SAFETY INFORMATION
EMPLOYER’S OBLIGATIONS
Australian employers must ensure that their workers have appropriate safety eyewear to protect their eyesight in potentially hazardous work environments. By providing high-quality eye protection, you are not only complying with the Australian Work Health and Safety Act 2011, but also ensuring your team can continue their work efficiently. Prescription safety glasses can help achieve this by improving workers’ vision while offering a high level of eye protection.
AUSTRALIAN WORK HEALTH & SAFETY ACT 2011 (SUMMARISED)
The Work Health and Safety Act 2011 provides a framework to protect the health, safety, and welfare of all employees while they are at work. It also ensures the health and safety of others who may be affected by the work.
To minimise the risk to the employee while carrying out their duties in the workplace, the Act outlines that it is the employer’s duty to provide appropriate personal protective equipment and clothing to employees, unless they have already been provided by another person or business.
To find out more, you can view the full document at https://www.safeworkaustralia.gov.au/law-and-regulation/model-whs-laws
AUSTRALIAN & NEW ZEALAND SAFETY STANDARDS (AS/NSZ 1337.6:2011)
Personal eye protection – Prescription eye protectors against low and medium impact
AS/NZS 1337.6: 2012 outlines the minimum impact resistance requirements for eye protectors fitted with prescription lenses designed to offer low or medium impact protection from flying particles and fragments in workplace settings.
It does not apply to eye protectors where prescription lenses are placed behind plano/ non-prescription protective lenses, which are covered by AS/NZS 1337.1.
Prescription eyewear that meet this Standard are intended to provide both impact protection and prescribed correction of refractive error.
For protection against hazards beyond low or medium impact, additional appropriate protection as recommended in AS/NZS 1336 should be used over the prescription eyewear. This includes, but is not limited to, protection from dust, splashing materials, molten substances, harmful gases or vapours, aerosols, and high-energy flying particles or fragments.
These additional hazards are addressed in AS/NZS 1337.1. Protection from sources of optical radiation requirements, other than the sun, are covered in AS/NZS 1338, Parts 1 to 3.
The Australian and New Zealand Standard AS/NZS 1337.6 for Prescription Eye Protection against low and medium impact specifies that the eye protectors must withstand the impact of a 6.35mm steel ball traveling at 40m/s.
AUSTRALIAN & NEW ZEALAND SAFETY STANDARDS (AS/NSZ 1337.1:2010 AND 1337.2:2018)
Personal eye protection – Eye and face protectors for occupational applications
AS/NSZ 1337.1 outlines the minimum requirements for plano/ non-prescription eye and face protectors, including associated oculars.
These protectors are designed to shield the eyes and face from common occupational hazards, such as flying particles, fragments, dust, splashing materials and molten metals, harmful gases, vapours, and aerosols.
The purpose of this Standard is to ensure safe, efficient, and comfortable vision in the workplace, including protection against sun glare and optical radiation in natural environments.
It is important to note that this Standard does not cover filter oculars for protection against optical radiation from industrial processes, which are addressed by AS/NZS 1338.
COMPLIANCE VS CERTIFICATION
Compliant eyewear is tested internally by the supplier to ensure that the product meets standards in the same way as certified, but is only internally assessed to meet requirements.
Certified products undergo an initial internal compliance assessment, and are subject to third party review with an independent certifying body to ensure all requirements of the standard are met.