Inducting non-English speaking workers well starts before the first day. You need to know which languages the intake speaks, what support each person needs, and how you will check the safety information has landed. This guide is for operations and HR managers in Victoria preparing a large seasonal intake, and it draws on WorkSafe Victoria's compliance code on communicating health and safety across languages.
A signed induction form shows that someone attended. It does not show that they understood the exclusion zone or how to report a hazard. The steps every new starter needs, such as pre-boarding and the site walk-through, are in the guide to a safe seasonal onboarding process.
Build a language profile before the intake arrives
A language profile is a record of which language groups are in your workforce and what each needs to understand safety information. WorkSafe's compliance code describes building one by identifying the language groups within the workforce.
A seasonal workforce is not on site until the week it starts, so ask early. Put these questions to your labour hire provider, and to any direct casuals, when you place the order:
- Languages. Which languages does each person speak, and which do they prefer for spoken and written safety information?
- Reading. Can they read safety signs and written instructions in English, in another language, or in neither?
- Support. Would they like an interpreter or translated material for the induction?
Ask every worker the same questions, and never assume a person's language or reading skill from their name or appearance.
Chandler Personnel supplies warehousing and logistics staffing and food production staffing, and it runs site inductions on behalf of clients. Whichever provider runs yours, hand over the language profile.
What WorkSafe Victoria's compliance code covers
The Communicating Occupational Health and Safety Across Languages Compliance Code applies to workplaces where employees need languages other than English to understand health and safety information, receive training and take part in consultation. WorkSafe announced the updated code in its news item on communicating health and safety across languages, and it replaces the earlier code.
It gives practical guidance on employer duties in culturally and linguistically diverse (CALD) workplaces, language profiles, and language support such as translators, interpreters and multilingual employees.
The code is not mandatory, but WorkSafe says employers that comply with it will be considered to have complied with their duties under the Occupational Health and Safety Act (the OHS Act) and the OHS Regulations. Read the code itself before you finalise your plan, because the news item only summarises it.
If you host labour hire workers, WorkSafe treats you as their employer, with the same safety duties you owe your own staff. Those duties include providing OHS information, including in other languages as appropriate, and making sure workers understand the workplace's OHS requirements, for example through an induction. That does not mean every document needs translating: your language profile shows where translated safety information is needed.
Running the induction day
Plan the day around what the profile shows. Where one language group is large, a session with a safety induction interpreter lets people ask questions in the language they think in. Where groups are small, a mixed session with translated handouts can work. Either way, the content stays the same for everyone.
Plain English first, then translation
Fix the English before you translate anything. Use short sentences, give one instruction at a time, and use the same word for the same thing every time. Avoid idioms and site slang.
Translate the material that carries the risk: emergency procedures, task hazards, PPE rules, how to report a hazard or injury, and who to ask for help. Have someone who reads the language fluently and knows the work check the text before it is printed. The code has its own guidance on working with translators.
Interpreters and bilingual team members
At a safety induction, an interpreter repeats what the person running the session says, in the worker's language, as the session runs. The Department of Home Affairs provides the Translating and Interpreting Service (TIS National), which offers phone, on-site and video remote interpreting. Its site describes a Free Interpreting Service for eligible groups and a fee-paying client option, and it is aimed at agencies and businesses communicating with non-English speaking clients. It describes its service as for communicating with non-English speaking clients, so check with the TIS National interpreter service that it can be used for staff inductions, and check eligibility and cost, before you rely on it.
A bilingual co-worker can help a new starter feel welcome, but using employees as interpreters has limits. WorkSafe says the updated code gives further clarity on the role and limitations of employees acting as multilingual facilitators. The news item does not set those limits out, so read the code before you rely on a co-worker to interpret.
Teach-back checks instead of sign-here forms
A signature records attendance. A teach-back check records understanding: after each topic, the worker shows or explains it back. These are practical suggestions rather than WorkSafe requirements.
- Show me. Ask the worker to point out the nearest emergency exit and first aid kit.
- Do it. Ask them to fit the PPE for their task.
- Say it. Ask them to explain, through an interpreter if needed, what they would do on finding a spill.
- Record it. Note who checked what, and repeat anything missed.
A nod or a "yes" to "do you understand?" tells you little, so ask for a demonstration. If your next question is how many team leaders a doubled crew needs, the post on supervising seasonal workers looks at it.
Signs, pictograms and checking understanding
Signs and pictograms carry safety messages when words fall short. Use the same clear safety symbols on signs, floor markings and handouts, so a worker who learns a meaning in the induction meets it again at the dock door.
Checking does not stop after day one. Walk the floor in the first week and ask people to show you the task rather than tell you about it.
Food production adds hygiene, allergen and foreign object controls. The post on induction for food production casuals sets out what that training involves, including hygiene, allergen changeover and training records. Before the intake arrives, you can also run Chandler Personnel's OHS scorecard, a free 10-question check of how your site handles agency worker safety, including whether new workers get a site-specific induction.
Consultation: getting workers to speak up
WorkSafe's Executive Director Health and Safety, Dr Narelle Beer, said employers must make sure workers receive and understand health and safety information and can raise and discuss issues.
For a labour hire host, WorkSafe's list of duties includes consulting labour hire workers about OHS, introducing them to the health and safety representative (HSR) and the person responsible for OHS, and advising them how to report hazards or incidents. Where a worker needs another language, each of those should happen in a language they follow.
Make speaking up easy in practice. Introduce the HSR in person, with an interpreter if needed, and tell every worker who to ask when they are unsure.
Related Resources
- WorkSafe Victoria on communicating health and safety across languages
- TIS National interpreter service
- A safe seasonal onboarding process
- Induction for food production casuals
- The OHS scorecard
- Warehousing and logistics staffing
- Food production staffing
Frequently Asked Questions
Do I have to translate safety information for workers who do not speak English?
Where it is appropriate, yes: WorkSafe lists providing OHS information, including in other languages as appropriate, as a host duty. Not every document needs translating, so use your language profile to decide what to translate.
Can a bilingual co-worker interpret the induction?
WorkSafe's news item says the updated compliance code gives further clarity on the role and limitations of employees acting as multilingual facilitators, but it does not set those limits out. Read the code before you rely on a co-worker, and consider an interpreter where the information is detailed.
Can an employer book an interpreter through TIS National?
TIS National is provided by the Department of Home Affairs and offers phone, on-site and video remote interpreting, with a fee-paying client option and a cost calculator. Its Free Interpreting Service is for eligible groups. The site describes its service as for communicating with non-English speaking clients, so confirm that it can be used for staff inductions, and check eligibility and cost, before you plan around it.
How do I check that a worker understood the induction?
Ask them to show or explain it back: point to the emergency exit, fit the PPE for their task, or say what they would do on spotting a hazard, using an interpreter if needed. Record what you checked and repeat anything missed. This is a practical method rather than a WorkSafe requirement.
Should I induct non-English speaking workers in a separate group?
That is a planning choice based on your language profile, and the code itself is the place to check before you settle it. A session for one language group lets an interpreter work with that group, while a mixed session keeps the crew together. You can ask any provider whether an intake can be batched by language.
Induction only counts if it is understood
Inducting non-English speaking workers works when you know the languages before the intake arrives, use plain English with the right language support, and check understanding by demonstration. Start by building the language profile, then plan the induction day around WorkSafe Victoria's compliance code. When you are ready to bring in a seasonal intake, you can request staff from Chandler Personnel.
