12:06 pm, Friday 20 April, 2012

The OHS Body of Knowledge, which describes the core knowledge expected of OHS professionals, and provides a basis for accrediting OHS graduate and post graduate courses was launched on 18 April 2012.

The need for a body of knowledge for OHS professionals was determined during reviews of OHS legislation and OHS education in Australia.

“The accreditation process will play a significant role in both raising the standard of professional OHS advice and giving employers great confidence when engaging OHS expertise,” says Greg Tweedly, CEO of WorkSafe Victoria.

The OHS Body of Knowledge has been created as an e-book and will regularly be amended and updated as people use it and as evidence base expands. OHS professionals, educators and everyone who uses the services of OHS professionals should be part of the discussion.

“This is an important step for the generalist OHS profession,” said Mr Keith Brown, CEO of the SIA.

For OHS professionals seeking professional certification, their practice will be assessed considering the scope of the OHS Body of Knowledge, and Continuing Professional Development (CPD) will be organised with reference to the OHS Body of Knowledge.

For OHS educators, the OHS Body of Knowledge will inform program development and learning materials. Prospective OHS students will have their accredited education programs developed by taking account of the OHS Body of Knowledge.

The OHS Body of Knowledge will provide a benchmark for professional practice for OHS regulators, employers or recruiters.

A technical panel composed of representatives from Victorian universities that teach OHS and from the Safety Institute of Australia managed the process of developing and structuring the main content of the OHS Body of Knowledge. Input was acquired from OHS educators and OHS professionals Australia wide. Specialist authors also contributed chapters, which were then subjected to peer preview and editing.

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