

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


Consultation as the fundamental failure in serious work health and safety incidents
Serious workplace incidents, worker fatalities, and life‑altering injuries rarely occur in the absence of prior warning signs. Repeatedly, investigations, coronial inquiries and court decisions show that the most common systemic failure is not the absence of written safety systems, but the failure of those systems to be informed by meaningful consultation. Consultation failures are consistently identified as a root cause of serious harm.


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...


HSR Training Online
Courtenell delivers both the SafeWork NSW Initial 5-Day Health and Safety Representative course, and SafeWork NSW 1-Day HSR Refresher course


SafeWork NSW: Their Compliance and Enforcement Tools
SafeWork NSW has a number of tools in its compliance and enforcement toolbox. Those tools range from giving advice or guidance up to...


How SafeWork NSW Decides on Compliance & Enforcement Action
If a SafeWork NSW Inspector found evidence of a breach of WHS laws in a workplace, the Inspector would carry out the next steps according...

