The functions of a health and safety committee are to:

• facilitate co-operation between the person conducting a business or undertaking and workers in instigating, developing and carrying out measures designed to ensure the worker’s health and safety at work;

• assist in developing standards, rules and procedures relating to health and safety that are to be followed or complied with at the workplace; and

• other functions which are prescribed by the Model Regulations or agreed between the health and safety committee and the person conducting the business or undertaking.

At time of writing, the Model Regulations have not prescribed any additional functions for health and safety committees.

Safe Work Australia has a Model Code of Practice that is relevant to this area of law.

See the Model Code of Practice — Work Health and Safety Consultation, Cooperation and Coordination.

See also the Worker Representation and Participation Guide published by Safe Work Australia.

Persons conducting a business or undertaking must, so far as it is reasonably practicable, consult with workers who are, or may be likely to be directly affected by a matter relating to work health and safety. Failure to do so can attract a penalty.

The qualifier “so far as is reasonably practicable” confines the duty to what is reasonably practicable in the circumstances surrounding each situation. The consultation must cover certain minimum content.

See Duty to consult workers in respect of matters relating to health and safety.

More than one person can have a work health and safety duty in relation to the same matter. These persons must, so far as it is reasonably practicable, consult, co-operate and co-ordinate activities with each other duty holder in relation to the same matter.

Each duty holder has the obligation to consult. The consultation must be proportionate to the circumstances, including significance of the workplace health or safety issue in question.

See Duty to consult with other duty holders.

Persons conducting a business or undertaking have a duty to:

• establish a health and safety committee upon request by a specified number of workers or the health and safety representative;

• grant paid time to attend to committee business; and

• allow access to information.

Failure to comply with these duties is an offence and can result in a penalty.

Whilst not an obligation, management support for committees and good communication between the committee, management and workers contributes to committee effectiveness.

See Duty to establish health and safety committee on request, and duties in respect of the committee.

At times when a matter cannot be resolved to the satisfaction of any party by discussion, it becomes a work health and safety issue. Parties are required to make reasonable effort to achieve timely, final and effective resolution of the issue.

In the absence of an agreed procedure for issue resolution, the default procedure in the Model Work Health and Safety Regulations (Model Regulations) applies. A party may ask the regulator to appoint an inspector to assist the resolution of the issue when the issue remains unresolved after reasonable efforts have been made.

Parties in relation to an issue can have representatives. Health and safety representatives can represent workers but not a person conducting a business or undertaking.

See Issue resolution.