Certificate IV in Work Health and Safety

Work Health and Safety (WHS) Officers oversee the safe and compliant processes of an organisation. They are responsible for identifying hazards and assessing risks to health and safety in the workplace and implementing safety protocols that prevent the risk of injury or accidents from occurring. WHS Officers are essential for keeping the safety of an organisation’s people at the forefront and ensuring employees are always operating within a WHS-approved environment.

The primary role of a Work Health and Safety Representative is to represent the health and safety interests of the members of a work group. They liaise with the staff to identify issues pertaining to health and safety and then raise these concerns with management. A Work Health and Safety Representative is responsible for giving workers a voice regarding health and safety matters at the workplace.

Essentially, an Occupational Health and Safety (OHS) Officer has the same role as a Work Health and Safety Officer. They oversee the safety of a workplace and provide safe systems of work for employees. Why the two names for the same role? In January 2012 the introduction of new work health and safety legislation in most states and territories came with a change in terminology – ‘work’ health and safety replaced ‘occupational’ health and safety in the legislation.

A Human Resources (HR) Assistant reports to the Head of HR to aid with day-to-day duties and functions of the HR department. Their responsibilities may include providing clerical and administrative support, assisting with recruitment, processing payroll, coordinating meetings, supporting new employees with the onboarding process, handling requests and complaints and helping to ensure smooth communication between the HR department and all employees.