Victorian Consolidated Legislation

Occupational Health and Safety Act 2004 - SECT 67

Obligation to train health and safety representatives

67. Obligation to train health and safety representatives



(1) An employer must, if requested by a health and safety representative for a
designated work group of which employees of the employer are members, allow
the representative to attend the following courses-

   (a)  an initial course of training in occupational health and safety after
        being elected;

   (b)  a refresher course at least once in each year, after completing the
        initial course of training, that he or she holds office.

(2) A request to attend a course must not be made less than 14 days before the
course is to start.

(3) A course must be-

   (a)  approved or conducted by the Authority; and

   (b)  relevant to the work of the members of the designated work group or
        the role of health and safety representatives; and

   (c)  subject to subsection (5), chosen by the health and safety
        representative in consultation with the employer.

(4) The employer must-

   (a)  allow each health and safety representative time off work to attend
        the courses with such pay as he or she would otherwise be entitled to
        receive from the employer for working during that period; and





   (b)  pay the costs associated with each health and safety representative's
        attendance at the courses.

Note If the health and safety representative represents a designated work
group of the employees of more than one employer, section 68 provides for the
apportionment of those costs among the employers.

(5) If an employer refuses to allow a health and safety representative to
attend a course or they cannot agree on a particular course, the
representative may ask the Authority to determine a specified course that the
representative may attend for the purposes of subsection (1)(a) or (b).

(6) A determination must be in writing and the Authority must ensure that it
is not made less than 14 days before the specified course is to start.

(7) An employer who, without reasonable excuse, refuses to allow a health and
safety representative to attend a course specified in such a determination is
guilty of an offence and liable to a fine not exceeding-

   (a)  in the case of a natural person, 60 penalty units; or

   (b)  in the case of a body corporate, 300 penalty units.

(8) If-

   (a)  a health and safety representative represents a designated work group
        of the employees of more than one employer; and

   (b)  any of those employers has complied with this section in respect of
        the representative-

each of those employers is to be taken to have complied with this section in
respect of the representative.