Workplace Health & Safety Representative - WHSR
What is a Workplace Health & Safety Representative?
The role of the WHSR is primarily to liaise with other staff to identify health and safety issues and convey these to management. This may be through participating in the Health and Safety committee. The WHSR role is important in the consultative processes at your school or workplace. Information about the role can be found at Information about the role can be found in School Based WHSRs (new window) 
- Information for Principals and WHSRs.
Workplace Health and Safety Representatives (WHSR) are elected by fellow staff at an individual worksite. The WHSR fulfils a different role to the WHSO which is an appointed position. However, these two positions can work well together to gather information and expertise and improve health and safety at your school or office.
Does my school/workplace need a WHSR?
Education Queensland schools and other non-school sites are encouraged to elect a WHSR. More than one WHSR can be elected per site. Your school staff can chose to, or not to, elect a WHSR. However, if requested by the staff group the principal must facilitate the election process.
The benefits of having a WHSR(s) include
- having another resource on site to assist with health and safety issues
- promoting conversations and communication about health and safety
- being valuable member of the health and safety committee
- being of particular benefit at schools with fewer than 30 employees as a point of contact both for staff and the principal.
How do we elect a WHSR?
Your staff group can chose the election process that best suits your school. The process will include the nomination and publication of candidates and a voting system, for example
- confidential or public voting
- show of hands
- ballot
- email vote
- support from relevant union groups
A flow chart and more information is available in the WHSR Election Fact Sheet (new window) 65k .
The WHSR election templates (new window) 273k 
provide guides and blank forms for you to modify to suit your staff group and election process.
Who is a suitable person to be elected as WHSR?
The role of the WHSR is to represent their fellow workers on health and safety issues and communicate this information to their employer. Whilst our school principals are not 'employers' under the
Workplace Health & Safety Act 1995 they are 'persons in control' and are charged with managing the school site.
The purpose of the WHSR is to act as a 'representative' of the staff group and convey heath and safety ideas, opinions and concerns to the principal. Principal, executive principal and head of school roles are encompassed in the 'principal' role. With this in mind it is important that all staff consider the following factors when nominating their potential representative/s:
- that the WHSR 'representative' role is compatible with the person's current role in the school. For example, some roles that are part of the 'management team' may conflict with the intent of the WHSR role. It is important that the WHSR feels, and is able to, accurately represent 'staff' opinions to 'management'.
- It will be at each staff group's discretion to determine if people in roles such as deputy principal, associate principal, Business Services Manager and other administrator roles are nominated and elected as WHSRs
- People in these 'management' roles also need to ensure that there would be no conflict of interest between their administrative role and their WHSR role prior to accepting nomination.
- that the person will adequately and fairly represent the opinions of the whole staff group (or the group they have been elected to represent)
- that the person feels comfortable discussing and presenting health and safety issues to the principal
- that the person will assist with health and safety strategies and promotion in the school and actively participate in the health and safety committee.
Following negotiation with the Principal, the staff group may chose to elect more than one WHSR. A number of WHSRs may assist to represent different staff groups e.g. teaching and non-teaching or diverse or separate work areas on large campuses. The WHSR position provides further structure and opportunity for staff consultation.
Does my WHSR need training?
An approved course "Course in Functioning as a Workplace Health and Safety Representative - 30630QLD" is now available for Workplace Health and Safety Representatives to attend.
Appropriate training can provide the WHSR with tools and knowledge that allow the person to effectively participate and improve health and safety in the school. With these skills the WHSR can be a valuable member of the health and safety team.
The course may also be helpful for other staff with health and safety roles e.g. committee members.
There is no obligation for an elected WHSR to attend training, however, on request the WHSR is entitled to this formal training.
Course costs
The accredited training course for the WHSR is 3 days duration.
Course costs are $430 and include catering and all course materials.
The training fee is reduced by 15% for the second WHSR being trained.
WHSR Course Calendar and Registration Form
Course dates and regional locations are available in the WHSR Calendar 2009 (new window) 92k .
Complete your registration using the WHSR Registration Form 2009. This is a web form which will email directly to the Organisational Health Training Unit.
Courses are open to all interested staff members however preference will be given to WHSRs.
Why complete an EQ course rather than a public course?
- Courses are tailored to the needs of school staff with education based examples and scenarios
- The Education Queensland context allows a focus on departmental resources and procedures
- Competitive course costs are at a lower rate than public courses
- Excellent opportunity for networking with colleagues, and
- Consistent course costs throughout the state.
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