Document ID: chunk:federal_register_of_legislation:F2024L01380:reg:8:p1
Version: federal_register_of_legislation:F2024L01380
Segment Type: reg
Provision Reference: reg 8 (pt 1/4)
Character Range: 78822–81948

8                    Responding to reports, complaints, or incidents

Encouraging workers to raise concerns regarding psychosocial hazards, and in turn effectively responding to those concerns, can assist PCBUs to not only identify hazards, but also review whether control measures are working. To facilitate this, PCBUs can investigate reports, complaints or incidents involving psychosocial hazards to determine what happened, why, and what can be done to improve controls to eliminate or minimise recurrence. The formality and comprehensiveness of any investigation and response can be proportional to the level of risk, the seriousness of actual or potential harm, the number of workers affected, and the size of the business.

The process for investigating or responding to reports, complaints or incidents involving psychosocial hazards should be proactive, fair, objective, conducted in a timely and impartial manner, applied consistently to all workers, and ensure procedural fairness for all parties involved. This is particularly important where there is an allegation about work-related bullying, work-related violence or aggression, or work-related sexual harassment.

Where a HSR has been advised of a complaint or incident involving a worker in their workgroup, they are entitled to investigate the complaint. This can include:

    -          inspecting the workplace, or any part of the workplace, the worker works at any time after giving reasonable notice to the PCBU, or without notice if the incident or situation involves a serious risk to health and safety emanating from an immediate or imminent exposure to a hazard
    -          accompanying an inspector during an inspection of the workplace or part of a workplace where the worker works
    -          with the consent of a worker, or one or more workers, the HSR representing and being present at an interview between the worker(s) and an inspector or PCBU (or the PCBUs representative)
    -          receiving information concerning the work health and safety of workers in the workgroup
    -          wherever necessary, requesting the assistance of any person.

It will not always be appropriate to consult work groups or their representative HSR(s) if the initiating report or subsequent investigation includes sensitive and confidential information about other workers. In this case, it is still useful to provide HSRs with general information about the process and outcomes including:

    -          how the psychosocial hazard will be managed
    -          updates on the progress actions in response to the report, complaint or incident and likely timeframes, and
    -          WHS actions and improvements which have or will be introduced in response to the issue (within the limits of confidentiality).

Principles that can be applied, so far as is reasonably practicable, when responding to complaints, incidents or reports involving psychosocial hazards are set out in the below table.

Principles                        Response

Act promptly                      Respond to reports, complaints, or incidents quickly, reasonably