Commonwealth Numbered Acts

OCCUPATIONAL HEALTH AND SAFETY (COMMONWEALTH EMPLOYMENT) ACT 1991 No. 30, 1991 - SECT 24

24. (1) A request to an employer to enter into consultations to establish
designated work groups in respect of employees of the employer, or to vary
designated work groups that have already been established, may be made by:

   (a)  if there are involved unions in relation to employees of the employer
        - any such involved union; or

   (b)  if there is no involved union in relation to any employee of the
        employer - any such employee.

(2) The employer may, at any time, and must, within 14 days after receiving
such a request, enter into such consultations with:

   (a)  if there are involved unions in relation to employees of the employer
        - each such involved union; or

   (b)  if there is no involved union in relation to any employee of the
        employer - the employee who made the request.

(3) Where an employer believes that designated work groups should be varied,
the employer may, at any time, enter into consultations concerning the
variation of the designated work groups with:

   (a)  if there are involved unions in relation to employees of the employer
        - each such involved union; or

   (b)  if there is no involved union in relation to any employee of the
        employer - the health and safety representative of each
        designated work group proposed to be varied.

(4) If, in the course of consultations under subsection (2) or (3), there is a
disagreement between any of the parties to the consultation concerning the
manner of establishing or varying a designated work group, any party may, for
the purpose of facilitating that consultation, refer the matter of
disagreement to the reviewing authority and, where this is done, the parties
to the disagreement must complete the consultation in accordance with the
resolution of that matter by the reviewing authority.

(5) Within 14 days after the completion of consultations concerning the
establishment of the designated work groups, the employer must, by notifying
the employees of the employer, establish the designated work groups in
accordance with the outcome of the consultations.

(6) Within 14 days after the completion of consultations concerning the
variation of designated work groups that have already been established, the
employer must, if it has been determined that the variation of some or all of
those designated work groups is justified, by notifying the employees of the
employer who are affected by the variation, vary the designated work groups in
accordance with the outcome of the consultations.

(7) Consultations relating to the establishment or variation of a designated
work group must be directed principally at the determination of the manner of
grouping employees:

   (a)  that best and most conveniently enables the employees' interests
        relating to occupational health and safety to be represented and
        safeguarded; and

   (b)  that best takes account of the need for any health and safety
        representative selected for that designated work group to be
        accessible to each employee included in the group; and, for these
        purposes, the parties to the consultations must have regard, in
        particular, to:

   (c)  the number of the employees; and

   (d)  the nature of each type of work performed by the employees; and

   (e)  the number and grouping of the employees who perform the same or
        similar types of work; and

   (f)  the workplaces, and the areas within the workplaces, where each type
        of work is performed; and

   (g)  the nature of any risks to health and safety at the workplaces; and

   (h)  any overtime or shift working arrangements at the workplaces.

(8) The designated work groups must be established in such a manner that, and
must only be varied in such a manner that, so far as is reasonably
practicable, each of the employees is included in a designated work group.

(9) All of an employer's employees may be included in one designated work
group.