- Canberra
- Applications close 11 September
- The salary range for this role is $89,576 - $96,829
The Department of Industry, Science and Resources and our broader portfolio are integral to the Australian Government’s economic agenda. Our purpose is to help the government build a better future for all Australians through enabling a productive, resilient and sustainable economy, enriched by science and technology. We do this by:
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Growing innovative & competitive businesses, industries and regions
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Investing in science and technology
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Strengthening the resources sector.
The APS and the department offer a clear direction and meaningful work. You will be able to create positive impact in people’s lives whilst contributing to improved outcomes for Australia and our people.
If you would like to feel a strong connection to your work and you are accountable, committed and open to change, join us in shaping Australia’s future.
Please see the APSC’s APS Employee Value Proposition for more information on the benefits and value of employment within the APS.
The Work Health Safety (WHS) and Wellbeing Section supports the Department to meet its work health and safety obligations, strengthen safe systems of work, and promote a workplace culture that supports both physical safety and psychological wellbeing. The team works in partnership with leaders, managers, workers and specialist stakeholders to provide advice, manage WHS systems and programs, support incident and hazard reporting, coordinate consultation arrangements, and deliver practical tools and initiatives that prevent harm and improve workplace health, safety and wellbeing.
We are part of People Branch, which sits within the Chief Operating Officer Division. People Branch leads the department’s strategic and operational human resources functions, including workforce planning, recruitment and employment programs, capability and talent, employee relations, people support, inclusion, work health and safety, and wellbeing. As part of the COO Division, the branch contributes to the department’s enabling services by supporting a safe, capable, inclusive and high-performing workforce, and by helping leaders and employees access practical people-related advice, systems and support.
The APS5 Work Health and Safety Advisor delivers practical WHS and wellbeing support, advice and coordination services that contribute to a safe, healthy and legislatively compliant workplace. Working under limited direction, the role applies WHS legislation, policies, procedures and systems to routine and moderately complex matters, undertakes WHS activities with a degree of independence, and exercises sound judgement to support compliance with WHS legislative obligations.
Joining our team will give you exposure to a wide range of contemporary WHS issues across a large and diverse organisation. You will have opportunities to build your capability in WHS operations, incident management, consultation, reporting, training and continuous improvement.
Our ideal candidate must possess:
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Sound understanding of WHS legislation, risk management principles, consultation obligations and organisational WHS systems.
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Ability to interpret and apply legislation, policies, procedures and guidance material to provide practical advice on routine and moderately complex WHS matters.
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Well-developed written communication skills, including the ability to prepare clear reports, correspondence, briefings, procedures, meeting material and communication products.
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Strong organisational skills, attention to detail and ability to manage competing priorities, track actions and deliver outcomes within agreed timeframes.
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Sound judgement, initiative and problem-solving skills, including the ability to assess risk, recommend practical options and escalate complex or sensitive matters appropriately.
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Ability to build and maintain productive working relationships, communicate respectfully and confidently, and work collaboratively with managers, workers, HSRs, service providers and other stakeholders.
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Ability to handle confidential and sensitive information with discretion, professionalism and awareness of privacy and procedural fairness considerations.
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Confidence using Microsoft Office applications, electronic records management systems and WHS reporting or incident management systems.
Desirable qualifications or experience:
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Certificate IV in Work Health and Safety, or progress towards a relevant WHS or human resources qualification.
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Experience using WHS incident management systems.
The APS5 WHS Advisor coordinates enquiries, incident and hazard management processes, risk management activities, consultation arrangements, reporting products, and supports WHS programs such as Health and Safety Representatives, First Aid Officers, wellbeing initiatives and psychosocial safety activities, with administrative support from the APS4 WHS Advisor. Key responsibilities include:
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Providing practical WHS advice and support to managers, workers and stakeholders on established legislation, departmental policies, procedures, systems and safe work practices.
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Applying WHS risk management processes in accordance with the WHS Regulations, including hazard identification, risk assessment and implementation of control measures.
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Supporting the management and triage of WHS incidents, hazards and near misses, including initial assessment, tasking, follow-up actions, investigation support, records management and trend monitoring, including identifying matters that may require notifiable incident consideration and escalating appropriately.
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Coordinate or contribute to WHS risk management activities, including providing input into hazard inspections, workstation assessments, first aid needs analysis, psychosocial hazard and risk management activities in line with regulatory requirements, and risk assessments.
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Prepare accurate written material, including reports, brief updates, correspondence, meeting papers, procedures, guidance material, dashboards and communication products.
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Maintain WHS records, registers, spreadsheets, dashboards and inputs to reporting products to support compliance monitoring, governance and management decision-making.
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Liaise with internal stakeholders (including Health and Safety Representatives and First Aid Officers), external service providers and relevant business areas to obtain information, resolve moderately complex issues and support timely WHS outcomes and support administration of health and wellbeing programs.
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Contribute to WHS training, awareness activities, wellbeing initiatives and continuous improvement projects that strengthen workplace health, safety and wellbeing capability.
To be eligible for employment in the APS and the department, candidates must be Australian Citizens.
Positions require a Baseline security clearance and successful candidates will be required to obtain and maintain a clearance at this level.
Please note, this is an expected vacancy. This round will be used to fill positions as they arise over the next 18 months.
The department does currently offer flexible work opportunities for many roles. This vacancy is Canberra based, although flexible or remote work arrangements may be considered. Please reach out to the contact officer to discuss this further.
Your application must not contain any classified or sensitive information. This includes in your application responses, CV and any other documents. The selection panel may not consider applications containing classified information.
Please provide a pitch explaining how your skills, knowledge and experience will be relevant to this role and why you are the best candidate for the position. Your pitch can contain no more than 750 words and should align to the key duties listed above.
You may use AI tools to support your application. However, all content must be accurate, authentic, and reflect your own capability in line with APS merit principles. For further guidance, please refer to the APSC’s Principles for candidate use of AI in recruitment.
Please complete your application online and provide your current CV with your application. (CVs must be in .doc, .docx, or .pdf format).
Accessible application documentation is available in other formats on request. Please contact [email protected] or (02) 6276 1235 if you require assistance with your application.
Please refer to our Applying for a position information for additional information on how to apply.
For more information regarding this opportunity, please contact Sam Junor on 02 6102 9135 or via email on [email protected]
