Work Health and Safety Board and committees

At the Work Health and Safety Board (Board) meeting held on 28 February 2023, the Board focussed on progress made by the Board’s Psychological Health and Safety Focus Group and the Regulatory Capability and Performance Focus Group and opportunities for ongoing engagement and collaboration with the Office of Industrial Relations (OIR) on these priorities. The Board discussed the implementation of the Managing respirable crystalline silica dust exposure in construction and manufacturing of construction elements Code of Practice 2022 that commences on 1 May 2023 and agreed that silica is a risk for all industries. Members also noted that the Federal Workplace Relations Minister Tony Burke issued a statement that day advising that he and his state and territory counterparts have asked Safe Work Australia to consider what a future ban on engineered stone would look like, with that the group also making a decision on prohibiting it at a later stage. The Board will continue to take a direct interest in this significant issue in the months ahead.

At its third meeting on 22 February, the Psychological Health and Safety Focus Group had collaborative and constructive discussions with OIR and identified challenges and possible solutions for effective implementation of the Managing the risk of psychosocial hazards at work Code of Practice that commences on 1 April 2023. The group’s next meeting is scheduled for 12 April.

The Regulatory Capability and Performance Focus Group has met twice, with its next meeting to be held on 15 March 2023. At the February Board meeting members agreed to three focus areas as the most important matters to progress in the coming months. As part of the skills and capabilities focus area, the Board agreed to hold a ‘deep dive’ in April to examine and identify best-practice skills and capabilities (and processes) for WHSQ inspectors and investigators to build a case for work-related fatalities prosecutions and pure ‘risk-based’ prosecutions.

As noted in the WHS Board’s September 2022 update, the Board agreed to establish a working party on ‘Worker Consultative Arrangements’ (including Health and Safety Representatives) in early 2023. At the February meeting members confirmed the working party’s membership and agreed that its first meeting will be scheduled in the near future.

Mr Simon Nicholson, who was appointed as Queensland’s Work Health and Safety Prosecutor in October 2022, attended part of the Board meeting as a guest speaker. The Board valued the opportunity to meet with Mr Nicholson to receive an update on prosecutions launched and important decisions, as well as key trends and aspects of legislation that the WHS Prosecutor considers should be brought to the Board’s attention. The Board has invited Mr Nicholson to provide an update to the Board every six months.

The Deputy Director-General of OIR, Ms Kym Bancroft, also attended part of the meeting. Positive discussions between the Board and Ms Bancroft focused on the Board’s future consideration about developing a new Five-Year Strategic Plan for WHS in Queensland and the Office of Industrial Relations’ proposed Priority Plans and opportunities to work together to deliver greater alignment across these plans.

The next full meeting of the Board is scheduled for 27 April 2023.

At the Work Health and Safety Board (Board) meeting held on 16 November 2022, the Board focussed on processes to identify key emerging work health and safety (WHS) areas for 2023 and the best mechanisms to support effective advice and recommendations on these issues being provided to the Minister for Industrial Relations and to the work health and safety regulator.

Psychological health, effective regulatory capability and performance, and work consultation, representation and participation (including Health and Safety Representatives) have been identified as priority areas for the Board’s focus in 2023.

The Board identified that its six Industry Sector Standing Committees, for Construction, Health and Community Services, Manufacturing, Retail and Wholesale, Rural, and Transport and Storage, will need to be actively engaged to monitor the legislative changes expected to occur as a result of the Boland Review of the Model laws (conducted in 2018 with agreed government response in 2021) and the current five-year review of the Queensland’s Work Health and Safety Act 2011, to which the Board recently made a submission.

The Honourable Grace Grace MP, Minister for Education, Minister for Industrial Relations and Minister for Racing, attended part of the meeting to receive a briefing directly from the Board about the key issues. The Deputy Director-General of the Office of Industrial Relations (OIR), Ms Kym Bancroft, also attended part of the meeting. The Board discussed its ongoing strategy and how its representation from worker, employer and expert organisations can support and inform OIR as the WHS regulator on improved WHS outcomes.

The next full meeting of the Board is scheduled for 28 February 2023. The two Board focus groups on Regulator Capability and Performance, and Psychological Health and Safety are planning to hold meetings in December and February.

The WHS Board is the peak advisory body to the Queensland Government on work health and safety matters. Its primary function is to give advice and make recommendations to the Minister about policies, strategies, allocation of resources and legislative arrangements for work health and safety. The Board membership is as follows:

Chair – Mr Jorgen Gullestrup

Worker representatives

• Mr Mark Raguse, AWU
• Mr Royce Kupsch, CFMEU
• Ms Samantha Boardman (observer) QCU & AMWU
• Ms Kate Veach, QCU & QNMU

Employer representatives

• Ms Annette Alexander, AiGroup
• Dr Georgina Davis, WRIQ
• Mr Gary Mahon, QTA
• Ms Kathy Taylor
• Mr Craig Dearling (observer) MBQ

Expert representatives

• Professor Richard Johnstone Ms Naomi Kemp, AIHS
• Mr Bruce Watson, WorkCover Queensland

Authorised by Jorgen Gullestrup, Work Health and Safety Board Chair. Please direct any queries to OIRBoardsAndCommittees@oir.qld.gov.au.

At the Queensland Work Health and Safety Board (the Board) meeting held on 14 September 2022, the Board discussed the codesign of work health and safety strategies with the Office of Industrial Relations including identifying priorities for regulatory focus and support for Health and Safety Representatives.

The Board discussed the establishment of key focus areas for priority action and will progress these through special meetings of Board members, and the establishment of working parties as needed. The initial areas decided on are:

1. regulator capability and performance
2. psychological health and safety, and
3. worker consultative arrangements (including Health and Safety Representatives)

The Board agreed the first two should be established in 2022 and the third should begin in early 2023.

The Board agreed to make a submission to the Work Health and Safety Act review Work Health and Safety Act 2011 review. The submission focussed on key points of the review’s terms of reference relating to Health and Safety Representatives, worker representation, reviews and stays of enforcement notices, and also raised a number of other points regarding the WHS Act’s overall effectiveness and performance.

The next meeting of the WHS Board will be held on 16 November.

At the Work Health and Safety Board (Board) meeting held on 27 April 2023, the Board met with the Electrical Safety Commissioner, Mr Keith McKenzie, and the acting Deputy Director-General of the Office of Industrial Relation (OIR), Ms Megan Barry.  The Board discussed proposed work on the development of a Work Health and Safety Strategic Plan and heard about progress made by the Board’s Psychological Health and Safety Focus Group and the Regulatory Capability and Performance Focus Group which were established in December 2022, as well as the first meeting of the Worker Consultative Arrangements (including Health and Safety Representatives) Focus Group.

The Commissioner for Electrical Safety and the Chair of the Electrical Safety Board (ES Board), Mr Keith McKenzie, attended part of the Board meeting as a guest speaker. The Board valued the opportunity to meet with Commissioner McKenzie and received an update on the ES Board’s key focus areas and work towards a proposed new ES Board strategic plan, while also exploring key trends, matters of mutual interest and opportunities for the WHS Board and ES Board to work more closely in the future. The Board has extended Commissioner McKenzie a standing offer to attend future Board meetings to foster greater collaboration on enhancing WHS outcomes for all Queenslanders. Opportunities for hosting regular joint WHS Board and ES Board meetings was also considered beneficial.

The acting Deputy Director-General of OIR, Ms Megan Barry, engaged in a wide-ranging discussion with the Board and discussed interim arrangements for the Deputy Director-General role until a permanent Deputy Director-General can be appointed later in the year.

At its fourth meeting on 12 April, the Psychological Health and Safety Focus Group continued discussions with OIR and the Office of the Work Health and Safety Prosecutor about supporting the implementation of the Managing the risk of psychosocial hazards at work code of practice (Code) which commenced on 1 April.  Discussions focused on the importance of effective workplace consultative arrangements and supporting employers and workers (including HSRs) manage this risk in line with this Code. The group’s next meeting is scheduled for 8 June.

The Regulatory Capability and Performance Focus Group’s third meeting on 19 April discussed matters relating to good practice inspector training. The Group’s next meeting is scheduled for 31 May.

As noted in the WHS Board’s September 2022 update, the Board agreed to establish a working party on ‘Worker Consultative Arrangements’ (including Health and Safety Representatives) in early 2023. The first meeting was held on 20 April and agreed on two focus areas, namely, Accountability for inspector obligations with worker representatives; and Operationalisation of an optimal Health and Safety Representatives framework. The next meeting is scheduled for 14 June.

The Board’s February 2023 update foreshadowed a Board ‘deep dive’ into the prosecution process from incidence to a brief being provided to the WHS Prosecutor.  The Board was concerned that a relatively low number of fatal incidences result in industrial manslaughter charges and, further, that the relatively few charges are brought for pure risk-based offences. The purpose of the ‘deep dive’ was to better understand the process and whether recommendations for improvements could be provided by the Board.  The WHS Board Chair will work with the Deputy Director-General, OIR, to formulate an approach to further explore this issue.

The next full meeting of the Board is scheduled for 5 July 2023. As the July meeting is the last meeting of the Board’s current term which concludes on 12 July 2023, members discussed future strategy items in preparation for the appointment of a new Board.