I've been a health and safety officer for years, and I've seen businesses get hit with compliance orders that could've been avoided with 30 minutes of work. Here are the five most common violations I see:

1. No Health & Safety Policy on display

Section 7 of the OHS Act requires every employer with 20+ employees to have a written policy. I've walked into businesses with 50+ staff and nothing on the wall. That's an instant compliance order.

2. Missing risk assessments

If you haven't done a formal risk assessment for your workplace, you're exposed. Not "we know the risks" — a documented, signed-off assessment.

3. No appointed First Aider or Safety Representative

The law requires it. If you've got more than 20 employees in a workplace, you need a safety rep. More than 10? You need a trained first aider on site.

4. Fire equipment not serviced

Extinguishers need annual servicing and the certificates must be current. Expired servicing is one of the first things an inspector checks.

5. No incident reporting system

Every workplace injury must be reported and recorded. If the Department of Employment and Labour shows up and you can't produce records, you're in trouble.

The good news? All of these are fixable. Most businesses are closer to compliance than they think — they just need someone to walk them through it.

That's what I do at SaferSites Compliance. If any of this sounds familiar, let's talk.