By David Clarke (NSWTF member, Fed Rep & HSR) – Part 3 of 3

Are you allowed to run a single HSR at a sprawling comprehensive high school and call the job done? Of course not. In fact, if you take safety seriously, you shouldn’t.

The HSR project is not a fantasy of safety alone; it is power in practice. This final instalment, the third in a series of three, digs into the grit of running multiple HSRs, pushing back against bureaucratic indifference, and protecting workers without being ground down by management. Safety work here is treated not as a compliance exercise handed down from on high, but as a field of collective mobilisation, built by workers, for workers.

Deputy HSRs: beyond a token deputy

All school and TAFE worksites should have a HSR and a deputy HSR as a floor, not a ceiling.[1] Complex schools and TAFEs demand more than one on-site advocate. The WHS Act does not mandate a single deputy; numbers should be the product of democratic negotiation, not administrative convenience.[2] The decision of how many HSRs and DHSRs a worksite needs should be made by the workers themselves, through an onsite cross-union meeting.

At least two primary HSRs spread the load, reduce burnout, and keep response rates honest. A deputy is valuable but cannot substitute for a second, fully empowered primary HSR. At least one school in NSW now runs with three, a shift that stabilises safety leadership and improves responses. The lesson is clear: spread the weight to sustain the work of building worker-to-worker union power.

Stress and distress in our schools and TAFEs are real, and the toll is tangible: sleeplessness, anxiety, burnout.[3] Principals’ support matters, but the department’s role must be scrutinised. Principals are workplace leaders, yet they lack the funding and levers to fix every problem alone.[4] Public accountability, documented incidents, and regulator engagement are essential. When principals back the HSR and Federation programs, meaningful change follows. When they don’t, the gap is filled by bureaucratic box-ticking, which helps nobody except those managing the appearance of safety rather than its substance.

Challenging the department and claiming WHS space

There is a pattern of resistance and obfuscation from parts of the system, and we should name it plainly. Government departments, like any employer, have an institutional interest in minimising liability rather than maximising safety. These are not the same project, however often they are dressed up as one.

The Federation must claim WHS space as our own, press for transparency, and demand accountability. The fight for safety is a fight for a measure of democracy in the schoolyard, and a small but real step toward a more just distribution of power more broadly. The HSR is not a box-ticking exercise; it is a lever for union power and genuine safety. WHS law emerged from decades of union struggle, most notably the work of the Builders Labourers’ Federation in the 1970s, and it belongs to us, not to ministerial checklists.[5] HSRs are a working-class power tool: embedded in school and TAFE worksites, supported by members through worker-to-worker organising, and connected to collective bargaining. HSRs and the union are one and the same project.

Democratic election and mandate: strengthening the electoral base

A central political question is how to strengthen HSR elections without compromising democratic rights. As previously stated, before a worksite holds a HSR election, union members should get together to develop a motion specifying how many HSRs the workers think the worksite needs. Prior to this meeting, union reps and workplace committees should work together to “map” the workplace, ensuring that the exercise strengthens the collective power of the union rather than merely filling a vacancy.[6]

We should not accept the line that “you can’t influence elections.” Instead, union reps, with the support of the membership and the organiser, should pursue negotiated elections at their worksite. This is not rigging; it is democratic organisation, ensuring HSRs have the backing of workers and a clear mandate from members. A mandate freely given by an organised membership is not a corruption of democracy. It is what democracy looks like when it is more than a formality.

A reality check on NSW coverage and the path to universality

NSW currently has around ten per cent of schools with even one HSR.[7] That is the material basis we have to work with. If we raise participation to at least one HSR per school and TAFE, safety outcomes and workplace power rise together. We want exponential growth, not incremental gains. The task is to embed safety and union work, build momentum, and press the Federation to enforce the Act so universal HSR representation becomes a reality.

This is not a technical target. It is a question of whether workers or management set the terms of the workplace. That is how we win safer schools and TAFEs, and a stronger labour movement alongside them.

A final word on power in practice

The HSR project, in its final stage, is a disciplined, patient, collective endeavour. It is about building networks, guarding against burnout, and keeping safety at the heart of the fight for a more democratic, people-powered education system. Multi-HSR sites, protected time, transparent processes, and robust electoral backing: these are the levers. When we use them, safety becomes not an end in itself but a training ground, one small front in the broader contest over who really runs the workplace.

Series closure

This completes the three-part PEWA series on using the HSR within the NSW Work Health and Safety Act 2011 to build worker-to-worker union power in schools. The first article laid the groundwork for the HSR as a lever for democratic governance and power; the second article expanded to a Federation-wide network; and this final piece has set out the practical, political tactics for scaling up, safeguarding workers, and sustaining long-term union power.

Endnotes

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[1] NSW Government, Work Health and Safety 2011 No 10, NSW, 50-55.

[2] SafeWork NSW, “HSR Elections,” SafeWork NSW, https://www.safework.nsw.gov.au/resource-library/consultation/hsr-elections

[3] Samantha Dunn, “Teachers’ depression, anxiety and stress at three time the national norm: new study,” UNSW Sydney Newsroom, 2026, https://www.unsw.edu.au/newsroom/news/2025/08/teachers-depression-anxiety-and-stress-three-times-national-norm

[4] NSW Teachers Federation, “Federation conference provides principals with important advice on WHS and meeting student need,” NSW Teachers Federation, 2026, https://www.nswtf.org.au/news/2026/09/22/federation-conference-provides-principals-with-important-advice-on-whs-and-meeting-student-need/

[5] Spirit of Eureka, “The Builders Labourers Federation ‘Never Powerless’ – Lessons for the 21st Century,” Spirit of Eureka, https://au.spiritofeureka.org/the-builders-labourers-federation-never-powerless-lessons-for-the-21st-century/

[6] Industrial Workers of the World, “Mapping-The Basics,” Industrial Workers of the World, 2020, https://iww.org.uk/resource/mapping-the-basics/

[7] AEU NSW Teachers Federation, Inquiry into 2026 Review of the Work Health and Safety Scheme, Submission No 37, https://files.parliament.nsw.gov.au/fileapi/ParlFiles/GetArtifact/0037%20NSW%20Teachers%20Federation.pdf?serverRelativeUrl=%2Flcdocs%2Fsubmissions%2F94647%2F0037%20NSW%20Teachers%20Federation.pdf

Bibliography

AEU NSW Teachers Federation. Inquiry into 2026 Review of the Work Health and Safety Scheme. Submission No. 37. https://files.parliament.nsw.gov.au/fileapi/ParlFiles/GetArtifact/0037%20NSW%20Teachers%20Federation.pdf?serverRelativeUrl=%2Flcdocs%2Fsubmissions%2F94647%2F0037%20NSW%20Teachers%20Federation.pdf.

Dunn, Samantha. “Teachers’ Depression, Anxiety and Stress at Three Time the National Norm: New Study.” UNSW Sydney Newsroom, 2026. https://www.unsw.edu.au/newsroom/news/2025/08/teachers-depression-anxiety-and-stress-three-times-national-norm.

Industrial Workers of the World. “Mapping—The Basics.” Industrial Workers of the World, 2020. https://iww.org.uk/resource/mapping-the-basics/.

NSW Government. Work Health and Safety Act 2011 No 10. (NSW), Sydney: NSW Parliamentary Counsel’s Office.

NSW Teachers Federation. “Federation Conference Provides Principals with Important Advice on WHS and Meeting Student Need.” NSW Teachers Federation, 2026. https://www.nswtf.org.au/news/2026/09/22/federation-conference-provides-principals-with-important-advice-on-whs-and-meeting-student-need/.

SafeWork NSW. “HSR Elections.” SafeWork NSW. https://www.safework.nsw.gov.au/resource-library/consultation/hsr-elections.

Spirit of Eureka. “The Builders Labourers Federation ‘Never Powerless’ – Lessons for the 21st Century.” Spirit of Eureka. https://au.spiritofeureka.org/the-builders-labourers-federation-never-powerless-lessons-for-the-21st-century/.