HSRs and Risk Management
Work health and safety (WHS) is most effective when it is built on shared understanding, clear roles, and genuine collaboration. One of the key strengths of the WHS framework in Australia is the way it brings together the business, management, workers, and Health and Safety Representatives (HSRs) to manage risks collectively. Understanding the role of HSRs in risk management is essential, not just for compliance, but for creating workplaces where safety systems actually wor
Lack of Proactive Officer Duties Drives a 30 % Higher Workplace Fatality Rate
Victoria’s workplace health and safety regulator, WorkSafe Victoria, recorded 12 workplace fatalities in the 12 months to 21 November 2025. Twelve preventable deaths in one year, in industries where the hazards and controls are well known is an unacceptable toll by any measure. The causes remain unchanged: structural collapses, unguarded machinery, falls from height, fatigue-related vehicle incidents, and chemical explosions, concentrated in construction, agriculture, manufac
What does it take to be an HSR trainer?
Courtenell put considerable effort into expanding its scope of WHS services in 2023. Being one of the oldest training providers in New...
Employer convicted and fined for failure to provide information
A recent case in New South Wales serves as a stark reminder of the importance of workplace health and safety (WHS) compliance and the...
What do HSRs Learn in SafeWork NSW’s new HSR Course?
Weekly WHS Article 29th June 2023 If an HSR wants to be able to that role fully, they must be trained on SafeWork NSW’s initial 5-day...
What is a Work Group?
A “work group” in WHS law are groups of people within the business that are represented by one person and their deputy for the purpose ...
If you have work groups you must have HSRs
Workers must be represented in any decisions that an organisation intends to make on matters of health and safety. (Ref 1) A business cannot simply make changes regarding a work health and safety matter without first getting feedback from the members of the workforce. This information is obtained by consulting each member of the workforce that may be affected by the health and safety matter being addressed. The organisation director and other officers of the business must en
WHS Consultation needs to be able to take place at any time
The Model WHS laws, in force since 2011, describe how a business may organize its workplace into workgroups and then have representatives...
Trainer feedback on HSR virtual courses
Here is some feedback from one of our WHS trainers who delivers the SafeWork NSW HSR courses virtually in Zoom and MS Teams. ....
Good News about SafeWork NSW’s updated HSR courses
In late 2022 SafeWork NSW completed a review of the SafeWork NSW developed Health and Safety Representatives Training Course Material ....
HSRs need to be trained on Psychosocial Hazards & Risks
Should HSRs be trained on psychosocial hazards & risks? The answer is yes.
Managers & Supervisors need to be trained
Company Directors, CEOs, and business owners need to use and be able to rely on their Managers and Supervisors to carry out actions ....
Do Workers Have the Right to Cease or Refuse Unsafe Work?
“A worker may cease, or refuse to carry out, work if the worker has a reasonable concern that to carry out the work would expose the...