• Home
  • Contact
  • Privacy Statement
  • Site Map
  • Links

Occupational Health And Safety Reps. Information, Advice, Support...Speaking Up Together

Ask
Renata
 All Site    SafetyNET
  • Subscribe
  • Tell a friend
  • Change font
    • A
    • A
    • A
    • A
  • Print this page
  • Save this page
  • Hazards
    • Asbestos
      • Asbestos in the home
      • Asbestos in the workplace
    • Asthma
    • Biological Hazards
    • Bullying & Violence
    • Call Centres
    • Chemicals
    • Fatigue & Impairment
    • Infectious Diseases
    • Nanotechnology
    • Noise
    • Plant
    • Radiation
    • Slips, Trips and Falls
    • Strains and Sprains
    • Stress
    • Vibration
    • Workplace Conditions
  • Law & Rights
    • Law
      • The OHS Act
      • Regulations
      • Compliance Codes
      • Codes of Practice (1985 Act)
      • Comcare
      • Model OHS Law
    • Rights
      • OHS Reps' Rights
      • Workers' Rights
  • News & Views
    • Media Releases
      • Subscribe
      • Media Releases Archive
    • International NewsWire
    • Features
    • People in OHS
    • Campaigns
      • Asbestos Awareness
      • International Workers Memorial Day
      • Zero Occupational Cancer
      • Behaviour Based Safety
      • International RSI Day
      • It's time to deliver
    • Your Say
    • OHS Reps Conferences
      • OHS Reps Conference 2005
      • OHS Reps Conference 2006
      • OHS Reps Conference 2007
      • OHS Reps Conference 2008
      • OHS Reps Conference 2009
      • OHS Reps Conference 2010
      • OHS Reps Conference 2011
  • FAQs
    • Asbestos
    • Electrical Safety
    • Workplace and Amenities
    • FAQs for OHS Reps
    • FAQs for Workers
    • Other
  • SafetyNet Journal
    • Current Issue
    • Subscribe
    • Un Subscribe
    • SafetyNet JOURNAL Archive
      • SafetyNet 2012
      • SafetyNet 2011
      • SafetyNet 2010
      • SafetyNet 2009
      • SafetyNet 2008
      • SafetyNet 2007
      • SafetyNet 2006
      • SafetyNet 2005
      • SafetyNet 2004
      • SafetyNet 2003
      • SafetyNet 2002
  • Your Industry
    • Construction & Utilities
    • Education
    • Government (local, State)
    • Health & Community Services
    • Hospitality
    • Labour Hire
    • Manufacturing
    • Mining
    • Office/Admin
    • Rural
    • Service Industry
    • Transport, Storage & Trade
  • Training
    • Subscribe to Training News
  • ToolKit
    • Behaviour Based Safety Programs
    • Mapping
    • How to...
    • Checklists

FAQs

  • Asbestos
  • Electrical Safety
  • Workplace and Amenities
  • FAQs for OHS Reps
  • FAQs for Workers
  • Other
 
  • Home
  • FAQs
  •  > Workplace and Amenities

Steps and Stairs

There is nothing in OHS legislation specifically on steps and stairs.
 
However, there are a number of sources providing guidance and information.  Steps and stairs should comply with the Building Code of Australia as well as the Australian Standard AS 1657-1992: Fixed platforms, walkways, stairways and ladders - Design, construction and installation.
 
Stair design
A NSW WorkCover Guidance Note Preventing slips, trips and falls makes the following recommendations:
 
The dimensions for the 'rise' (R) should be: minimum 115mm, maximum 190 mm. However, it is very important that the 'rise' is in proportion to the width of each step, ie the 'tread' or the 'going'.  The dimensions for the 'going' (G) - that is the top part of the step - are minimum 250 mm and maximum 355mm.
 
According to the Guidance Note, correct stairs should have dimensions as follows: 2R + G = minimum 550, maximum 700. 
 
The Australian Standard has more detailed, and slightly different, advice:
 
Rises and goings:
  • all rises and all goings, in the same flight of stairs, shall be of uniform dimensions within a tolerance of +/-5mm
  • for each rise: miinimum 150mm, maximum 215mm
  • for each going: minimum 215mm, maximum 305mm
  • the product of the going and the rise, measured in millimetres, shall be not less than 45,000 and not more than 48,000
  • the tread width shall be not less than the going and there shall be a minimum overlap or 10mm
Guardrails and handrails
The Australian Standard specifies:
  • Except where there is a fixed structure at a distance not greater than 100mm from the stairway stile, stairways and stairway landing shall be provided with guardrailing on any exposed side.
  • The guardrailing must be constructed to comply with one of the following requirements:
    • A top rail, supported by posts, parallel to the floor or sope of a walkway at a vertical height of not less than 900mm nor more than 1100mm above the standing level of such a platform or walkway. There must also be  one or more intermediate rails parallel with the top rail and the floor with a maximum distance of 450mm between rails or between the lowest rail and the top of the toe-board where fitted. Where a toe-board is not fitted, the maximum distance between the lowest rail and the floor must not be greater than 560mm. Alternatively, the space between the top rail and the floor may be provided with suitable infill fixed to the top rail and to the floor, toe-board, or a bottom rail not more than 80mm above the floor; OR
    • Welded mesh, supported by posts and provided with a reinforced top edge capable of withstanding the prescribed design loads
NB: "Infill" may be pipe, bar, solid or perforated plate, expanded metal, metal mesh, or any other material. May be pipes or bars arranged vertically, horizontally or any other configuration - as long as gaps not greater than 450mm.
 
With regard to handrails:
  • Every stairway shall be provided with at least one handrail which shall have a smooth continuous top surface throughout the length of each stairway flight. Where the width of the stairway exceeds 1000mm, a handrail shall be provided on each side.

Landings (4.4)
Landings at point of access to the stairway and any intermediate landing in the stairway shall be designed and constructed in accordance with the requirements of Clause 3.3 (deals with the floor of stairs, landings, etc) and with the following:
  1. The length and the width of the landing shall be not less than the width of the stairway
  2. The landing shall have a minimum vertical clearance of not less than 2000mm
  3. Every access landing shall provide standing space of at least 600mm clear of cross-traffic or door swing.
Slips, trips and falls
Slipping, tripping or falling are risks that can be associated with steps and stairs, and can lead to serious injuries.  Under s21 of the 2004 OHS Act, the employer has a duty of care to provide and maintain a safe and healthy workplace - all potential hazards must be identified, the associated risk assessed and then controls introduced to eliminate or reduce those risks as far as practicable.
 
Also under the Act (s26), persons who 'manage or control' workplaces must ensure that the workplace and the means of entering and leaving it are safe and without risks to health.
 
For more information, including advice to OHS reps, and links, go to the slips, trips and falls hazard information page.

More FAQs

  • Heat: When is it too hot..

    ...to keep working? This is a common question in summer - what does the law say?...read more

  • Toilet facilities - what should workplaces have?

    Do employers have to provide a certain number of toilets?...read more

  • Change rooms and other facilities

    What should the employer provide for workers?...read more

  • Dining facilities - what must employers provide?

    Employers have a duty under the Victorian OHS Act to provide 'adequate facilities'  for employees....read more

  • Lighting - I think my workplace is too dark

    How do you know if there is enough light where you work?...read more

  • Offices - what OHS legislation applies?

    OHS legislation in Victoria is generic, and covers all workplaces - including offices....read more

  • Offices: Temperature and humidity – what are the “rules”?

    The VTHC OHS Unit often receives questions like "What does the legislation say about temperature in offices?"...read more

  • Office Hazards: Computers and VDUs - what are the guidelines?

    Working with computers can cause workers a number of problems. Read more....read more

  • Offices - computers and eyesight

    Does working on computers affect your eyes?...read more

  • Office space

    What are the minimum space requirements for offices?...read more

  • Workstations and seating

    Where can you get advice on how to set up your workstation and what seating is appropriate?...read more

  • First Aid Kits

    What should be in a First Aid Kit?...read more

  • First Aid - what are the requirements

    Many workers want to know what the employer is supposed to provide in terms of first aid facilities...read more

  • Fire Escapes - what are the rules?

    Persons who manage or control workplaces must ensure entering and leaving the workplace is safe and without risks to health as practicable....read more

  • Stepladders

    ... when is it safe to use one? And how should it be used?...read more