The Minns Labour Government is introducing forward-thinking initiatives to enhance safety in the workplace. SafeWork NSW, as part of this proactive approach, has organised a yearly HSR Training Refresher Day, assembling a record-breaking number of 405 participants. Health and Safety Representatives (HSR) constitute over 350 of these participants, creating a substantial alliance for reinforcing safety protocols across various industries in NSW.
Crucial areas that SafeWork NSW aims to regulate include falls from heights and mobile plant, vehicles, and fixed machinery. They also focus on managing psychosocial work risks, ensuring safety in the healthcare and social assistance sector, and limiting exposure to hazardous substances. Using effective Work Health Safety management systems like the Bluesafe WHS Management System can significantly minimise these potential hazards.
Falls from heights contribute significantly to workplace casualties. From 2019 to 2023, 36 out of the 274 worker fatalities in NSW were due to falling from a height. Moreover, working from heights resulted in 267 serious injuries from July 2024 to June 2025.
In March, SafeWork NSW issued over 140 improvement notices during a statewide compliance operation targeting injury prevention caused by mobile plant such as forklifts, fixed machinery, and workplace vehicles. These instances necessitate adequate training for Health and Safety Representatives who can effectively identify and mitigate workplace risks using tools like Bluesafe SWMS.
An elected HSR represents the workforce, addressing health and safety issues at work. Be it enforcing improvements via Provisional Improvement notices or voicing safety concerns on their colleagues’ behalf, they play an influential role in fostering productive discussions on WHS matters. This ensures that workers have active participation in decisions regarding their safety with the effective use of developed policies and practices.
Over 20 various industries are demonstrating their dedication to establishing safer workplaces by allowing HSRs to attend this year’s training day. The attendees will include representatives from the Health, Construction, Transport and Manufacturing industries.
This training day comprised interactive sessions to strengthen HSRs’ skills for advocating workplace health and safety. Other sessions addressed crucial topics such as psychosocial hazards including workplace bullying, overwhelming workloads, violence, and sexual harassment.
A touching session was delivered by David White, an individual who shared his own experience after tragically losing his son in a workplace accident.
The NSW Government announced its 2025-26 Budget, fortifying the state’s work health and safety regulator with an exceptional $127.7 million investment over the next four years to address psychosocial hazards and ensure the compliance and enforcement of safe work practices. As part of this initiative, the recruitment of 51 inspectors, including 20 psychosocial-focused ones, is being undertaken.
This critical reform is included in a wider $344 million Workplace Mental Health package, created to enhance mental health support and preventive strategies in NSW workplaces. Visit the SafeWork NSW website for further information about HSRs.
Minister for Work Health and Safety Sophie Cotsis communicates the significance of the HSR Training Day in reinforcing the role of HSRs and ensuring they are up-to-date with the latest safety protocols to advocate for safety at their workplaces. She emphasises that every worker should return home safely at the end of each workday.
SafeWork NSW Commissioner Janet Schorer highlights the importance of the WHS community working collaboratively to enhance WHS regulations within workplaces. Her statement praises the HSRs’ valuable contribution to SafeWork NSW’s efforts towards creating safer environments and promoting policies like the Bluesafe SWMS.
Secretary of Unions NSW Mark Morey and TWU NSW State Secretary Richard Olsen both resonate with the critical role HSRs play in advocating for safer workplaces. When HSRs have access to the correct training and materials, they can become influential advocates for positive safety culture changes, ensuring every worker’s safety at each workday’s end.
Original article link: https://www.safework.nsw.gov.au/news/safework-media-releases/record-attendance-at-safework-health-and-safety-conference
