The Role of Federal Safety Officers
The Federal Safety Commissioner (FSC) has the power to appoint Federal Safety Officers (FSOs) under subsection 60 of the Building and Construction Industry Improvement Act 2005 (the Act).
The role of FSOs is to act as third party auditors, conducting on-site auditing of companies seeking accreditation or who are currently accredited under the Australian Government Building and Construction OHS Accreditation Scheme. FSOs conduct audits as part of an accreditation application, as well as undertaking performance monitoring during the currency of projects. Auditing will allow the Federal Safety Commissioner to evaluate the ongoing capacity of companies to meet the requirements of the accreditation scheme.
Under the Act, the FSC may appoint the following persons as FSOs:
- Australian Government employees;
- state or territory government employees; and
- consultants engaged on behalf of the Commonwealth.
FSOs will measure compliance in a number of key areas, including:
- implementation of OHS management systems;
- implementation of the scheme OHS focus points;
- the ability to identify and manage scheduled risks and hazards; and
- monitoring the implementation of any performance improvements identified during the auditing process.
The Federal Safety Commissioner is also a Federal Safety Officer, appointed by the Minister for Employment and Workplace Relations.
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Subsections 62 and 63 of the Act provide FSOs with powers to undertake audits to ascertain compliance with the conditions of accreditation. FSOs will be required to comply with any directions of the FSC.
The powers of FSOs include:
- entering premises, without force, to inspect building work to which the Australian Government Building and Construction OHS Accreditation Scheme applies;
- inspecting any work, material, machinery, appliance, article or facility;
- taking samples of any goods or substance, as prescribed by the regulations;
- entering premises, without force, in order to interview any person believed to have information regarding compliance;
- inspecting and making copies of documents believed to be relevant to compliance;
- requesting copies of documents within a specified period; and
- retaining originals of documents upon presentation of a receipt.
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Each FSO must be provided with an FSO Identity Card in accordance with subsection 61(1) of the Act.
The identity card contains:
- the officer’s name;
- a recent photograph;
- the date of issue and expiry; and
- the signature of the FSC.
The FSO must carry the identity card at all times when exercising powers or performing functions as a Federal Safety Officer and must identify themselves as an FSO and present this identity card for inspection prior to interviewing persons on any site.
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Related Links
General Directions to Federal Safety Officers 2005
Fact Sheets