Rep profile: Gary Topham, St Virgil’s College, Austins Ferry, Tasmania

Gary Topham decided to become a Health and Safety Representative because throughout his career, he has witnessed too many accidents that were ‘preventable with foresight and planning’.

‘Health and Safety is more than just an agenda item. It all too often becomes a ‘rear-view mirror’ policy. Schools are highly active organisations. The more moving parts you have, the higher the chance of accidents occurring and hence planning to minimise accidents is essential.’

He believes the ‘absolute first misconception’ about health and safety is ‘thinking that it only relates to physical injuries, not realising the psychosocial perspective’.

He is also conscious that not all employees see safety as a priority, so there is always a need to educate and support colleagues.

Gary undertook a five-day HSR training course when he took on the role, which he ‘absolutely recommends’ to anyone elected as an HSR.

‘It was totally worth every minute of training, for the knowledge and networking with like-minded people,’ he says.