WHS for Health and Safety Committees – SA Edition
Lesson 2 – Topic 2: Interaction between the Health and Safety Committee and Health and Safety Representatives (HSR) (No Video)
When a workplace has both a Health and Safety Committee and Health and Safety Representative(s) then there should be a clear distinction between their roles.
Health and Safety Representatives (HSRs) are involved with specific and day to day health and safety issues relevant to their work group. The WHS Act sets out specific functions and powers for HSRs. It also specifies under which conditions a HSR must be elected.
HSRs can choose to be a member of the Health and Safety Committee and raise issues they have become aware off in exercising their functions.
The Health and Safety Committee should be concerned with the management of health and safety across the whole workforce or site. It assists with the development, implementation and review of the policies and procedures that are associated with the organisation’s occupational health and safety management system (OHSMS).
If there is no HSR in the workplace, then the HSC can consider, with the agreement of the PCBU, to adopt the functions that would normally be carried out by a HSR except for the issuance of Provisional Improvement Notices (PINs) and directing unsafe work to cease.