Under the OHS Act 2004, employees can elect Health and Safety Representatives (HSRs) to represent their health and safety interests. HSRs are given specific legal powers, and interfering with those powers is an offence. This post explains what HSRs can do, what they can't, and how the relationship should work.
How are HSRs established?
HSRs represent a Designated Work Group (DWG) which is a group of employees who share similar work conditions, hazards, or a particular workplace. DWGs are established through negotiation between the employer and employees (or their union representatives).
Any member of a DWG can be nominated as an HSR candidate, and the DWG members elect their representative. An HSR holds office for a term of up to three years and can be re-elected.
Employers must allow HSRs to attend an approved five-day initial training course (and a one-day refresher annually) in normal working hours, at the employer's expense.
What powers do HSRs have?
HSRs have significant powers under the OHS Act:
Inspection. An HSR can inspect the workplace (or the part of it where their DWG works) at any time after giving reasonable notice to the employer, or immediately if there has been an incident, an immediate threat, or a change to the workplace that could create a risk.
Issue resolution. If an HSR identifies a health or safety issue, they can raise it with the employer under the issue resolution procedure. If the issue cannot be resolved through consultation, the HSR can escalate it.
Provisional improvement notices (PINs). If the HSR reasonably believes a contravention is occurring or is likely to recur, and consultation has not resolved it, the HSR can issue a PIN requiring the employer to remedy the issue.
Direction to cease work. If the HSR has a reasonable concern that continuing work would expose a member of their DWG to an immediate threat to health or safety, and the threat is serious enough that it would be inappropriate to wait for the normal issue resolution process, the HSR can direct workers to cease work. This is a powerful tool and should only be used in genuine emergencies.
Access to information. The employer must allow the HSR to access information about hazards (including chemical substances) at the workplace, and about the health and safety of members of their DWG. There are some limits, for example, individual health information requires consent.
Accompanying inspectors. When a WorkSafe inspector attends the workplace, the HSR has a right to accompany them during the inspection of any area where members of their DWG work.
What HSRs cannot do
HSRs are not safety managers. They do not take on the employer's duty to provide a safe workplace. Their role is representational, that is, they represent workers' interests in health and safety matters.
HSRs cannot:
- Direct the employer to spend a specific amount of money on safety
- Determine how the employer must control a risk (that remains the employer's decision, subject to consultation)
- Discipline workers for unsafe behaviour
- Override management decisions, except through the specific legal mechanisms (PINs, cease work directions) available to them
Protections for HSRs
The OHS Act protects HSRs from discrimination, reprisal, or adverse action for performing their role. It is unlawful to:
- Dismiss, injure, alter the position of, or discriminate against an HSR because they have exercised or propose to exercise a power or function as an HSR
- Penalise an HSR for raising a health and safety concern
These protections extend to prospective HSRs (people who have been nominated) and former HSRs.
Why working with HSRs matters
An HSR who is engaged, informed, and consulted is an asset. They have direct access to information about how work actually gets done, as opposed to how the procedures say it should be done. They hear complaints and concerns from workers that may never reach management. And they provide a structured, legally recognised channel for raising issues before they become incidents.
An HSR who is marginalised, ignored, or obstructed is a liability. Not because they will cause problems, but because the problems that already exist will go unaddressed until they escalate into injuries, complaints, PINs, or WorkSafe investigations.
The most effective safety cultures treat HSRs as partners in managing risk, not adversaries.