Health and Safety Committee

Health & Safety Committee

What is a Health and Safety Committee?

A Health and Safety Committee is made up of workers and management who work together as a forum for consultation on health and safety matters in their workplace with the aim of helping to make it a safe and healthy workplace.

What are the functions of a Health and Safety Committee?

A Health and Safety Committee does those actions that they agree upon and are approved by management that will:

facilitate co-operation between the person conducting a business or undertaking and workers in instigating, developing and carrying out measures designed to ensure health and safety at work, and
assist in developing standards, rules and procedures relating to health and safety that are to be followed or complied with at the workplace, and
satisfy any other functions prescribed by the regulations or agreed between the person conducting the business or undertaking and the Health and Safety Committee.

What are the benefits of having a Health and Safety Committee?

The benefits of a Health and Safety Committee include:

having regular, planned and structured discussions about health and safety matters
encouraging a co-operative approach to health and safety
bringing together a group of worker and management representatives to collaboratively discuss and develop ways of improving the systems for managing health and safety at the workplace
encouraging the development and retention of corporate knowledge on health and safety matters for the workplace.