WHS documents for dental practices: the eight you need.

Dental assistant positioning an intraoral X-ray tube head at the chair
Kylie Robb, 13 October 2026.

Short answer: the work health and safety (WHS) Act does not prescribe a manual. It expects a dental business to know what could cause harm in its workplace, to do something sensible about it, to involve its workers and to be able to show evidence of this if asked. For a dental business, the evidence is eight documents: a WHS policy, a consultation arrangement, a hazard and risk register, a hazardous chemicals register, an emergency plan with first aid arrangements, an incident register, an induction checklist with a training register and a checklist of what your state adds. Each one has been written for a dental business in the Dental WHS Document Pack; your job is to check each one against your own setting and sign it.

The pack is written for the seven states and territories that use the model WHS laws, which is every state and territory except Victoria.

“The Act does not ask for a manual. It asks whether you know what could hurt someone in your practice, what you did about it and whether your team was part of the answer. The documents are how you show that.”

Kylie Robb, founder of Niche Dental

Does the law require a WHS manual for dental practices?

No. Section 19 of the WHS Act is the primary duty of care: a business must ensure, so far as is reasonably practicable, the health and safety of its workers and of the patients and visitors who come through the door. None of the duties in the Act names a document. What they require is a process that happened and keeps happening. A written system is how a business shows that when a WHS inspector or an insurer asks.

What should a dental business be able to show?

  • WHS Policy and Responsibilities. Demonstrates the business takes WHS seriously and says who does what.
  • Consultation Arrangement. Describes how you involve your team and resolve issues.
  • Hazard and Risk Register. Outlines what could cause harm, how serious the risk is and what you do about it.
  • Hazardous Chemicals Register. Lists every hazardous chemical on the premises, with its current safety data sheet.
  • Emergency Plan and First Aid Arrangements. Describes what happens in a fire, a medical emergency or any other emergency.
  • Incident Register. Documents injuries, near misses and exposures, and what must be reported to your WHS regulator.
  • WHS Induction Checklist and WHS Training Register. Demonstrates that each person was inducted and trained.
  • WHS State Checklist. Identifies the law that applies in your state and confirms everything needed for WHS is in place.

Infection risks are managed in the practice’s Infection Prevention and Control Manual and radiation in its Radiation Management Plan. The WHS documents refer to these rather than duplicate them.

Does a sole operator need any of this?

Yes. The duties apply to every person conducting a business or undertaking, whether or not they employ anyone. A sole operator still has patients and visitors coming through the door, hazardous chemicals on the shelf and an emergency to plan for. Where a document asks how workers are consulted, a sole operator writes “sole operator, no workers” and moves on.

Does it differ by state?

Every state and territory except Victoria has adopted the model WHS laws, so the duties and the documents are the same in each. The differences are in the detail: each state has its own Act, Regulations, regulator, approved codes of practice and workers compensation scheme. The state checklist in the pack names yours. Victoria has its own Occupational Health and Safety Act 2004 and this pack does not cover it.

What do I buy?

Two things. They are sold separately, so check you have both.

  • Dental WHS Document Pack, $299 includes GST, one time. The eight documents above, written for all of dentistry: general and specialist practices, dental laboratories, mobile providers and the oral health therapists, hygienists and prosthetists who run their own business. The hazards likely to apply in a dental business are already in the risk register with example controls. Each document comes with clear leadership on what it is for and a screen recording showing how to complete it. The Start here section is free to read before you buy.
  • WHS induction for the dental team, Practice Licence, $99 includes GST, yearly. The online induction every team member completes, about 25 minutes with a ten question quiz. The certificate is the record of induction that goes in the WHS Training Register. The licence covers your whole team for the year, including new starters. The WHS coordinator covers the practice specific half using the WHS Induction Checklist; the online induction covers the rest.

A business with a team needs both. The pack gives you the system and the licence gives you the record that your team was inducted on it. A sole operator with no workers needs the pack.

Where do you start?

Anyone who works in a dental setting can complete this pack. You do not need to be a lawyer or a WHS specialist. Start from the start and work through one document at a time.

Sources

For more information contact Niche Dental: hello@niche.dental

Last updated 13 October 2026.