Noise - Employer's duty of care
The employer has a responsibility under the Occupational Health and Safety (Safety Standards) Regulations 1994 to arrange for a noise assessment to be carried out where there is a risk to an employee or contractor from exposure to noise levels at, or above, the exposure standard.
Part 3 of the regulations prescribes legislative requirements in relation to the exposure standards for noise.
Employers should also refer to the Occupational Health and Safety Code of Practice 2008 - Part 3: Noise.
If the noise level is found to be dangerous, appropriate control measures must be implemented.
Noise assessment
A noise assessment by a person with suitable qualifications and experience would need to be carried out to determine if a person was at risk of hearing damage from noise levels. Generally, as an informal guide, a workplace noise assessment should be considered when someone would need to raise their voice to talk with someone else one metre away.
An example of a noise assessor with suitable qualification, may include, for example, a member of the Australian Acoustical Society at the level of ‘Fellow’ or ‘Grade MA’ who holds educational qualifications and several years of professional experience.