Victorian Consolidated Legislation

Occupational Health and Safety Act 2004 - SECT 56

Disqualification of health and safety representatives

56. Disqualification of health and safety representatives



(1) An employer may apply to the Magistrates' Court to have a health and
safety representative disqualified on the ground that the representative has
done any of the following things intending to cause harm to the employer or
the undertaking of the employer-

   (a)  issued a provisional improvement notice to the employer or an employee
        of the employer in circumstances where the representative could not
        reasonably have held the belief referred to in section 60;

   (b)  issued a direction to cease work under section 74;

   (c)  exercised any other power under this Part;

   (d)  used any information he or she acquired from the employer for a
        purpose that is not connected with his or her exercise of a power
        under this Part.

(2) If the Magistrates' Court is satisfied that the ground in subsection (1)
is established, it may disqualify the health and safety representative for a
specified period or permanently.





(3) For the purpose of determining what (if any) action to take under
subsection (2), the Magistrates' Court must take into account-

   (a)  what (if any) harm was caused to the employer or the undertaking of
        the employer by or as a result of the action of the health and safety
        representative; and

   (b)  the past record of the health and safety representative in exercising
        powers under this Part.