University Safety Committee Administrative Procedures

1. Introduction

The University Safety Committee is required to comply with the requirements of the Western Australian Occupational Safety And Health Act 1984, Part IV - Safety and Health Representatives and Committees.

The University has committees directly reporting to Senate and the Academic Council and has other main committees classified as ‘Other Boards and Committees’. The University Safety Committee is grouped in the latter category. It does not have a regular reporting mechanism to the Senate or Academic Council although it is required to inform senior management at the University on specific matters as required.

The University Safety Committee has four sub-Committees reporting to it including the Institutional Biosafety Committee, Carcinogen, Mutagen and Teratogen Committee, Radiation Safety Committee and Ventilation Committee. Additional Working Parties are sometimes formed to investigate and implement specific topics of concern to the University Safety Committee.

2. Role

The role of the University Safety Committee is to;

1. Assist the University in complying with statutory occupational safety and health obligations and best practice requirements to provide safe workplaces and safe work practices
2. Assist workplaces and individuals by supporting the provision of occupational safety and health information, instruction, training and financial assistance as required
3. Provide an open forum to raise occupational safety and health issues and assistance with resolving such issues
4. Review and approve occupational safety and health policies, procedures and programmes for continuous improvement in these areas
5. Monitor occupational safety and health performance at the University
6. Advise the University community of occupational safety and health responsibilities, performance and issues as required
7. Promote a culture of safety throughout the University

3. Membership

The committee shall comprise of

1. Director, Human Resources or nominee
2. Director, Facilities Management or nominee
3. Director, University Health Services or nominee
4. Two members of the Academic staff, nominated by the Vice-Chancellor
5. One member nominated by and from the University Managers Group
6. Six members nominated by and from the current University Safety and Health Representatives
7. Up to two coopted members, provided that at least one is a current University Safety and Health Representative

Members appointed under paragraph (2)(f) shall have one-year terms of office, but may be reappointed. A call for nominations for these will made before the end of April to commence on the Committee at the next following meeting.

Other persons are invited to attend to provide representation from specific areas (Post Graduates Association), administrative support and for advice on specific topics or areas. Invited persons do not have voting rights.

UWA Safety and Health provide administrative support for the University Safety Committee.

4. Office Bearers

The Chair and Deputy Chair shall be elected annually by and from the members. The Chair of the meeting shall have an ordinary and a casting vote. The Chair, or in their absence the Deputy Chair, shall have the duty of chairing meetings.

The Secretary shall carry out his/her duties under the direction of the Committee and shall issue notice of meetings to all members and invited persons see to the keeping of a true record of all meetings and attending to correspondence. The Secretary does not need to be an ordinary member.

5. Meetings

The University Safety Committee shall meet six times a year, generally on the second Tuesday of all even months. The meeting dates are published in the Principal Dates Calendar.

The agenda for meeting should be distributed to all members and invited persons no later than three working days prior to the meeting.

6. Proceedings at Meetings

Six members present shall constitute a quorum.

Every ordinary member present, including the Chair shall be entitled to one vote upon every motion. In the event of a tied vote, the Chair shall have a casting vote. The Committee shall make rules for absent ordinary members to vote by proxy or in writing.


For decisions that need to be made outside of the normal meeting times then the Secretary will ensure that all ordinary members are notified via either letter, facsimile or email and given at least four working days in which to respond. 


The University Safety Committee is required to approve all requests for minor works funding for single items costing more than $2,000. UWA Safety and Health is approved to authorise expenditures for amounts less than $2,000 and report all minor works expenditures to the University Safety Committee.


The University Safety Committee is required to formerly approve safety and health policies and procedures as required.


7. Minutes of Meetings

Minutes of all meetings shall normally be distributed via email to all ordinary members and invited guests, unless requested specifically in writing. Once minutes have been approved they will be displayed on the UWA Safety and Health home page.


8. Policy Approval Guidelines

The procedure for development and approval of University safety and health policies is as follows:


1. Policy drafted or reviewed by either the UWA Safety and Health or a USC working party. Policy development is to include consultation and input from all interested stakeholders at the University. Interested stakeholders generally include:
Senior Management (Vice-Chancellery, Executive Deans, Central Administration), Heads of Schools, Centres and Sections; , Safety and Health Representatives; The University Safety and Health Network; and Other specialists as necessary.
2. First draft policy is presented to the University Safety Committee for comment and placed on the UWA Safety and Health’s “What’s New” web page.
3. Comment on draft policy is received from Committee members up to two weeks following the University Safety Committee meeting at which it was presented.
4. Amendments are incorporated into the policy as required and in consultation with interested stakeholders (three weeks).
5. The second draft policy is distributed to the University Safety Committee members and UWA Safety and Health for further comment (two weeks).
6. The final draft of the policy is submitted to the University Safety Committee for approval at its next meeting. If further comment is made and amendments are required the process returns to section (d).
7. Once approved by the University Safety Committee all relevant Executive Deans and Head of Schools, Centres and Sections are advised of the new or reviewed policy. Policies are to be located under the “Policies’ section of the UWA Safety and Health’s website.

 

9. Annual Report

The Committee shall provide an annual report on its activities to the Vice-Chancellor and to all other interested parties.

Further Information

Further information is available from the ‘Committees Section’ of the UWA Safety and Health home page at: http://www.safety.uwa.edu.au/people/committees