Over the next 4 years, almost 140 workplace health and safety (WHS) officers will be rolled out in Queensland state schools from 2026.
Each officer will support a small number of schools using a cluster model, with over 340 schools benefiting by full implementation.
Locations will be determined based on identified need and in consultation with principals and regions.
Role of new WHS officers
The WHS officers will work directly with school principals to identify risks, develop strategies and implement supports to reduce Occupational Violence and Aggression (OVA) within schools.
They will bring specialist expertise to key areas such as annual safety assessments, hazard identification and risk assessment along with incident investigations. Additionally, they will provide support for staff following injuries or incidents.
The officers will assist principals and schools by:
- providing expert advice to identify workplace health and safety hazards and risks and recommending effective ways to reduce these risks
- offering post-incident support
- providing immediate advice and support when injuries occur
- investigating workplace health and safety issues as they arise
- supporting local workplace health and safety assurance processes
- local workplace health and safety capability uplift.
The employment of these WHS officers across our system reflects our commitment to making changes that improve workplace health and safety, maximise the values of teachers’ time in the classroom and improve teacher retention.
Implementation of this initiative underpins a key commitment to expand access to specialise supports
Queensland’s Bilateral Agreement under the
Better and Fairer Schools Agreement—Full and Fair Funding (2025–2034).
Pilot program success
This initiative follows the success of the 2024 pilot program and forms part of Queensland's Better and Fairer Schools Agreement.
WHS roles were piloted across 33 state schools in 2024 as a jointly funded initiative under the
Workload Reduction Fund. This highly successful pilot saw a significant reduction in time teacher and school leader spent working on health and safety matters.
With the introduction of dedicated expertise, teachers reported they had more time to support student learning, and school leaders highlighted important improvements in school safety.