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Recording worker consultation

Consultation is a legal obligation under WHS legislation. ReFresh provides a structured Consultations module to record who was consulted, on what, with what input, and what was decided.

Written by Harrison Kennedy

Consultation is a legal obligation under WHS legislation. ReFresh provides a structured Consultations module to record who was consulted, on what, with what input, and what was decided. Open Consultations at admin sidebar → Risk Assessment → Consultations.

  • Consultations live at sidebar → Risk Assessment → Consultations

  • Each consultation has a Type (General, Committee, Investigation Findings)

  • Status: Scheduled or Completed

  • Linked Entity: optional link to an incident, risk, control, or policy

  • Outcomes are recorded with a summary and detailed notes


Opening Consultations

Admin sidebar → Risk Assessment → Consultations. The page shows:

  • A status bar with Completed and Scheduled counts

  • A filter and sort bar

  • A list of consultations

Click + New Consultation to record a new one.


What each consultation row shows

Column

Meaning

Consultation

Title and Type (General, Committee, Investigation Findings)

Date

When the consultation took place or is scheduled for

Location

Where it happened or will happen

Linked To

An Incident, Risk, Control, or Policy badge if linked

Status

Scheduled or Completed

Click any row to open the consultation.


Consultation detail tabs

The detail page has three tabs:

  • Details: Status, Type, Format, Date, Location, Description, Outcomes

  • Participants: who was consulted, their role, HSR involvement, and their input

  • Linked Entity: the incident, risk, control, or policy this consultation relates to


Recording participants and HSR involvement

The Participants tab is where you log who was consulted. For each participant:

  • Name and role

  • Whether they are a Health and Safety Representative (HSR)

  • Their input or feedback during the consultation

HSR involvement is captured explicitly because WHS legislation gives HSRs specific consultation rights.


Recording outcomes

On the Details tab, the Outcomes section captures:

  • A short summary (for example, "Quarterly review of psychosocial risk controls and survey findings")

  • A more detailed description of decisions made and how worker input influenced them

This is what makes a consultation record useful as compliance evidence: not just that consultation happened, but what came out of it.


Linking consultation to other entities

A consultation can be linked to:

  • Risk assessments: consultation that informed the assessment

  • Controls: consultation on a control's design or implementation

  • Incidents: consultation following an incident

  • Policies: consultation on a policy update

  • Investigations: consultation during or after an investigation

The linked entity surfaces in both the consultation's Linked Entity tab and in the linked entity's own consultation list.


Related articles

  • Investigating an incident (4.7)

  • Conducting a risk assessment (3.7)

  • Managing the policy and document library (4.10)

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