Your safety on placement—including when you are travelling to and from your placement site—is one of UQ’s highest priorities. However, you also have a responsibility to prioritise your own personal safety and to report any hazards or incidents that occur.

Prioritising Your Safety

Safety on placement encompasses both physical safety and psychosocial wellbeing.

• • Be Aware and Prepared: Continuously survey your surroundings in a relaxed manner to identify potential dangers. Adopting practical safety strategies can help reduce the risk of victimisation.
  • Trust Your Instincts: If you pick up a bad feeling from someone, or if you feel a sense of threat or danger, trust your instincts and remove yourself from the source of potential danger immediately.
  • Safety “Out and About”:
    • Be aware of your surroundings, especially when using headphones or your mobile phone.
    • Avoid areas where you don’t feel safe (e.g., shortcuts through parks or vacant land, or poorly lit areas).
    • If working offsite, tell someone where you are going, who you are with, and your estimated time of return.
  • Review Resources: Please take time to review the resources on the safety on placement webpage. We recommend you review these regularly. For additional adult safety advice, you can visit the Queensland Police Service Adult Safety page.

Accessing Support

If you experience difficulties during placement, feel unsafe, or need support:

• • Your Supervisor/Coordinator: In the first instance, contact your UQ WIL Placement Coordinator or Course Coordinator for assistance.
  • Alternative Support: If contacting your coordinator is not possible or preferred, other support options are available. Contact details for these services can be found on the safety on placement webpage.
  • Emergencies: In an emergency, always dial Triple Zero (000) at the earliest opportunity. For non-urgent police matters, you can contact Policelink on 131 444.

Reporting an Incident or Hazard

You must report any incidents (including near misses, injuries, and illnesses) or hazards that occur while you are on placement, travelling to/from placement, or undertaking UQ business offsite.

• • Immediate Action: If an incident or emergency occurs outside of normal business hours, please contact UQ Security on 07 3365 3333.
  • Notify the WIL Team: Please report all incidents to the WIL Placement Team by emailing placements@pharmacy.uq.edu.au.
  • Log the Report in UQSafe: All health and safety hazards and incidents—including concerns that impact psychological wellbeing—must be reported in UQSafe (RiskWare R3), UQ’s health and safety risk management tool.

How to Log a Report in UQSafe:

1. 1. Log into UQSafe using your UQ credentials.
   2. Click on the waffle icon in the top left corner of your dashboard.
   3. Select ‘Report Something’ and choose ‘Health and Safety Reporting’.
   4. Complete the details of the report form (If the incident is sensitive—e.g., bullying or harassment—you can select options to mark the report as confidential, which restricts who receives notifications).
   5. Check that the Manager/Supervisor is correctly assigned.
   6. Add any necessary attachments.
   7. Submit the report.

For detailed instructions, refer to the UQ Systems Training Guide for reporting an incident or hazard.