The Course in Functioning as a Workplace Health & Safety Officer (commonly known as the WHSO Course) is an accredited training course designed to provide base competencies to persons nominated to act as a WHSO. A WHSO is required in a business that employs more than 30 persons in accordance with the Queensland Workplace Health & Safety Act 1995.

Core Modules

The WHSO course is a 7 day course divided into two parts. The first part is a 5 day Core Module which includes WH&S legislation, incident investigation, emergency preparedness, risk management, auditing and covers the following competencies:

• WHSO/01 Provide advice on workplace health and safety
• WHSO/02 Manage workplace health and safety risks
• WHSO/03 Manage workplace risks

Check out our Training Calendar for upcoming course dates, Register Online for your course, or make a Course Enquiry about other in-house options using the link above.

Service Elective

The second part of the course is a 2 day elective held separately to the Core Modules - in the case of the hospitality industry, the Services Elective (the others which are specific to those industries are construction and manufacturing). The elective comprises the following competencies:

WHSO/06

• Determine areas of interest - ID and prioritise hazards
• Assess areas of interest - conduct a WH&S assessment and prepare Action Plan
• Advise on control measures

Check out our Training Calendar for upcoming course dates, Register Online for your course, or make a Course Enquiry about other in-house options using the link above.

Frequently Asked Questions

What is a Workplace Health and Safety Officer (WHSO)?

The Workplace Health and Safety Act 1995 defines a Workplace Health and

Safety Officer (WHSO) as a person who:

• Holds a current authority for appointment as a Workplace Health and Safety Officer, and
• Is appointed as a Workplace Health and Safety Officer by an employer for the employer’s workplace, or
• A principal contractor.

To obtain this authority, a person must satisfactorily complete an approved WHSO course conducted by an accredited provider or a Registered Training Organisation.

WHSOs provide expert advice to employers to help them meet their obligations under the Workplace Health and Safety Act 1995. WHSOs are trained to identify health and safety hazards and help implement risk assessments in the workplace. All Queensland employers with 30 or more workers are required by law to appoint a WHSO to help eliminate health and safety risks.

When must a WHSO be appointed?

Employers and principal contractors who are in control of workplaces must appoint a qualified person as the WHSO if 30 or more workers are normally employed at the workplace’. This statement means; during the current year, at least 30 workers are employed or are likely to be employed, at the workplace for a total of any 40 days during the year. This is regardless of whether the workers are on different shifts during the day and not working at the one time.

If there are less than 30 workers at the workplace, the employer or principal contractor are not required to appoint a WHSO but are strongly encouraged to do so to ensure that health and safety obligations are met. For example a company (employing over 30 workers) may have branches all over the State but if each branch employs less than 30 workers during any 24 hour period a WHSO is not required.

What are the obligations of employers in relation to Workplace Health and Safety Officers?

Employers are required to ensure that the WHSO performs all the WHSO functions specified in the Workplace Health and Safety Act 1995. The appointed WHSO’s name must be displayed while the appointment is current and they must be given reasonable assistance with their duties. This includes:

• Provision of information relating to hazards at the workplace.
• Consultation before the introduction of new plant, substances or new work processes.
• Where necessary, access to outside experts on particular hazards, which may exist at the workplace.

WHSO training is all about the statutory obligations of employers, principal contractors and workers with respect to health and safety at the workplace. By itself WHSO training is very broad and would usually not be sufficient for implementation of all facets of a health and safety management system at the workplace.

Employers should be aware that for the majority of workplaces, especially those which are considered more hazardous, professionally qualified health and safety personnel or other specialists with additional qualifications may be required. These personnel may be employed on a part-time or full-time basis depending on the complexity of the health and safety issues and level of risk associated with hazards at the workplace. These people may be resourced from within the company or from external consultants.

What are the functions of a WHSO?

A Workplace Health and Safety Officer is responsible for:

• Advising the employer or principal contractor on health and safety issues.
• Ensuring all work injuries, work caused illnesses or dangerous events at theworkplace are investigated.
• Conducting appropriate health and safety education programs.
• Conducting assessments of the workplace.

What qualifications are needed to become a WHSO?

A person is qualified to apply for a WHSO certificate of authority of appointment if they have:

• Satisfactorily completed an approved WHSO course conducted by a Registered Training Organisation (RTO), or
• Other qualifications or experience that would enable the applicant to satisfactorily perform the functions of a WHSO.

Can a WHSO be appointed for more than one workplace?

An employer may appoint a WHSO for more than one workplace but this must have prior approval in writing from the Chief Executive, Workplace Health and Safety Queensland. Certain criteria must be met in these instances relating to incident/accident history, accessibility, risk factors, number of staff etc.

Annual assessment by WHSOs

The Act requires that WHSOs conduct an annual assessment of the workplace using a criteria approved by Workplace Health and Safety Queensland or the Workplace Health and Safety Committee at the workplace.

What training do I need to become a WHSO?

Approved WHSO training is divided into two stages:

• The core module (5 days duration), which must be completed by persons from all industry groups, and
• An industry specific elective module – either construction, industrial or services (2 days). In the case of the hospitality sector it is the ‘services’ elective.

How does a person apply for a WHSO certificate?

On successful completion of the Core Module and an Industry Elective Module the applicant should:

• Receive an assessment report from their training provider on successful completion of modules.
• Complete and sign the applicant’s declaration on the assessment report.
• Submit the original copies (white copies) of both assessment reports with payment of $48.30 to a Workplace Health and Safety Queensland office.
• Applications should be sent within 3 months of the date that the elective assessment report has been signed by an authorised accredited provider or Registered Training Organization (RTO).
• A certificate of authority of appointment as a WHSO issued by Workplace Health and Safety Queensland has life of no more than five years.

Where can I get more information?

For more information or course registration please contact 07 3878 8977 or click here to send an email. [ This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it ]