Consultation is emphasised in the Occupational Safety and Health Act 1984 with an obligation placed on employers to consult employees and safety and health representatives (if any) on safety and health at the workplace.
To complement this, employees also have a duty to cooperate with their employer on safety and health matters at their workplace.
Listed below are some more guidance materials on consultation at workplace:
- Guidance note - Formal consultative processes at the workplace, issued by the Commission for Occupational Safety and Health (the Commission) and its Mining Industry Advisory Committee (MIAC) under the provisions of the Occupational Safety and Health Act 1984 (the OSH Act) and the Mines Safety and Inspection Act 1994 (the MSI Act).
- Code of Practice – Occupational Safety and Health in the WA public sector, published by the Commission for Occupational Safety and Health, Western Australia.
- Code of Practice - Consultation at work, published by the Department of Mines, Industry Regulation and Safety (www.dmp.wa.gov.au/Documents/Safety/MSH_COP_ConsultationAtWork.pdf). While this code of practice provides guidance on meeting the requirements in the Mines Safety and Inspections Act 1994, the principles may be used as best practice when consulting at workplace.
- Code of Practice: Occupational Health and Safety Consultation, Co-operation and Co-ordination, published by SafeWork New South Wales ( www.safework.nsw.gov.au/__data/assets/pdf_file/0013/50071/Work-health-an...)
Further resources can be obtained on the WorkSafe WA website.