What’s PPE, and how do you use it?

Personal Protective Equipment (PPE) is essential for safeguarding workers against risks when other controls fall short. From construction sites to healthcare settings, PPE provides a critical layer of defence, and its correct use can mean the difference between safety and serious harm. With strict legal obligations under workplace laws and growing emphasis on building safety-focused cultures, employers must prioritise providing, maintaining, and educating staff on PPE use. This article will explore what PPE is, why it matters, and how organisations can ensure its effective implementation.

What’s PPE?

Personal Protective Equipment, or PPE, is any clothing or equipment designed to protect workers from health and safety risks at work. It includes items like safety helmets, gloves, eye protection, hearing protection, high-visibility clothing, safety footwear, and respiratory protective equipment. PPE acts as the last line of defence against workplace hazards when other control measures cannot fully eliminate risk.

How’s PPE used?

PPE is used across a wide range of industries. In construction, workers rely on PPE such as hard hats, steel-capped boots, gloves, and high-vis clothing to protect against falling objects, sharp materials, and moving machinery. In healthcare, PPE includes masks, gloves, gowns, and face shields to protect against biological hazards. Manufacturing, agriculture, mining, and chemical industries also rely heavily on specialised PPE to protect workers from noise, airborne contaminants, heat, chemicals, and other hazards specific to their work environments.

What does the law say about PPE?

The use of PPE is a fundamental component of workplace safety, governed by the Work Health and Safety Act 2011 and the Work Health and Safety Regulations. Under work health and safety laws, employers have a primary duty of care to ensure, so far as is reasonably practicable, the health and safety of workers. This includes providing suitable PPE when risks can’t be eliminated or minimised by other means.

Just having PPE available isn’t enough

One of the biggest challenges in many workplaces is ensuring that workers consistently wear PPE and wear it correctly. Communication and training play a critical role. Employers must not only provide PPE but also explain why it’s necessary, how to use it correctly, and what could happen if it’s not used. This information should be delivered in a clear, practical way and tailored to suit the workforce. That might mean providing instructions in multiple languages, using diagrams or hands-on demonstrations, and reinforcing the message regularly through toolbox talks, signage, and supervision.

Consulting with workers is also essential. If PPE is uncomfortable, restrictive, or unsuitable for the task, workers are less likely to wear it properly. Involving employees in the selection and trialling of PPE can help improve fit, comfort, and compliance. Ongoing maintenance, storage, and replacement are also important to ensure PPE continues to provide effective protection.

Ultimately, PPE is just one part of the hierarchy of controls. It should be used in conjunction with other control measures such as eliminating hazards, engineering controls, and safe work procedures.

Consistent PPE use isn’t only a regulatory requirement, it’s a cultural one.

A workplace culture that values safety, respects procedures, and empowers workers to look after themselves and each other is far more likely to see proper PPE use.

By investing in the right equipment, engaging with workers, and clearly communicating the risks and responsibilities, employers can significantly reduce injury and illness and support a safer, more resilient workforce.

Citation Safety can help

Australia’s workplace laws are complex and confusing, which can make it hard to know if you’re doing everything right when it comes to WHS. That’s where we come in. We give you the tools, technology, advice and support you need to build a positive safety culture in your workplace through our WHS Software and around-the-clock workplace Safety Advice Line. Contact us today to see how we can help.

About our Author

Alison King is a Work Health and Safety Consultant at Citation Safety. She has an interest in all things WHS and psychosocial safety-related and regularly provides advice on managing workplace risks, promoting mental health, and ensuring compliance with WHS and psychosocial regulations.