ALARP
Also known as: As Low As Reasonably Practicable
ALARP — As Low As Reasonably Practicable — is the principle that risk must be reduced as far as is reasonably practicable, applying hierarchy-of-control reasoning, and only stopping when further control would be grossly disproportionate to the residual risk. It is the operational expression of the s18 reasonably-practicable test.
Legal context
ALARP originated in UK health and safety law and is now widely used in Australian high-hazard industries (mining, oil and gas, rail, defence) as a documented risk-tolerability framework. An ALARP demonstration shows three things: (1) all reasonably practicable controls have been identified and either applied or rejected with reasoning; (2) the residual risk after controls is in the "tolerable" band of a tolerability framework; (3) the cost of further control would be grossly disproportionate to the residual-risk reduction it would deliver. ALARP is not directly named in the model WHS Act but is consistent with the s18 reasonably-practicable test.
Where this shows up in RAE IQ
Related terms
Reasonably practicable
Reasonably practicable is the qualifier on almost every WHS duty: it means doing what can reasonably be done in the circumstances, having regard to the likelihood of harm, the degree of harm, what is known about the hazard, the availability and suitability of controls, and the cost of controls. Cost is always the last factor.
Hierarchy of control
The hierarchy of control is the rank-ordered preference for risk treatment: eliminate the hazard, then substitute, then isolate, then engineer, then administer, then PPE as a last resort. Higher controls reduce risk more reliably than lower controls because they do not depend on people behaving correctly under stress.
Risk matrix
A risk matrix multiplies likelihood (how often the harm might occur) by consequence (how bad it would be if it did) to produce a risk rating — typically Low / Medium / High / Extreme. The 5×5 matrix is the dominant format in Australian WHS practice.
Platform pillars
Browse the full glossary.
47 WHS and HSWA terms with legal context, FAQs and regulator references.