch 3 (Part 3.3) | rr 41–49 |
| Construction site SWMS | Ch 5 (Part 5.1) + Ch 2 | rr 261–373 (esp. rr 276–300), rr 18–22 |
| High risk work licensing | Ch 3 (Part 3.6) | rr 128–139 |
| PPE requirements | Ch 2 + relevant chapters | rr 18–25 (general), plus chapter-specific PPE provisions |
| Plant safety | Ch 3 (Part 3.5) | rr 78–127 |
| Health monitoring obligations | Ch 2 + Ch 4 | rr 19–20, Ch 4 specific provisions |
| Workplace facilities | Ch 2 | rr 18–25 |
| Major hazard facility | Ch 5 (Part 5.2) | rr 374–452 |
Regulation Number Cross-Reference: VIC vs Harmonised Model
The following table maps common topics between Victoria's OHS Regulations 2017 and the harmonised Work Health and Safety regulations used in Queensland, NSW, and Tasmania. Use this when adapting harmonised guidance or comparing state-specific requirements.
| Topic | Harmonised (QLD/NSW/TAS) | Victoria (OHS Regs 2017) |
|---|---|---|
| Construction Work Framework | ||
| Construction work definition | r 289 | r 321 |
| High risk construction work | r 291 | r 322 |
| SWMS definition | — | r 324 |
| SWMS content requirements | r 299 | r 324 + r 327 |
| SWMS compliance | r 300 | r 327 |
| SWMS copy to be kept | r 301 | r 329 |
| SWMS review | r 302 | r 328 |
| Falls Prevention | ||
| Falls prevention (general) | rr 78–80 | rr 41–49 |
| Fall prevention measures | r 79 | r 42 |
| Fall protection inspection | r 80 | r 43 |
| Confined Spaces | ||
| Confined space entry | rr 62–78 | rr 50–77 |
| Entry procedures | r 65 | r 54 |
| Atmosphere testing | r 67 | r 56 |
| Rescue procedures | r 72 | r 61 |
| Noise and Hearing | ||
| Noise exposure standards | rr 57–59 | rr 29–40 |
| Noise assessment | r 57 | r 29 |
| Hearing protection | r 58 | r 35 |
| Audiometric testing | r 59 | r 36–40 |
| Hazardous Manual Tasks | ||
| Manual task risk assessment | rr 60–61 | rr 26–28 |
| Hazardous Chemicals | ||
| Hazardous chemicals general | rr 330–392 | rr 140–171 |
| Workplace exposure standards | rr 330–347 | rr 140–150 |
| SDS and labelling | rr 350–369 | rr 153–165 |
| Health monitoring | rr 370–384 | rr 166–171 |
| Asbestos | ||
| Asbestos identification | Chapter 8 | rr 206–215 |
| Asbestos management | Chapter 8 | rr 216–230 |
| Asbestos removal | Chapter 8 | rr 231–244 |
| Crystalline Silica | ||
| Crystalline silica exposure | Chapter 8A (rr 384A–384Z) | Part 4.5 (rr 245–260) |
| Exposure monitoring | r 384K | r 251 |
| Health monitoring | r 384S–384V | r 253 |
| Plant Safety | ||
| Plant safety general | Chapter 5 | Part 3.5 (rr 78–127) |
| Plant design duties | rr 179–181 | rr 80–85 |
| Plant guarding | rr 190–198 | rr 102–110 |
| Plant inspection/maintenance | rr 203–205 | rr 120–123 |
| High Risk Work Licensing | ||
| High risk work scope | rr 81–135 | Part 3.6 (rr 128–139) |
| Licence competency requirements | r 208 | r 133 |
| Training and assessment | r 209 | r 134 |
| Personal Protective Equipment | ||
| PPE selection and use | rr 44–46 | rr 18–25 (general context) + chapter-specific provisions |
Note: This cross-reference is approximate. VIC regulation numbers should be verified against the extracted chapter files before use. Some topics do not have direct equivalents between the models.
Version Information
- OHS Regulations 2017 (Vic): S.R. No. 22/2017, incorporating amendments as at 26 November 2024
- Source: Victorian Legislation website, authorised by the Parliamentary Counsel's Office
- Extraction method: Full text extracted from official Word document, with formatting and section structure preserved
Note: This skill covers the OHS Regulations 2017 (Vic) only. For the OHS Act 2004 (Vic) — including employer duty of care (s 20), notification requirements (ss 37–39), and workplace manslaughter (ss 39A–39G) — consult the companion ohs-act-checker-vic skill. Legislation is subject to amendment; for critical compliance decisions, verify current provisions at https://www.legislation.vic.gov.au/