Risk Assessment Matrix Consequence

Catastrophic Death, loss of infrastructure/

system, release causing irreversible high impact,
What you need to do wide scale, detrimental alteration of the
environment, such that significant public interest
1) Consider what can go wrong or regulatory intervention occurs or reasonably
2) Determine how bad the outcome would be (Consequence) could occur.
3) Determine how likely it is to happen (Probability) Critical Severe injury, major infrastructure/system
4) Calculate the risk level damage, release causing reversible, localised,
high impact, decrease in environmental value,
such that minor public interest or regulatory
Consequence intervention occurs or reasonably could occur.

Catastrophic Critical Marginal Negligible Marginal Major injury, minor system damage,
non-damaging environmental exposure.
Negligible Less than above.
Frequent 1 1 1 3
Probability
Probable 1 1 2 3 Frequent Likely to occur often during the life
Probability

of an individual item or system or very often in

operation of a large number of similar items.
Occasional 1 2 3 4
Probable Likely to occur several times in the
life of an individual item or system or often in
Remote 2 2 3 4 operation of a large number of similar items.
Occasional Likely to occur sometimes in the
life of an individual item, or will occur several
Improbable 3 3 3 4 times in the life of a large number of similar
components.
Remote Unlikely, but possible to occur
RISK

sometime in the life of an individual item or

Extreme High Moderate Low system or can reasonably be expected to occur in
the life of a large number of similar components.
Immediate action Action plan Specific monitoring Manage
required required, senior or proceedures through routine Improbable So unlikely to occur in the life
management required, proceedures of an individual item or system that it may be
attention needed management not assumed to be experienced, or it may be
responsibility possible, but unlikely to occur in the life of a
must be specified large number of similar components.

Hierarchy of controls
Most preferred safety control

Elimination Removing the hazard or hazardous work

practice from the workplace. This is the most effective Elimination
control measure.

Substitution Substituting or replacing the hazard or

hazardous work practice with a less hazardous one. Substitution
Isolation Isolating or separating the hazard or hazardous
work practice from people not involved in the work or the
general work areas, for example, by marking off hazardous Isolation
areas, installing screens or barriers.

Engineering This may include modifications to tools or

equipment, or adding guards to machinery or equipment. Engineering
Administration Includes introducing documented work
practices that reduce the risk, e.g. limiting the amount of
time a person is exposed to a particular hazard or erecting Administration
signs to restrict access to particular areas.

PPE (Personal Protective Equipment) The last resort.

This is the least preferred option and should be considered PPE
only when other control measures are not practicable, or to
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increase protection.
Least preferred safety control

ERNM
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Department of
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Environment and Conservation

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AUST Our environment, our future