Fifty-four years ago this week, the landmark Robens Report changed workplace safety forever.
Published in 1972, the Robens Report argued that safer workplaces could not be achieved by governments alone. Instead, health and safety should be built on tripartism — a partnership between government, employers and workers through their unions.
That idea became the foundation of modern Australian occupational health and safety laws, including the Occupational Health and Safety Act 2004 in Victoria.
The Victorian OHS system recognises something unions have argued for decades: workers themselves are often the first to spot risks and the best placed to help prevent harm. This approach traces directly back to the Robens model, which promoted prevention, participation and cooperation instead of simply reacting after incidents happened.
Tripartism, as recommended by Robens, means that the people who understand workplace risks best — workers, employers and regulators — all have a seat at the table when safety laws, regulations and guidance are developed.
At the workplace level, tripartism means consultation and communication. Under Victoria’s OHS Act, employers must consult with workers and Health and Safety Representatives (HSRs) about issues that affect their health and safety. That includes consulting when identifying hazards, when introducing new equipment or systems of work, and when resolving safety concerns, both before and after injuries occur.
At the state level, tripartism is also embedded in how WorkSafe Victoria develops policy and guidance. WorkSafe consults with unions, employer organisations and industry experts on:
- new OHS regulations and Codes of Practice
- compliance guidance
- law reform
- emerging risks such as psychosocial hazards, workplace violence and silica exposure
That consultation process ensures workplace laws are shaped by real-world experience and not just theory or corporate convenience.
The union movement has played a central role in building these protections. From campaigns for safer factories in the 1800s to the fight for asbestos protections, industrial manslaughter laws and psychosocial safety reforms today, unions have pushed Australia’s workplace safety system forward, often against intense opposition from employer representatives.
Tripartism is not just a principle from history — it is how workplace safety works best every day. More than five decades after the Robens Report, its core message still matters: safer workplaces are achieved when workers have a genuine voice.
Here in Victoria, work is underway to review the OHS Act’s provisions of representation – an essential element of tripartism. The Victorian Government Independent Review into Employee Representation was commenced in 2024 to consider whether the powers, functions and supports for Health and Safety Representatives (HSRs) and Authorised Representatives of Registered Employee Organisations (ARREOs) are effective and deliver improved health and safety outcomes for all workers. With an Interim Report into the review released in August 2025, we look forward to the final report and recommendations for reforms that will strengthen employee representational rights and powers and further cement the principles of tripartism into workplace safety laws.
The best way to protect yourself and your workmates and ensure your working lives are as safe and healthy as possible is to join your union.
Read more: Workplace Health and Safety in Australia - Australian Council of Trade Unions