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NATURE OF THE CONSULTATION
What does it mean for me?

• Participation in matters that affect your health and safety.
• Opportunity to express opinions on matters that affect your health and safety.
• Added value to the University's Safety Management System.
• Feedback and a sense of accomplishment.
• Effective management.
• Win-win benefits.
• Lower rates of injury and disease.

Through consultation, employers can become more aware of hazards and OHS issues experienced by employees.

Employees can provide suggestions about how to solve health and safety problems.

Employee participation enables the employee to contribute to determining how the work can be undertaken safely.

The nature of consultation under the Act enables employers to:

• Participate in the sharing of relevant information about occupational health, safety (OHS) and welfare with employees.
• Give employees the opportunity to express their opinions and views and to contribute in a timely fashion to the resolution of OHS and welfare issues at their place of work.
• Ensure that the views of employees are valued and taken into account when dealing with OHS matters.
• Provide feedback to employees about OHS matters through effective consultation mechanisms.

Consultation between employers and employees is an essential part of effectively managing health and safety at work.

Other win-win benefits include:

• A more diverse range of ideas to improve management decisions.
• Improved understanding and commitment to OHS.
• Ownership of the solution or process.
• Increased trust between management and employees and better understanding of the other's point of view.

Numerous studies have identified that employers who effectively manage health and safety are more likely to have:

• Lower rates of injury and disease.
• Planned and systematic approaches in place for health and safety.
• Strong senior management commitment to OHS consultation and improving safety performance.
• Meaningful consultation with employees about risks and how to control them.

Consultation should be viewed not just as a legal requirement, but as a valuable means of improving the employer's decision-making about health and safety matters.