The role of the Workplace Health and Safety Officer (WHSO) over the last 10-15 years has been somewhat of a hokey-pokey dance, firstly being in, then out, and then in again when it has come to the Queensland WHS legislation. In October 2017, the role was reintroduced following the government’s Best Practice review of Workplace Health and Safety Queensland (WHSQ) and, keeping the musical theme going, appears to be a role looking for a vacant chair when the music stops.

So, who or what is a WHSO?

WHSQ have published an Information Guide (2018) providing some background and general information on the functions of a WHSO, which include:

  • Identifying hazards and risks to health and safety
  • Notifying the PCBU about WHS matters
  • Notifying the PCBU about incidents
  • Investigating incidents or any immediate risks
  • Accompanying WHSQ Inspectors during site inspections
  • Undertaking an annual assessment that assesses the WHS risks

For someone to be a WHSO, they must also have completed a Certificate IV in WHS (or higher level WHS qualifications) and have a WHSO Certificate of Authority from WHSQ.

The legislation even enshrined a level of immunity for WHSO (qualified a little by the ‘in good faith’ statement), and then went on to say that the appointment of a WHSO does affect the duties owed by other persons under the Act.

Back in the day, it was a requirement for PCBUs with 30 or more workers to have a WHSO. By appointing someone as a WHSO, organisations were able to say that because of their WHSO, they were complying with the legislation. However, in some instances, the end result became a reliance on the WHSO to discharge the duties of the directors and executive managers within the organisation. When the harmonisation of the WHS laws came into force in January 2012, the requirement for a WHSO was removed and the due diligence provisions were increased to ensure these responsibilities remained at the senior executive management level.

Although re-introduced in 2017 (however not mandatorily), in practice the role of the WHSO appears to have been superseded by other WHS-related roles that, both individually and collectively, perform the same functions as a WHSO. These include the WHS Adviser, WHS Coordinator, WHS Manager, and even the Health and Safety Representative, depending on the size and nature of the organisation.

These days, it’s rare to see a job advertisement specifically calling for a WHSO. Organisations now recognise their WHS due diligence duties and are wanting more from their WHS personnel, by way of delivering and maintaining a strong WHS framework, providing practical advice to managers and workers that as a minimum is compliant with the WHS legislation and supporting Codes of Practice, and assisting the organisation’s accountability holders to manage their WHS risks.

Please contact QRMC for more information or assistance.