Workplace health and safety (WHS) officers, also called Environmental health and safety (EHS) officers or Occupational health and safety (OHS) officers, are employed to monitor and/or manage the health and safety practices of a workplace. They may be responsible for developing WHS policies, running training, providing education, inspecting workplaces, or recording, processing and escalating WHS complaints and claims.
WHS officers will usually be required to have a Certificate IV qualification or above and/or previous industry experience.
WHS officers are different from WHS representatives.
WHS representatives are appointed or elected to fulfil workplace health and safety responsibilities in addition to their regular duties. For example, a storeperson can be elected as the WHS representative in their workplace to raise health and safety concerns to their employer. They may also receive an allowance for performing these duties depending on their award or enterprise agreement.
Industry award coverage
An industry award will cover a WHS officer if:
- their employer operates in the industry defined in the award
- there’s a classification which matches the employee’s duties and qualifications.
For example, a WHS officer may be covered by an industry award, including the:
- Electrical Power Award
- Black Coal Award
- Gas Award
- Mining Award
- Health Services Award
- Manufacturing Award
No industry award coverage
Where there’s no industry award covering WHS officers, the employee might be:
- covered by an occupational award, such as the Clerks Award
- covered by the Miscellaneous Award, or
- award free.
Occupational award coverage
An occupational award can cover a WHS officer if:
- the award covers the work they do
- there's a classification which matches the employee’s duties and qualifications.
Clerks Award
The Clerks Award may cover a WHS officer if their role is mainly clerical and administrative.
The employee’s classification depends on their skills, qualifications, and responsibilities.
For example, employees who mainly develop WHS procedures and policies for an employer can be covered by the Clerks Award.
Miscellaneous Award
The Miscellaneous Award can cover WHS officers and they’ll be classified based on their duties and qualifications.
The award doesn’t cover a managerial employee or professional employee. An employee may be considered a professional employee if their role requires a degree qualification, for example, a bachelor’s degree in occupational therapy.
Award free
WHS officers not covered by an industry or occupational award, or by the Miscellaneous Award will be award free.
They're entitled to the national minimum wage and National Employment Standards.
