WHS Practitioner/Advisor
Further Information
Frequently asked questions.Safe Work Australia is an Australian Government statutory agency, which was established to drive the development and implementation of model WHS legislation. A presentation for managers, to assist them in leading sessions on the new WHS Laws.
This toolkit is designed to inform and guide practitioners/advisors on the 
work health and safety laws and to provide practical guidance on leadership, consultation, communication and safety culture. There is information for WHS Practitioners/Advisors about:
- Legislative obligations
- WHS duty holders
- Role of WHS Practitioner/Advisor
- Leadership, health and safety culture
- Challenges for WHS Practitioners/Advisors
- Do your systems support your goals?
The laws for work health and safety are changing and in line with these new changes you will play a key role in ensuring that leaders, managers, workers and Health and Safety Representatives (HSR), are educated and supported to understand their responsibilities under the WHS laws. Your role is an important link in assisting workers to take ownership of their own health and safety outcomes.
In the contemporary and diverse workforces of today, WHS practitioners/advisors are considered specialised individuals responsible for ensuring the health and safety of all workers within an organisation. WHS practitioners/advisors in this field are often passionate about health and safety and have a genuine interest in contributing to an organisation that cares about its workers and views health and safety as an integral part of everyday business.
Sometimes there are many competing priorities for managers and workers and this can mean that they don’t have the time to read all of the WHS legislation that apply to their roles and responsibilities. WHS practitioners’/advisors’ role is to provide the relevant information when managers and workers need it most and to guide them in meeting the PCBUs duties under the WHS Act.
How can you support your organisation to de-mystify workplace health and safety so that good practice becomes ‘the way we do things around here’?
The success, or otherwise, of any PCBU largely depends on its workforce and the relationship between senior leadership, managers, workers and worker representatives. WHS practitioners/advisors are a key link in building and maintaining healthy partnerships in the workplace and supporting all facets of the PCBU to achieve positive health and safety outcomes.
It can be difficult to fully engage workers and managers in workplace health and safety despite the fact that health and safety is everyone’s responsibility. As a WHS practitioner/advisor you can actively facilitate this process and influence change by supporting leaders to commit to health and safety and to embrace new ideas. Effective leaders know the value of committing to health and safety as an integral part of everyday business planning. They also value the ideas and involvement of their workers through consultation and effective communication.
Where WHS practitioners/advisors can make the greatest difference is by supporting leaders in their ongoing commitment to health and safety, and by encouraging workers to provide input into the development, implementation and review of systems, policies and procedures.
There is a general saying among practitioners that 90% of workers take up only 10% of their time, whilst 10% of workers can take up 90% of their time!
Consider the most effective use of your time. Where are the key levers?