The Role of WHSOs & WHSRs
Workplace Health and Safety Officer (WHSO) and Workplace Health and Safety Representative (WHSR) are roles which staff adopt in addition to their normal duties in order to assist with the management of health and safety at the local level.
Benefits for the University:
- The development of sufficient trained staff in all functional areas should enhance the implementation of health and safety initiatives and assist with management decision-making.
Benefits for your section:
- The WHSO should be a staff nominee with the seniority to raise and clarify Health and Safety aspects within all decision-making processes.
- The legal requirement for consultation with staff on health and safety related matters can be addressed through the WHSR.
- Training is also provided in the WHSO course to facilitate self-assessment systems auditing. For example, the appointment of trained WHSOs and the election of WHSRs is a positive performance indicator when your area is audited. Auditing between areas and external exchange audits will be introduced progressively.
The training is not to be considered as a personal development program option.
Benefits for the individual:
- an industry recognised certificate which employers value
- training which is expensive outside QUT
- knowledge and skills which are applicable to paid work and other settings
- joining a supported network at QUT
- recognition for the role when added to duty statement
The role is in addition to normal duties, but it is requested that the duties be added to the incumbent's job description. This is an EB requirement for WHSR's. It is envisaged that eventually about an hour per month would be added to the individual's workload (in the case of a WHSO) and around an hour per week will be required by a WHSR. These figures are arbitrary and will depend on how well an area is managed, the number of hazards, the level of knowledge and experience of workers and so on.
Training
Most QUT staff who are wishing to undertake WHSO training should enrol in the WHSO for Service-based workplaces. There will be some staff who may need to enrol in the WHSO for Contruction workplaces eg. Facilities Management staff.
Successful participants for the WHSO course will need their section/school to pay the cost of the training and the relevant fee to the government department to register as a WHSO. The certificate is for a duration of five years then the individual must undertake further assessable training.
The University Health and Safety Committee has altered its terms of reference to require academic and professional staff who nominate for election to the University Health and Safety Committee to have completed Health and Safety training (WHSO or WHSR) or undertake to complete the training in the first year of appointment.
Senior management who undertake the extensive eight day WHSO course should be exempt from having to undertake any further health and safety training for the duration of their WHSO certificate (up to five years).
For further information please contact Health and Safety Advisory Services Finance Officer on extension 89271, or your local WHSO or WHSR.
Refer to the following link for providers of WHSO/WHSR training.
http://www.dir.qld.gov.au/workplace/training/training/whso/training/courses/index.htm
Related Pages
- Division 3, S67 Workplace Health and Safety Act 1995
- Division 2, S92 Workplace Health and Safety Act 1995