Procedure: Work health and safety communication and consultation

Purpose

This procedure describes how the Australian National University (ANU) manages Work Health and Safety (WHS) communication and consultation processes for the health, safety rehabilitation and claims (WHS) management systems. WHS communication and consultation is a requirement of the Work Health and Safety Act 2011 (Cth) (WHS Act), Work Health and Safety Regulations 2011 (Cth) (WHS Regulations) and the Safety Rehabilitation and Compensation Act 1988 (Cth). This procedure also aligns with the National Work Health and Safety consultation, co-operation and co-ordination Code of Practice. This document is linked to the University’s Work Health and Safety Policy and is one of the WHS Management System Procedures.

Definitions

Communication is a one way process of conveying intended meanings from one entity or group to another.

Consultation is a two-way process between an organisation and its stakeholders on an issue prior to making a decision, or determining a direction on that issue, according to the International Standards Organisation (ISO) Guide 73:2009.

Local area refers to the College, Research School or Service Division at the University.

WHS programs are annual improvement programs (initiatives) as part of the overall WHS plan, designed for the purpose of addressing an area of deficiency in the WHS management systems and clearly indicate the intentions in respect to continuous improvement of the University. WHS programs are the specific actions of a WHS plan that an organisation identifies to improve targets and Key Performance Indicators (KPIs).

Worker is anyone who carries out work for the University. A worker includes staff, volunteers, contractors and students gaining work experience at the University.

Procedure

Scope

1. This procedure applies to all WHS communication and consultation activities conducted on or on behalf of the University with the potential to impact on work health and safety. This procedure should be read in conjunction with the Staff Consultation Policy and the Staff Representation Procedure.
2. This procedure aligns with the intent of the Staff Consultation Policy and provides additional instruction for managing WHS specific communication and consultation to meet the requirements of the WHS Act. The key activities in this procedure for complying with the Act include:

• communicating and consulting on WHS specific matters such as policies, procedures, guidelines, forms, plans, programs and other matters;
• resolving WHS complaints and other WHS issues; and
• communicating with external parties on WHS matters.

WHS policies, procedures, programs and other matters

3. All relevant stakeholders will be involved in the development, implementation and review of WHS policies, procedures and programs.
4. Relevant WHS stakeholders include WHS Consultants, WHS Officers, Health and Safety Representatives (HSRs) and WHS Committees. Other stakeholder groups are included based on relevance and may be engaged as required, including Deans, Directors and Service Division Directors.
5. The Associate Director, Work Environment Group (WEG), in conjunction with Chairpersons of the WHS committees, will ensure that any new or major amendments to WHS documentation are amended and communicated as per the WHS documentation and WHS committees and representatives procedure.
6. Feedback from the consultation process will be captured in a consultation log. The Associate Director WEG, in consultation with Chairpersons of the WHS committees, will ensure that outcomes of any consultation process are communicated to all relevant persons (see Table 1).

Table 1 Type, availability, visibility and location of WHS information

Resolving WHS complaints and other WHS issues

7. When a worker identifies a hazard, complaint or other issue, they will report it in the Workplace safety incident and hazard reporting tool and inform their supervisor as per the WHS incident management procedure.
8. All parties involved with the hazard/concern, complaint or other issue will meet as soon as reasonably practical to resolve the issue.
9. All resolutions, including corrective action plans, will be documented and copies shall be made available to relevant parties as required.
10. The University WHS Committee in consultation with local WHS committees will monitor the progress of all resolutions for WHS matters. Each Chairperson of local WHS Committees will ensure all resolutions are completed as soon as reasonably practicable.

Communicating with external parties on WHS matters

11. All WHS matters involving and or raised by external parties will be recorded in the Workplace safety incident and hazard reporting tool and managed as per the WHS incident management procedure.
12. All communication on WHS matters, including Notification of Serious Incident(s) or Injury, with external government agencies will only be made by the Associate Director, WEG or an approved delegate, following approval by the Director of Human Resources and/or the Chief Operating Officer (COO). All communication on WHS matters with an external party will be documented and stored in the Workplace safety incident and hazard reporting tool. These communications are available and can be retrieved by a formal request from a regulator.

Training

13. There are no training requirements for this procedure.

Sources