1 October 2025 marks 40 years since the Victorian Occupational Health and Safety Act (OHS Act) 1985 came into operation, bringing with it the role of the Health and Safety Representative (HSR) - a role that for the first time bestowed real rights and powers on employee elected representatives to protect workers.
The employee representation that we accept as normal today came as the result of a long and difficult fight by unions to raise awareness about workplace safety, involve workers in decisions about their own health and safety, provide education and support campaigns for safer workplaces.
Prior to the 1985 OHS Act being passed, Victorian workplaces had been working under a patchwork of regulations that provided inadequate protection to workers. In Victoria the Workers’ Health Action Group was formed in 1977 bringing together rank-and-file union activists, health professionals, academics and community organisations. Their aim was simple but powerful: to raise awareness about hazards, involve workers in decisions about their own health and safety, provide education and support campaigns for safer workplaces.
By 1981, the Australian Council of Trade Unions and Victorian Trades Hall Council had created a joint Occupational Health and Safety Unit focused on research, international trends, and practical strategies to push for reforms. In September of the same year, the Victorian ALP adopted a policy to overhaul the way OHS was regulated based largely on lessons from the 1972 Robens Report from the UK as well as Swedish initiatives. This policy included the creation of the role of the Health and Safety Representative (HSR).
The election of the Cain Labor Government in 1982 ended 27 years of conservative rule in Victoria and opened the door for OHS reform. A Bill was introduced to Parliament in November 1983 and passed its second reading in March 1984. But with conservative parties holding the balance of power in the Legislative Council, the State’s upper house, the reforms stalled.
Unions kept up the pressure. Throughout 1984 they held rallies, ran letter campaigns, and fought hard for the new laws. Whilst some large employers, like Comeng, began signing agreements with unions to formally recognise HSRs at the workplace level employer associations resisted the proposed reforms, especially the proposals giving HSRs the right to issue Provisional Improvement Notices (PINs) and to direct unsafe work to stop. They argued these powers went too far and preferred to just have OHS Committees discuss concerns.
In March 1985 Labor won a second term giving the Government the slimmest of majorities in the Legislative Council. The Occupational Health and Safety Act 1985 was passed on 30 July 1985 and came into effect on 1 October 1985.
This was a turning point. For the first time, Victorian workers had a legal framework that recognised their right to be represented, to participate, and to take action on health and safety at work.
Today more than 5,250 new HSRs are trained each year in Victoria. That may sound like a lot of new HSRs each year working to protect and represent the health and safety interests of workers all across the state, but is it enough?
We urge SafetyNet readers to encourage their colleagues to become educated about employee representation through our Getting OHS Representation Right - A Guide for Workers publication and WorkSafe’s Guide to Part 7 - Employee representation handbook for workplaces. Speak up about safety and support your HSRs to address the safety issues you face in your workplace!