Guidance on Resources for Live Music Sector

This page provides guidance on how to use these resources within the live music and events sector.

  • These resources have been developed within the framework of the Health and Safety at Work Act 2015 (HSWA).

    Under the HSWA, businesses and organisations (referred to as PCBUs) must manage workplace health and safety risks. This involves identifying hazards and taking reasonably practicable steps to eliminate or minimise those risks.

    Sexual harassment is recognised as a workplace health and safety risk. WorkSafe provides guidance to support businesses in preventing and responding to sexual harassment.

  • A PCBU is a person or entity conducting a business or undertaking.

    This is a broad definition that includes:

    • Companies and organisations

    • Sole traders and self-employed individuals

  • PCBUs have a duty of care to ensure, so far as is reasonably practicable, the health and safety of:

    • Their workers (including employees, contractors, and volunteers)

    • Workers they influence or direct

    • Other people who may be affected by their work (e.g. audiences at events)

    Where multiple PCBUs are involved, and responsibilities overlap, they must consult, cooperate, and coordinate to manage risks effectively.

  • PCBUs in the live music sector include:

    • Promoters

    • Venues

    • Production suppliers

    • Security and catering providers

    • Artists (operating as businesses)

    • Artist Managers

    Each has a role in managing the risk of sexual harassment within their own business. This may include implementing a Sexual Harassment Policy and undertaking training.

    At live music events, multiple PCBUs work together with overlapping responsibilities (e.g. promoters, venues, artists, touring parties, and suppliers).

    Because each event is different, additional event-specific safety measures may be required alongside each organisation’s ongoing workplace practices.

Using the resources

These resources are designed to support both day-to-day workplace practices and event-specific planning.

They can be used to:

  • strengthen foundational measures within your business

  • help set expectations for how you work with others

  • support the development of safety measures for specific events

A summary of how the resources are grouped (foundational tools, culture-setting resources, and event-specific measures) is provided below.

  • These are resources that assist you to:

    • Meet the legal requirements for PCBUs under the HSWA

    • Set out your commitment to prevent and respond to sexual harassment

    Have a clear policy and processes available to anyone who wants to see them, including workers

    • Sexual Harassment Policy

    • Training

  • These are resources about how you expect others to work with you, and to foster a respectful workplace culture:

    • Code of Conduct

    • Contract clauses

    • Health and Safety Briefing

  • These resources are to assist in implementing safety measures at live music events to address the risk of sexual harm.  They can also assist a PCBU in fulfilling its duty under HSWA to coordinate and cooperate with other PCBUs working on that event:

    • Show Checklist

    • Show Checklist - Artist

    • Safety Measures (Promoter, Venue, Artist)

    • Contract Clauses

    • Visual Resources

    • Health and Safety Briefing

    • Code of Conduct (may be event specific)

Implementing these resources

Whether used as foundational tools or for specific events, these resources should be introduced alongside discussions with workers and other organisations you work with.

For larger organisations or events, implementation may form part of a broader health and safety framework. This could include documented processes outlining how resources will be used and who is responsible for each task (for example, how contractors will review and agree to a Code of Conduct).

The resources and guidance outline what actions may be required (see the Show Checklist), but each organisation must determine how these are applied in practice.

All policies and processes should be reviewed regularly to ensure they remain effective. As a guide:

  • Review policies every 6–12 months

  • Conduct a debrief after each event to identify issues, assess how measures worked in practice, and update documents where needed