Work Health and Safety Advisor (WHSA)
Work Health and Safety Advisor (WHSA)The concept of the Work Health and Safety Advisor was not part of the original legislative requirement across Australia. Queensland introduced this requirement and also introduced a training course to support this new role. The course was specifically designed to assist the workers appointed as being the WHSO (as it was called at the time) for the company to better understand the specifics of the WHS legislation. The course was originally developed to meet the QLD Workplace Health and Safety statutory requirements at the time for the training and appointment of Workplace Health and Safety Officers (WHSO).
However, with the commencement of Nationally Harmonised Work Health and Safety (WH&S) laws on 1 January 2012, the statutory requirement to appoint a WHSO was removed from the Model Work Health and Safety Act.
Despite the removal of the statutory requirement to appoint a WHSO, research undertaken indicates that there will continue to be a need within industry for the role of a WHSO under the new harmonised legislation. To reflect the harmonised legislation and role of a person who undertakes this Course, the name Workplace Health and Safety Officer has been modified to Work Health and Safety Advisor (WHSA). The course is delivered by persons who are approved through WHS Qld and should have sufficient experience and skills not only in the definitions but skills in training to ensure that they can convey the information correctly to each participant.
WHSOs provided valuable assistance to businesses in meeting their duties under the previous WH&S laws and can continue to do so under the new harmonised laws. It is expected that many businesses will voluntarily retain the WHSO/WHSA role to assist them in complying with their duties under the new model laws. In particular, the Work Health and Safety laws impose a specific duty on Officers of corporations and unincorporated bodies to exercise due diligence to ensure that the organisation meets its work health and safety obligations.
This requires Officers to be proactive in ensuring that the organisation complies with its duties. WHSOs/WHSAs are employed to provide information on hazards and risks associated with the workplace or work activities. Workplace Health and Safety QLD (WHSQ) has stated that they see advantages for an organisation in retaining a trained Health and Safety Advisor to assist an officer to satisfy their ‘due diligence’ obligations.
Consultations relating to the Work Health and Safety Advisor position took place with relevant Workplace Health and Safety bodies including members of Industry Employer and Employee groups, Registered Training Organisations conducting Workplace Health and Safety Officer training, OH&S Consultants and WHSQ representatives to establish evidence of the continued need within industry for the proposed course and the role of a trained WHSA. The following bodies were consulted:
- Workplace Health and Safety Queensland, Department of Justice and Attorney-General.
- Registered Training Organisations (RTO’s) delivering the previously titled Workplace Health and Safety Officer training.
- Members of the Course Development Advisory Committee CDAC; and
- Members of the Management Committee of the QLD/NT Branch of the SIA now (AIHS).
What this Health and Safety Advisor course is NOT:
- does not duplicate, by title or coverage, the outcomes of an endorsed training package qualification.
- is not a sub-set of a single training package qualification that could be recognised through one or more statements of attainment or a skill set.
- does not include units of competency additional to those in a training package qualification that could be recognised through statements of attainment in addition to the qualification; and
- does not comprise modules that duplicate the units of competency of a training package qualification.
What this Health and Safety Advisor course IS about,
This course enables the learners to attain competencies and knowledge of the current legislative requirements and workplace health and safety practices enabling the Work Health and Safety Advisor to provide advice and assist with the management of workplace health and safety within an organisation. The training is provided by a certified and approved Safety Consultant with extensive experience from education and employment in the ‘Safety’ field.
Whilst there are many people employed in ‘Safety’ roles they are often appointed to these roles with very limited knowledge and often struggle to understand the legislation and the real requirements of the business. This training will take participants through the aspects of the legislation and explain in simple terms what is needed. The Safety Consultants approved to deliver this training have been through a process where they needed to prove to the regulator their knowledge and skills. They are also accredited through the Australian Institute of Health and Safety (AIHS) being the peek certification body in Australia for health and safety.
Consider training key staff in this Work Health and Safety Advisor course to assist them in gaining a better understanding of the legislation framework and the various sources of information to assist the PCBU in providing a safe workplace.
If you are interested in our WHS Consultancy services, you can contact David, Andrew or Mark to discuss your Health and Safety Issues.
We have qualified and certified Safety Consultants that can assist you in your business and offer a range of WHS consulting services along with general and specific health and safety training courses.
Contact us today for an obligation free quote on any of our services.