Hi Renata – What section of the OHS Act requires that HSRs are to be notified of all OHS issues in the workplace?
There are several sections of both the OHS Act and the OHS Regulations that indicate that employers must inform and involve HSRs in the resolution of health and safety matters as early as possible in the process.
Following an incident or issue being identified, employers have a duty to ensure that the associated risks are controlled, so far as is reasonably practicable.
S.35 OHS Act – Duty of employers to consult with employees
- s.35(1)(a)and (b) of the OHS Act states that your employer must consult with employees when identifying or assessing hazards and risks at the workplace and when making decisions about the measures to taken to control those risks.
- s.35(3) of the OHS Act requires employers to share information about the matter on which they are required to consult.
- s.35(4) of the OHS Act advises that if the employees are represented by an HSR the consultation must involve the HSR.
S.69 OHS Act – Other obligations of employers to HSRs
- s.69(1)(a) of the OHS Act also requires your employer to allow HSRs to have access to information about actual or potential hazards that may affect the health and safety of the employees represented by that HSR.
S.73 OHS Act – Resolution of health and safety issues
- s.73(1) of the OHS Act directs that health and safety matters must be resolved in accordance with the procedure prescribed by the OHS Regulations, or by an agreed procedure (which cannot be inferior to the procedure in the Regulations)
S.24 OHS Regulations – Procedure for reporting issues
- s.24(2) of the OHS Regulations instructs that employees identifying hazards or risks must report the issue to an HSR (if there is one) or to the employer – there is no requirement for them to do both. Many employees are uncomfortable reporting issues to management and are much more likely to report issues when they can report to an HSR.
S.25 OHS Regulations – Procedure for resolving issues
- s.25(1) of the OHS Regulations describes the procedure for resolving health and safety issues, and states that “as soon as reasonably possible after a health or safety issue has been reported” the employer and HSR must meet to try to resolve the issue – this requires that the HSR is made aware of the issue. This doesn’t just apply to hazards and risks identified as the result of an incident, but to all identified issues.
If you or your colleagues would like to learn more about employee safety representation, I recommend reading our OHS Reps publication Getting OHS Representation Right – A Guide for Workers.
WorkSafe also publishes Guide to Part 7 - Employee representation handbook for workplaces to guide and advise employers in how to comply with their duties and obligations with regard to employee safety representation, and includes a comprehensive section on the importance of consultation and HSRs.