NPORS Operator Card

Correct: Under the WHS Act, discriminatory, coercive, or misleading conduct against a worker for performing WHS-related roles is a serious offense. The primary criteria must be the immediate protection of the worker from further psychosocial harm and adverse actions (victimisation), as this ensures the safety of the individual and preserves the legal right of workers to participate in consultation and representation without fear of reprisal.

Incorrect: Focusing solely on technical audits ignores the PCBU’s duty to manage psychosocial risks and the legal implications of victimisation. Confidential mediation aimed at avoiding regulatory notification may bypass mandatory legal protections and fail to address the underlying breach of the WHS Act. Broad-scale surveys are useful for long-term improvement but fail to provide the immediate protection and intervention required for a worker currently experiencing adverse actions.

Takeaway: The protection of workers from victimisation is a critical legal and psychosocial duty that must take precedence to ensure the effectiveness of WHS consultation and representation frameworks.

Correct: Under the Australian WHS Act (Sections 104-109), it is an offense to engage in discriminatory conduct for a prohibited reason, such as a worker raising a WHS concern. In a legal context, there is a reverse onus of proof in civil proceedings where the defendant must prove that the prohibited reason was not a substantial reason for the conduct. Therefore, the most critical control is the PCBU’s ability to provide documented, objective evidence that any adverse action (like denying a bonus) was unrelated to the worker’s safety activities.

Incorrect: Providing summaries of protections is a procedural step but does not validate whether retaliation actually occurred or if controls are preventing it. Escalating all complaints to the Board is a governance structure but does not address the specific evidentiary requirement to prove the absence of discriminatory intent. Mandatory mediation is not a requirement under the WHS Act for retaliation cases and could potentially be used as a tool for further intimidation rather than a protective control.

Takeaway: To comply with WHS anti-discrimination provisions, organizations must maintain objective evidence that adverse actions against workers are not motivated by the worker’s involvement in WHS matters.

Correct: Under the Model WHS Act and the specific regulations concerning psychosocial risks, a Person Conducting a Business or Undertaking (PCBU) has a primary duty of care to ensure the health and safety of workers, which includes psychological health. This requires a proactive risk management approach: identifying psychosocial hazards (like third-party harassment), assessing the risks they pose, and implementing control measures according to the hierarchy of control to eliminate or minimize those risks so far as is reasonably practicable.

Incorrect: Updating handbooks and providing EAP services are considered administrative controls or tertiary interventions; they do not fulfill the proactive requirement to manage the risk at its source. Quarterly meetings and consultation are necessary components of a WHS management system but do not, on their own, constitute a complete risk management framework or the implementation of effective controls. Transferring liability through insurance or relying solely on client agreements fails to meet the non-delegable duty of care to provide a safe work environment and manage internal operational hazards.

Takeaway: PCBUs must manage psychosocial hazards, including harassment, by applying a systematic risk management process and the hierarchy of control to ensure worker health and safety.

Correct: Under the Model WHS Regulations and the Code of Practice for Managing Psychosocial Hazards at Work, discrimination is recognized as a psychosocial hazard. The PCBU has a legal duty to manage this risk using the standard risk management process: identifying the hazard, assessing the risk, and implementing controls. Crucially, the WHS Act requires consultation with workers who are, or are likely to be, affected by a health and safety matter. Integrating this into the existing WHSMS ensures that discrimination is treated with the same rigor as physical hazards, focusing on systemic prevention rather than just individual grievance resolution.

Incorrect: Treating discrimination solely as an industrial relations or HR matter fails to meet the PCBU’s obligations under WHS legislation to manage it as a health and safety risk. Relying primarily on training is a low-level administrative control that does not address systemic or environmental factors that allow discrimination to occur. Benchmarking and data collection are useful for monitoring, but they do not satisfy the proactive duty to identify hazards and implement the hierarchy of controls to eliminate or minimize risks so far as is reasonably practicable.

Takeaway: Discrimination must be managed as a psychosocial hazard within the WHS risk management framework, emphasizing proactive hazard identification and consultation with affected workers.

Correct: Under the Australian WHS Act, a PCBU has a primary duty of care to ensure the health and safety of workers, which includes protecting them from psychosocial hazards such as victimization and bullying. When victimization is identified, the PCBU must apply the risk management framework: identifying the hazard, assessing the risk to the worker’s psychological health, and implementing controls. Reviewing existing policies ensures that systemic failures contributing to the victimization are addressed, fulfilling the requirement for continuous improvement in WHS management systems.

Incorrect: Transferring a worker without consultation can be perceived as further victimization or an adverse action. Relying solely on HR disciplinary processes ignores the PCBU’s specific WHS obligation to manage the health and safety risks. Waiting for a regulator to intervene is a failure of the proactive duty to manage risks as soon as they are known. General training is an insufficient control measure for a specific, identified risk to an individual’s safety and does not address the immediate need for protection and support.

Takeaway: Victimization must be treated as a psychosocial hazard requiring a proactive risk management response to protect the worker’s health and safety in accordance with the PCBU’s primary duty of care.

Correct: Under the Australian WHS Act and the 2022 amendments to the Model WHS Regulations, a PCBU has a primary duty of care to ensure, so far as is reasonably practicable, the health and safety of workers, which includes psychological health. Discrimination and exclusionary practices are recognized psychosocial hazards. To meet this duty, the PCBU must proactively identify these hazards and implement the hierarchy of controls within their formal WHS management system, rather than treating them solely as HR or conduct issues.

Incorrect: Updating EEO policies focuses on administrative conduct and disciplinary frameworks rather than the proactive risk management of health and safety hazards required by WHS legislation. Conducting a one-off survey is a useful data-gathering tool but does not satisfy the ongoing requirement to maintain a risk management framework or provide adequate controls. Delegating the responsibility to an external agency is a violation of the WHS Act, as the primary duty of care is non-delegable and remains with the PCBU.

Takeaway: PCBUs must treat discrimination and bias as foreseeable psychosocial hazards within their formal WHS risk management processes to fulfill their primary duty of care.

Correct: Under the Australian WHS Act, a Person Conducting a Business or Undertaking (PCBU) has a primary duty of care to ensure the health and safety of workers, which includes psychological health. Victimisation is a significant psychosocial hazard. The risk management framework requires that once a hazard is identified, the PCBU must assess the risk and implement control measures to eliminate or minimize it as far as reasonably practicable. Implementing interim protective measures ensures immediate safety while the underlying cause is investigated.

Incorrect: Referring the matter solely to HR treats a safety hazard as a disciplinary issue, which fails to satisfy the PCBU’s specific WHS obligations to manage psychological risks. Waiting for a financial audit to conclude before addressing safety concerns violates the principle that health and safety duties are non-delegable and must be addressed promptly. Relying on an Employee Assistance Program (EAP) is a tertiary intervention that focuses on the individual’s response to the harm rather than addressing the organizational hazard or implementing higher-level controls in the hierarchy of risk management.

Takeaway: Victimisation is a psychosocial hazard that requires a proactive risk management approach and immediate protective measures under the PCBU’s primary duty of care.

Correct: Under the Australian WHS Act, discriminatory conduct or victimisation against workers who exercise their safety rights is a serious breach. The primary risk in this scenario is psychosocial, as the fear of reprisal (victimisation) creates a culture of silence. This prevents the PCBU from identifying and managing hazards, ultimately leading to psychological harm and increased physical risk. Mitigation must involve a culture of transparency, ‘no-blame’ reporting, and strict adherence to the legal protections that forbid adverse actions against workers for raising safety concerns.

Incorrect: Focusing solely on fatigue management systems fails to address the underlying issue of victimisation and the resulting suppression of the reporting culture. While industrial relations and payroll are important, they do not address the core WHS risk of psychological injury and hazard concealment. Increasing the frequency of committee meetings or HSR powers is beneficial but does not directly mitigate the specific risk of workers being targeted for their participation in safety activities.

Takeaway: Protecting workers from victimisation is a statutory duty that is critical for maintaining the integrity of a WHS management system and preventing the development of psychosocial hazards.

Correct: Under the WHS Act, it is an offense to take ‘adverse action’ (victimisation) against a worker because they have raised a WHS concern or performed a role as a Health and Safety Representative. Implementing a formal review process to monitor the status of these workers is a proactive control measure within a WHSMS to ensure that the PCBU is meeting its duty of care to protect workers from psychological harm and to ensure that the reporting culture is not undermined by discriminatory practices.

Incorrect: Increasing general training is a secondary control that does not address the specific systemic failure to monitor for adverse actions already occurring in the management layer. Confidentiality agreements can hinder transparent consultation and do not address the root cause of management-led victimisation. Mandatory transfers often constitute adverse action or victimisation themselves, as they may disrupt the worker’s career or personal life without their consent, failing to address the underlying behavior of the supervisors or the initial hazard.

Takeaway: PCBUs must implement active monitoring and protective measures to ensure workers are not subjected to adverse actions or victimisation after exercising their rights under WHS legislation.

Correct: Under the Australian WHS Act, a Person Conducting a Business or Undertaking (PCBU) has a primary duty of care to ensure, so far as is reasonably practicable, the health and safety of workers. This duty extends to protecting workers from psychosocial hazards, including harassment from third parties such as clients. The correct approach involves applying the risk management framework: identifying the hazard, assessing the risk, and implementing control measures (like changing meeting protocols) to minimize the risk so far as is reasonably practicable, while supporting the affected worker.

Incorrect: The suggestion that the WHS Act only applies to internal employee conduct is incorrect; the duty of care covers risks arising from the conduct of any person at the workplace, including clients. While eliminating a hazard is the first priority in the hierarchy of controls, immediate termination of a contract without a risk assessment or considering other ‘reasonably practicable’ measures may not be the only or most appropriate response. Reassigning a worker to a lower-paid role as a response to harassment is inappropriate and could be considered adverse action or victimization, rather than a valid WHS control measure.

Takeaway: The PCBU’s primary duty of care requires the proactive management of psychosocial risks, including third-party harassment, through the application of the risk management process and the hierarchy of controls.