What amenities must a Victorian factory provide for its workers?

What amenities must a Victorian factory provide?

Under section 21(2)(d) of the Occupational Health and Safety Act 2004 (Vic), a Victorian employer must provide adequate facilities for the welfare of employees, so far as is reasonably practicable. In a factory that means toilets and washbasins, drinking water, somewhere clean to eat, personal storage and shelter — kept clean and actually usable.

I have walked a lot of Victorian factory floors over about thirty years, and amenities are the quiet one. Nobody gets a notice for a dusty smoko room on a good day. But a dirty toilet block, a broken tap or a lunch room next to the degreasing bath tells an inspector something about how the whole site is run — and it is usually right.

Which law actually creates the duty?

Two things sit behind factory amenities in Victoria.

1. The OHS Act 2004 (Vic). Section 21 requires employers to provide and maintain a working environment that is safe and without risks to health, so far as is reasonably practicable. Section 21(2)(d) makes the welfare facilities duty explicit: employers must provide "adequate facilities for the welfare of employees" at workplaces under their management and control. WorkSafe's own summary of the general duties gives toilets, lockers and dining areas as the examples (WorkSafe Victoria, reviewed 13 March 2025).
2. WorkSafe's compliance code. Workplace facilities and the working environment (Edition 1, published 7 December 2023) is the practical guidance on what "adequate" looks like. It is not mandatory. But WorkSafe states that a duty holder who complies with the code will — to the extent the code deals with their duties under the OHS Act and the OHS Regulations 2017 — be considered to have complied with those duties (WorkSafe Victoria).

That second point is the one worth writing on the wall. Following the code is the cheapest way to make your position defensible. Departing from it is allowed, but then the burden of showing your alternative is just as good sits with you.

Note that the duty extends to independent contractors and their workers — including labour hire workers — for matters the employer controls or should control. Your contract cleaners and casuals use your toilets.

What does the compliance code actually cover?

WorkSafe describes workplace facilities as the things provided for employees' health, safety, welfare and personal hygiene. The code covers what facilities are, what the working environment is, who has management or control of a workplace, how to identify what needs to be provided, how to maintain, clean and monitor it, facilities for special workplaces, and responding to emergencies.

Facility	What it means on a factory floor
Toilets and washbasins	Enough of them for the number of workers, clean, lit, ventilated, stocked, and reachable without crossing a forklift aisle
Drinking water	Clean, cool, free, and near the work — not a tap in the wash bay
Dining / meal area	A space separated from the process: no fumes, dust, oil or chemicals where people eat
Washing facilities	Soap, hot water and a way to get contaminants off skin before eating or driving home
Personal storage	Lockers for bags, phones, street clothes; separation from contaminated PPE where that applies
Shelter	Cover for outdoor work, yards and loading docks — heat, cold and rain are all working-environment issues
Working environment	Lighting, ventilation, temperature and cleanliness of the space itself

If your site also runs construction work, note that WorkSafe has a separate Facilities in construction compliance code that applies to certain construction workplaces.

How many toilets does a factory need?

The compliance code sets out what WorkSafe considers the minimum number of toilets, urinals and washbasins to be provided for employees, so far as is reasonably practicable, and it scales with the number of people who usually work there. The tables are in the code itself — read them against your actual headcount per building rather than per site, because people will not walk 200 metres across a yard in the rain.

Two things regularly catch manufacturers out:

• Headcount is "usually work there", not payroll. Peak shift, contractors and labour hire all count if they are usually on site.
• The National Construction Code also sets minimum facility requirements for certain buildings. A building that satisfied the NCC when it was built may still be short once your headcount has grown.

When must a Victorian factory provide all-gender toilets?

WorkSafe's guidance on all-gender toilet facilities (reviewed 6 November 2024) sets this out clearly:

• 1 to 10 employees: a single all-gender toilet may be provided for all employees instead of separate female and male toilets. If only one toilet is provided, it needs to be a fully accessible toilet.
• More than 10 employees: at least one all-gender toilet per 50 employees (or part thereof) should be provided, so far as is reasonably practicable — in addition to the minimum number of female, male and accessible toilets. A site with 30 workers should have at least one; a site with 150 should have at least three.

An all-gender toilet has no gendered signage, should contain a sanitary disposal unit, should be ambulant accessible where possible, and does not need a urinal. Signage should carry a symbol of the amenities inside, the words "All-gender" (or All genders), and braille.

An accessible toilet is not the same thing as an all-gender toilet. WorkSafe's point is that if the accessible toilet is the only all-gender option, you have squeezed both groups. WorkSafe recommends providing female, male and all-gender toilets where reasonably practicable, and notes that a failure to provide suitable toilet facilities may also be considered discrimination under other state and federal laws.

Do you have to consult workers about amenities?

Yes. Section 35 of the OHS Act 2004 (Vic) requires employers to consult with employees and any health and safety representatives when making decisions about the adequacy of facilities for the welfare of employees, and when proposing changes to the workplace that may affect health or safety.

Consultation is not an email announcing the decision. On amenities it is also the fastest way to get it right — your people know which toilet block floods and which tap has run warm since March. WorkSafe suggests anonymous surveys where employees may not feel comfortable raising needs face to face.

What do inspectors and auditors actually pick up?

From what I see on Victorian sites, the recurring findings are boring and cheap to fix:

1. No cleaning record. The toilets are fine; nobody can show a schedule or who signed off on it.
2. Eating where the work happens. A bench in the workshop becomes the smoko table, so food sits alongside oils, dust or solvents.
3. Drinking water that nobody uses. Warm, far away, or in the wrong end of the building — so people stop drinking, which is a heat and fatigue problem by 2pm in January.
4. Headcount drift. Amenities sized for 18 people, now 34 on the floor including labour hire.
5. Handwashing that cannot remove what is on the hands. Cold water and no soap in front of a lunch break.
6. No consultation record on any of it, which turns a fixable gap into a documented failure to consult.

The pattern is not that duty holders do not care. It is that amenities have no owner. Nobody's job description says "the toilets, the water and the lunch room." Give them an owner, a weekly check and a signed record, and this whole area goes quiet.

Where to start this week

• Count who usually works in each building, including contractors and labour hire.
• Read the toilet, urinal and washbasin tables in the compliance code against that count.
• Check whether you have an all-gender toilet, and whether the signage matches WorkSafe's guidance.
• Walk the dining area and ask one question: could process contamination reach food here?
• Put a name and a date on a cleaning and restocking check, and keep the record.
• Raise it at your next toolbox or HSR meeting so the consultation is real and evidenced.

If you would rather not work through the code yourself, Ardmor's managed safety service gives Victorian manufacturers a safety manager on call — someone who walks your site, sizes your amenities against the compliance code with you, and keeps the records where an inspector can see them. Our site assessment is the usual starting point: book a site assessment.

Frequently asked questions

Does a small factory with eight staff need separate male and female toilets?

Not necessarily. WorkSafe's guidance states that in workplaces with 1 to 10 employees, a single all-gender toilet may be provided for all employees instead of separate female and male toilets — and where only one toilet is provided, it needs to be a fully accessible toilet. You still need to consult your workers under section 35 and make sure it is clean, private and adequate for the number of people using it.

Is the compliance code legally binding?

No. WorkSafe states the guidance in a compliance code is not mandatory. But a duty holder who complies with it will, to the extent the code deals with their duties under the OHS Act and OHS Regulations, be considered to have complied with those duties. If you take a different route, you carry the job of showing it achieves the same outcome.

Do contractors and labour hire workers count when sizing amenities?

For practical purposes, yes. The employer's duties under section 21 extend to independent contractors engaged by the employer and their employees for matters the employer controls or should control, and WorkSafe's all-gender toilet guidance sizes facilities on how many employees usually work at the workplace. If they are usually on your floor, they are usually using your amenities.

This article is general information for Victorian manufacturers, not legal advice. Last updated: 19 August 2026.