If you are asking what does occupational health and safety officer do day to day, you are likely juggling risk, culture, and performance. Safety is not just about ticking boxes. It is about people going home well, teams performing at their best, and leaders building a culture where healthy habits are normal.
Done well, safety officers reduce injury, prevent burnout, and improve focus and energy across the business. That means fewer claims, better engagement, and a stronger reputation for caring about people.
In this guide, we explain the key responsibilities of safety officers, why they matter for health and performance, common roadblocks, and a practical action plan you can apply this quarter.
What is The Role Of An Occupational Health And Safety Officer?
An occupational health and safety officer supports the business to meet legal duties, reduce harm, and enable healthy high performance. They assess risks, design controls, educate people, and monitor what is working. In modern workplaces, this covers physical risks, psychosocial risks, and the systems that hold it all together.
The scope spans policy, training, data, consultation, incident response, contractor management, audits, and continuous improvement aligned to the risk profile of the organisation.
Why it Matters
Safety is foundational to health, decision making, and performance. Chronic stress and fatigue impair attention, memory, and reaction time. That raises the chance of errors and injuries. Addressing risks early protects people and productivity.
Australian guidance recognises both physical and psychosocial hazards. Safe Work Australia’s model Code of Practice on managing psychosocial hazards sets clear expectations for risk management, consultation, and review. See the Code of Practice on psychosocial hazards from
Safe Work Australia.
Musculoskeletal disorders remain a major cause of lost time and claims. Evidence based controls include
ergonomic design, task rotation, and early reporting. Mental health is also central. Work design, workload, autonomy, and support influence wellbeing and performance.
Key Responsibilities Of Safety Officers Explained
Here is what does occupational health and safety officer do in practical terms across a typical year.
Risk Identification And Assessment
Map hazards across tasks, locations, and roles, including psychosocial risks like high job demand, low control, poor support, and exposure to aggression. Use incident data, observations, consultation, and surveys.
Control Design And Implementation
Apply the hierarchy of controls. Engineer hazards out where possible, optimise job design and rostering, build clear procedures, and provide fit for purpose equipment. For desk based staff, invest in ergonomics and micro movement strategies.
Consultation And Training
Engage workers, health and safety representatives, and leaders. Deliver targeted, scenario based training and refreshers that build practical skills, not just awareness.
Monitoring And Review
Track leading and lagging indicators. Review controls after incidents, near misses, and change. Share results with teams and act on feedback. For measurement ideas, see Better Being on
measuring wellbeing.
Incident Response And Investigation
Coordinate first response, reporting, investigation, and corrective actions. Focus on systems and contributory factors, not blame.
Contractor And Supplier Management
Ensure contractors meet your safety standards. Align permits, inductions, supervision, and verification of competency to the scope of work.
Integration With Wellbeing And Performance
Connect safety with energy, recovery, movement, and mental fitness. This prevents injuries, reduces fatigue, and lifts productivity.
Common Barriers
- Lack of time and competing priorities across projects and audits
- Confusion about psychosocial risk and how to assess it meaningfully
- Variable leader buy in and inconsistent role modelling
- Training that raises awareness but does not change behaviour at the task level
How To Strengthen Safety And Wellbeing
Run A Focused Risk Sprint
Pick one high risk process and one high volume everyday task. Complete short assessments, review controls, and test a practical improvement within four weeks. Share the before and after with photos and worker quotes.
Map Psychosocial Risks With Workers
Use a simple heat map by team and role. Ask about job demands, role clarity, autonomy, support, and change. Align actions to the Code of Practice from
Safe Work Australia. Pilot two changes that reduce load or increase control.
Design Training For Micro Behaviours
Swap long slide decks for short sessions focused on a single behaviour like pre task checks or lifting technique. Reinforce with toolbox prompts and leader actions. Revisit monthly.
Improve Workstation Ergonomics At Scale
Standardise set up guides, run five minute checks, and nudge movement breaks across the day. Promote simple desk exercises with Better Being’s
desk exercises. Track reports of discomfort and adjust workloads early.
Strengthen Incident Learning
Introduce a fast debrief after near misses. Capture what helped, what hindered, and the smallest change that would prevent repeat events. Close the loop publicly to build trust.
Partner With Leaders
Give leaders a monthly one page safety and wellbeing briefing. Include one talking point, one action to model, and one metric to watch. For leadership capability, see Better Being on
building psychological safety and
supporting leadership wellbeing.
Measure What Matters
Balance lagging indicators with leading ones like hazard reports closed within target, participation in training, and early discomfort reporting rates. Use simple dashboards and discuss them in team meetings.
Connect With A Strategic Partner
Bring in specialists to help with fatigue, movement, recovery, and resilience. See how a safety and wellbeing partnership works in our
Turosi case study.
What Can Employers Do?
- Resource the role: Provide time, tools, and access to decision makers so safety officers can act quickly.
- Align strategy: Embed safety and wellbeing goals in the business plan and leader KPIs.
- Simplify access: Make reporting, risk assessments, and training easy to find and use.
- Model the behaviours: Leaders to open meetings with a safety and wellbeing check in and act on feedback.
- Invest in prevention: Fund ergonomics, job design, and mental health initiatives before incidents happen.
- Measure ROI: Track claims, absenteeism, engagement, and productivity shifts. For ideas, read our piece on ROI of wellbeing programs.
Key Takeaways
- What does occupational health and safety officer do The role reduces harm, builds healthy performance, and ensures compliance across physical and psychosocial risks.
- Focus on risk sprints, behavioural training, and strong consultation to create visible improvements fast.
- Balance metrics by tracking early signals like discomfort reports and training follow through.
- Leaders set the tone. Model healthy work design and act on feedback to build trust.
- Integrating safety with wellbeing prevents injuries, reduces fatigue, and improves productivity.
- Strategic partnerships amplify impact and speed up change.
If you want support to embed safety and wellbeing that lifts performance,
get in touch with Better Being.
READY TO IMPLEMENT A WELLBEING PROGRAM WITH TANGIBLE BENEFITS FOR EVERYONE INVOLVED?
