Does my business need a workplace emergency plan?

Yes. Under the model Work Health and Safety Regulation reg 43, every person conducting a business or undertaking (PCBU) must ensure an emergency plan is prepared for the workplace, and is maintained and implemented when an emergency occurs. This applies in NSW, QLD, SA, WA, TAS, ACT, NT and the Commonwealth. Victoria is not part of the harmonised scheme and has no direct equivalent of reg 43: emergency planning there falls under the employer's general duty in s21 of the Occupational Health and Safety Act 2004 (Vic), so a written plan is still the practical way to show you have managed emergency risks. There is no size threshold — the duty applies to small businesses as well as large ones.

What must a workplace emergency plan include?

Reg 43 requires the plan to provide for three things: (1) emergency procedures, including an effective response to an emergency, evacuation procedures, notifying emergency services at the earliest opportunity, medical treatment and assistance, and effective communication between the person coordinating the response and everyone at the workplace; (2) testing of the procedures, including how often they are tested; and (3) information, training and instruction for relevant workers on implementing the procedures. In practice the plan should also identify evacuation routes and an assembly point, wardens or a chief warden, emergency contacts, the alarm or notification method, and provisions for visitors and people with disability.

How often should an emergency plan be tested?

Reg 43 requires the emergency procedures to be tested, and the plan must state how often. There is no fixed legal interval, but common good practice is an evacuation drill at least once every 6 to 12 months, and more frequently for higher-risk workplaces or where there is high staff turnover. You should also re-test and review the plan after any actual emergency, after a drill that did not go well, and whenever the work, the workplace or the workforce changes.

Who needs to know the emergency plan?

Relevant workers must be given information, training and instruction on how to implement the emergency procedures (reg 43). That includes knowing the alarm, the evacuation routes, the assembly point, who the wardens are and what to do for each type of emergency. The plan should also account for everyone else who could be at the workplace, including visitors, contractors and people with disability, so wardens know who may need assistance to evacuate.

Do small businesses need an emergency plan?

Yes. The reg 43 duty has no employee-number threshold, so it applies to small businesses, sole-trader sites with workers, home-based workplaces with workers, and large workplaces alike. What changes is the scale, not the obligation: in preparing the plan you have regard to the nature of the work and its hazards, the size and location of the workplace, and the number and composition of the people there. A small low-risk office will have a short, simple plan; a factory or a site with hazardous chemicals will need a more detailed one.

Workplace Emergency Plan Generator

Enter your site details, tick the emergencies that apply, and set out your evacuation routes, wardens, contacts, alarm, testing and training. The tool assembles a workplace emergency plan built around the three things reg 43 requires — emergency procedures, testing, and worker training — with editable pre-filled content you can print or save as a PDF.

Last verified: 21 June 2026Jump to calculator ↓

Under the model WHS Regulation reg 43, a PCBU must ensure an emergency plan is prepared for the workplace covering emergency procedures (including evacuation, notifying emergency services, medical treatment and communication), testing of those procedures, and information, training and instruction for relevant workers.

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Workplace Emergency Plan Generator

Site and business details

Emergencies this plan covers

Evacuation and assembly

Wardens and emergency control

Emergency contacts

Alarm, testing and training

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