Engagement means involving all your workers in decisions, encouraging and valuing their participation. It is critical for developing a healthy, safe and productive workplace culture.

Consultation is a legal requirement and essential to managing WHS risks.

Leaders who engage with their workers and promote a culture of consultation and collaboration will actively improve WHS in their organisation.

• Engaging and consulting workers helps you to make better decisions about WHS matters, and helps you reduce work-related death, injury and disease.

Tips on engagement and consultation

Engagement and consultation is a two-way process between you and your workers where you:

• talk to each other about health and safety matters
• listen to their concerns and raise yours
• seek and share views and information
• consider what your workers say before you make decisions.

Engaging and consulting requires you to:

• Share relevant WHS information with workers.
• Give workers a reasonable opportunity to express their views and raise health or safety issues.
• Give workers a reasonable opportunity to contribute to the decision-making process relating to the health and safety matter.
• Take account of workers’ views.
• Tell workers about the outcomes of any consultation and in a timely matter.

Further information WHS-PRO-003 WHS Consultation and Participation procedure

JCU has a number of consultative mechanisms for work health and safety, including a framework of committees and elected Health and Safety Representatives.

JCU is committed to providing a healthy and safe work environment for all students, staff and stakeholders.

As part of that commitment, the University acknowledges that workers are entitled to elect a Health and Safety Representative (HSR) to represent the health and safety interests of their work group.

The role of HSR is to ensure the effective flow of important communication related to work health and safety issues and concerns at JCU.

• List of JCU HSR

Reporting and Recording Incidents

Incident / Hazard Reporting

All workplace health and safety incidents/hazards must be:

• Reported to the relevant supervisor or lecturer as soon as possible; and
• Logged into RiskWare. If you require assistance, contact the JCU WHS Unit at safety@jcu.edu.au

Incident / Hazard Notification in RiskWare

When an incident or hazard is entered into RiskWare, a responsible person will be allocated automatically.  The responsible person is:

• For JCU Staff - the staff members immediate supervisor; or
• For JCU Students - the Course Coordinator.

The responsible person can be manually changed in the “Assign to” section.  If the  “Do you require that this incident remains confidential from your supervisor/manager?” question is ticked,  the incident is referred only to a WHS Unit representative.

When an incident or hazard is reported in RiskWare, the Responsible Persons will automatically receive an email notification. This email provides summary details of the incident or hazard, and instructions on what needs to be done.  The Responsible Person is required to view the details of the incident or hazard in RiskWare and develop and complete the action plan.