2. Risk management process

To meet your duties to ensure health and safety, you, as the PCBU, must eliminate or minimise the risk of sexual and gender-based harassment so far as is reasonably practicable. To achieve this, just as for any other hazard, you can apply the risk management process described in the Work Health and Safety (How to Manage Work Health and Safety Risks) Code of Practice 2015 (Cth).

Figure 1 Risk management process

Risk management process. A continual cycle of identify hazards, assess the risk, control the risk and review control measures with consultation throughout. Note, for known risks and controls the assess risks step can be bypassed.

The risk management process involves four steps:

Identify hazards - find out what could cause harm.
Assess [risks](https://www.safeworkaustralia.gov.au/glossary#risks), if necessary - understand the nature of the harm the hazard could cause, how serious the harm could be and the likelihood of it happening. This step may not be necessary if the risks and controls are known.
Control [risks](https://www.safeworkaustralia.gov.au/glossary#risks) \- implement the most effective [control measure](https://www.safeworkaustralia.gov.au/glossary#control-measure)s that are reasonably practicable in the circumstances and ensure they remain effective over time. This means you must:

\- eliminate risks, if reasonably practicable to do so
\- if it is not reasonably practicable to eliminate the risks, minimise the risks so far as is reasonably practicable in the circumstances by assessing the risks and implementing appropriate control measures, and
\- ensure those control measures remain effective over time.

Maintain and review [control](https://www.safeworkaustralia.gov.au/glossary#hazards) measures to ensure they are effective, used correctly and working as planned and make changes as required.

Risk management is a proactive process that helps you respond to change and facilitate continuous improvement in your business. It should be planned, systematic and cover all reasonably foreseeable hazards and associated risks. If control measures are not working effectively, you should repeat the risk management process. In the event of an injury or incident at work, the risk assessment process is essential in identifying whether different or additional measures need to be taken to prevent a recurrence of the injury or incident.

The risk management process may be implemented in different ways depending on the size and nature of your business or undertaking. Larger businesses and those in sectors where workers are exposed to more or higher risks are likely to need more complex, sophisticated risk management and consultation processes to meet their WHS duties.