- Home
- Promoting health and safety
- Creating mentally healthy workplaces
- Why is work health important?
- Healthy worker
- Working together: Promoting mental health and wellbeing at work
- Mental Health and Wellbeing - Participating and thriving in our workplaces
- Supporting ability at work
- Supporting health, performance and productivity
- Flexible work
- Building a resilient workforce
- Health Benefits of Work
- Roles and responsibilities
- Duty Holders
- Comcare research program
- Health and safety representatives
- Investing in Experience: Age diversity in the workplace
- Education & training
- Creating mentally healthy workplaces
- Preventing harm
- Early intervention
- Recovery and return to work
- Recovery and rehabilitation
- Roles and responsibilities - rehabilitation
- Workplace Rehabilitation Framework
- Rehabilitation guidelines
- Barriers to Return to Work
- Working with Workplace Rehabilitation Providers
- Rehabilitation assessment
- Medical certificate of capacity
- Capability Products
- National Return to Work Survey
- Workplace rehabilitation provider fee guidance
- Returning to work
- Returning to independence
- Recovery and rehabilitation
- Claims and benefits
- Forms & publications
- Engage
- The scheme
- The SRC Act
- Legislative Instruments and Gazettal Notices under the Safety, Rehabilitation and Compensation Act 1988
- Information on 2011 SRC Act amendments
- Information on 2009 SRC Act amendments
- Information on the 2007 SRCOLA Amendments
- Rehabilitation
- SRC Regulations Amendments 1988 to 1999
- SRC Regulations Amendments 2000 to 2009
- SRC Regulations Amendments from 2010
- Overview of the Comcare scheme
- The Parliamentary Injury Compensation Scheme
- The WHS Act
- The ARC Act
- Authorities we work with
- Premium paying employers
- Licensees
- Our compliance and enforcement activities
- Guidance on applying the SRC Act
- Regulatory guides
- Regulator Performance Framework
- Cost recovery
- Comparative claims
- Fraud
- Feedback
- The SRC Act
- About us
- News & media
- Training
- Events
- 2018 National WHS Forums
- Past events
- 2017 Comcare and Defence Science and Technology Research and Development Community of Practice Forum
- 2017 Comcare SA/NT WHS Networking and Information Forums
- 2017 Comcare NSW WHS Networking and Information Forums
- 2017 National WHS Forums
- 2017 Learn how to manage workplace psychological injuries
- 2017 Managing Workplace Psychological and Stress Injuries
- 2016 Comcare National Conference
- 2016 National WHS Forums
- 2016 Comcare Rehabilitation Case Manager Forum
- 2016 Chronic Pain: New Understanding, New Paradigm, New Approach
- 2015 Health and Safety Representative Forums Cairns/Townsville
- 2015 Comcare Rehabilitation Case Manager Forum
- 2015 Managing psychological injuries in the Comcare scheme
- 2015 Health and Safety Representative Forums
- 2014 Health and Safety Representative Forums
- 2014 National Conference
- 2014 Preventing psychological injury in changing workplaces forum
- Careers
Worker/HSR
This information is designed to inform and guide workers and HSRs on the WHS laws. It provides practical guidance on obligations, consultation, communication, and fostering a healthy and safe culture at work. There is information for Workers/HSRs about:
Workers and Health and HSRs are the people who directly face the hazards of a job, and often have valuable knowledge, expertise, and the motivation to improve health and safety. This makes workers central to the process of setting the health and safety standards in the workplace.
The laws for health and safety changed on 1 January 2012. The former Occupational Health and Safety Act 1991 (OHS Act) changed to the Work Health and Safety Act 2011(Cth) (WHS Act). This is a significant and historic change to health and safety laws in Australia and from 1 January 2012 most States, Territories and the Commonwealth harmonised and implemented similar Work Health and Safety (WHS) laws.
One of the key aspects of the WHS Act for Commonwealth employees includes the change in definition from employee to worker. This means that the traditional relationship between the employer and employee under the former OHS Act broadens beyond the traditional employment relationship.
The WHS Act applies the overriding principle that workers and other persons should, so far as is reasonably practical, be given the highest level of protection against harm to their health, safety and welfare from hazards and risks arising from work. This level of protection cannot be achieved without the input of workers and HSRs.
