Product Overview

This comprehensive Drug and Alcohol Policy template is specifically designed for Australian workplaces to help control impairment risks and support strong work health and safety outcomes. It provides a clear, legally informed framework for managing alcohol, illicit drugs and medication use in the workplace, including guidance on fitness for work, testing, incident response and rehabilitation.

Developed by WHS specialists, this policy aligns with Australian work health and safety legislation and contemporary best practice. It is fully editable so you can tailor it to your operations, risk profile and industry requirements, whether you manage an office, construction site, transport fleet, manufacturing facility or service-based workforce.

Key Features

• Clear policy statement outlining expectations around alcohol, drugs and fitness for work.
• Detailed roles and responsibilities for officers, managers, supervisors and workers.
• Practical guidance on identifying and managing impairment risks in safety-critical tasks.
• Structured procedures for drug and alcohol testing, including pre-employment, random, post-incident and for-cause testing.
• Step-by-step process for managing suspected impairment, with checklists for supervisors.
• Coverage of prescription and over-the-counter medication use, misuse and disclosure obligations.
• Confidentiality, privacy and recordkeeping requirements to support fair and lawful management.
• Implementation and review checklists to support integration into your WHS management system.

Benefits

• Supports WHS compliance by demonstrating a systematic approach to managing drug and alcohol risks.
• Reduces the likelihood of incidents, injuries and near misses linked to impairment.
• Saves time for safety and HR teams with ready-made, structured safety documentation.
• Provides managers with clear, defensible procedures for testing and handling policy breaches.
• Encourages early reporting and access to support, helping retain and rehabilitate workers.
• Improves safety culture by setting consistent, transparent expectations across the workforce.

Who is this for?

This Drug and Alcohol Policy is ideal for:

• Small to medium enterprises needing robust WHS documentation without starting from scratch.
• Larger organisations seeking to standardise policies across multiple sites or business units.
• Safety managers, WHS advisors and HSE coordinators responsible for fitness for work programs.
• HR professionals managing performance, conduct and employee wellbeing.
• Principal contractors and PCBUs who engage subcontractors and labour hire workers.

Legislation & References

The template is written with reference to Australian work health and safety legislation, associated regulations and recognised standards for drug and alcohol management in the workplace. It supports compliance with WHS duties to provide a work environment without risks to health and safety, so far as is reasonably practicable, and integrates easily with existing risk management, incident reporting and rehabilitation procedures.

By implementing this professionally drafted Drug and Alcohol Policy, your business can strengthen WHS compliance, reduce impairment-related risks and demonstrate due diligence to workers, regulators and clients.