Inspectors and workplace issues

Provisional Improvement Notices (PINs) 

A PIN is a notice that is issued by an health and safety representative (HSR) to a person requiring them to address a health and safety concern in the workplace.

A PIN may be issued if an HSR reasonably believes that a person is contravening or has contravened a provision of the Work Health and Safety Act 2011 (the Act) in circumstances that make it likely that the contravention will continue or be repeated.

Before a PIN is issued, consultation must take place between the HSR and the person they believe is contravening the WHS Act or Regulations.  Consultation allows everyone involved to discuss their concerns and may also result in the issue being resolved before a PIN is issued. HSRs can only issue a PIN if they have completed approved HSR training.

Additionally, a PIN cannot be issued for a matter that an inspector has already addressed. See the Health and Safety Representative Training and the Provisional Improvement Notice (PIN) sections of the HSR toolkit for more information.

Unless an inspector is requested to review the PIN, the person who has been issued with the notice must comply within the specified time.

Review of a Provisional Improvement Notice

The person issued with a PIN, or if they are a worker, their person conducting a business or undertaking (PCBU), can ask the regulator to appoint an inspector to review the notice. This request must be made within seven days after the PIN was issued. The regulator must ensure that an inspector attends the workplace as soon as practicable after a request has been made.

If a request for an inspector is made, the PIN is temporarily suspended until the inspector determines the matter.

The inspector must review the PIN and inquire into the circumstances surrounding the issue. An inspector can review a notice even if the compliance period outlined in the PIN has expired.

How does an inspector review a Provisional Improvement Notice?

To review a notice, an inspector will seek information from both the issuing HSR and the person to whom it was issued. The review includes determining why a notice was issued, whether the notice was correctly issued and why it is being disputed.

After an inspector has reviewed the PIN, they must either:

  • confirm the PIN
  • confirm the PIN with changes, or
  • cancel the PIN.

Confirming the PIN, with or without changes, is taken to be an improvement notice that has been issued by the inspector under the WHS Act. An improvement notice still requires a person to remedy a contravention, but it is issued directly from the inspector.

Once an inspector has reached a decision, they must give a copy of their decision to the person who requested the PIN to be reviewed, and also to the HSR who issued the notice. If the person issued with the PIN, the HSR who issued the notice, an affected worker, another affected HSR or a PCBU does not agree with the decision, they can request the regulator to review the inspector's decision.

For more information on PINs, see the Provisional Improvement Notices (PINs) and Cease Unsafe Work section of the HSR Toolkit.

Issue resolution 

An ‘issue’ is any concern about health and safety that remains unresolved after the PCBU has consulted with the affected workers.

If reasonable efforts have been made to resolve a health and safety issue but it remains unresolved, any party involved in the issue can ask WorkSafe ACT to appoint an inspector to attend the workplace and help resolve the matter.

WorkSafe ACT’s inspectors can exercise any of their compliance powers under the WHS Act, including providing advice, investigating contraventions or issuing notices.

There are some things WorkSafe ACT inspectors cannot do, such as:

  • provide legal advice
  • mediate between the workplace parties involved
  • provide counselling
  • order the employer or business (or other PCBU) to discipline any worker or terminate their employment
  • take sides
  • deal with industrial matters or discrimination, or
  • issue an order to stop bullying behaviour (the Fair Work Commission has powers to issue these orders if required).


For further information on issue resolution, see the Issue Resolution section of the HSR Toolkit.

Health and Safety Committees

Health and safety committees can assist PCBUs to collaborate with workers and HSRs on health and safety matters that impact the workplace.

If workers and the PCBU cannot agree on the membership of a health and safety committee within a reasonable time, they may ask WorkSafe ACT to appoint an inspector to decide the matter.

The inspector can decide the constitution of the health and safety committee or that the committee should not be established. The inspector’s decision is taken to be an agreement between the workers and the PCBU. However, if an affected worker, PCBU or HSR does not agree with the inspector’s decision, they can request WorkSafe ACT to review the decision.

For more information, see the Health and Safety Committees section of the HSR Toolkit.

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