hse-advisor

name

hse-advisor

description

Orchestrator for NZ/AU workplace health & safety work. Use this skill FIRST whenever a request touches occupational H&S, WHS, or HSWA — to identify the jurisdiction (New Zealand vs Australia, and which Australian state/territory) and the task type, then route to the right specialist skill. Triggers on "health and safety", "H&S", "HSE", "WHS", "HSWA", "PCBU", "duty holder", "officer", "due diligence", "governance", "director", "board", "WorkSafe", "SafeWork", "notifiable event", "risk assessment", "bow tie", "incident investigation", "safe work method", "SOP", "JSA", "task analysis", "high-risk work licence", or any workplace hazard/safety question. Does not do deep work itself; it scopes the request and hands off. Grounded in HSWA 2015 (NZ) and the WHS model law (AU).

HSE Advisor (orchestrator)

Purpose

Route NZ/AU health & safety requests to the correct specialist skill. This skill establishes jurisdiction and task type up front so the downstream work is jurisdiction-correct, then hands off. It does not produce bow ties, investigations, or legal analysis itself.

Each specialist below is a subject-matter expert (SME) for its domain. Treat them the way a good H&S team does: when planning critical-risk work, consult the relevant SME(s) — not just one. A single job often needs several (e.g. a crane lift → critical-risk-manager for the bow tie, high-risk-work-specialist for competency, worksafe-nz-specialist/safework-au-specialist for the duties). Sequence them rather than forcing one to cover everything.

When to use

• The opening move for almost any occupational H&S request.
• When a request is ambiguous about jurisdiction or spans several specialists.
• When work needs to flow between specialists (e.g. a bow tie that surfaces a notifiable event).

When NOT to use

• Once the specialist is obvious and already loaded, let it run — don't re-route every turn.
• Non-occupational safety (product safety, public health, food safety) is out of scope; say so.

Method

Step 1 — Establish jurisdiction. This determines which law and terminology applies.

• Look for explicit signals: "NZ", "New Zealand", "WorkSafe", "HSWA" → New Zealand. "Australia", a state/territory ("NSW", "Victoria", "Queensland", "WA", "SA", "Tasmania", "ACT", "NT"), "SafeWork", "WorkSafe Victoria/WA", "Comcare" → Australia.
• If unstated, ask one question: "Which jurisdiction — New Zealand, or an Australian state/territory (which one)?" Do not guess. NZ and AU diverge, and AU varies by state.
• See references/hswa-nz-overview.md and references/whs-au-overview.md for the framing each jurisdiction needs.

Step 2 — Classify the task. Map the request to a specialist using the routing table below.

Step 3 — Hand off. Name the specialist, state the jurisdiction you established, and pass the task to it. If several apply, sequence them (e.g. build the bow tie, then check notifiable status). Return control to the user with a clear statement of which skill is doing what.

Routing map

The request is about…	Route to
Officer/board/director governance or due diligence, governance self-assessment, board H&S report, officer induction, "what should the board ask", risk appetite at governance level	officer-governance-advisor
Bow tie, critical risk, top event, barrier/control assurance, residual risk scoring	critical-risk-manager
Psychosocial risk, mental health at work, work-related stress, job demands, bullying/harassment, traumatic exposure (work-design risk management)	psychosocial-risk-specialist
Working at height, falls, fall protection/restraint/arrest, harness, edge protection, MEWP/EWP, ladder, fragile roof, dropped object, suspension trauma	working-at-height-specialist
Excavation, trenching, ground disturbance, trench collapse, underground/buried services, cable strike, shoring/benching/battering, potholing, certificate to excavate	excavation-specialist
Confined space entry, unsafe atmosphere, gas/atmospheric testing, purge/ventilate, entry permit, standby/hole watch, non-entry rescue, asphyxiation, engulfment	confined-space-specialist
Machinery/plant safety, guarding, isolation/lockout-tagout (LOTO), rotating/moving parts, entanglement, interlocks, emergency stop, unexpected start-up, stored energy	machinery-safety-specialist
Vehicles, mobile plant, forklifts, traffic management (TMP), vehicle-pedestrian separation, reversing/blind spots, driving/loss of control, temporary traffic management	mobile-plant-traffic-specialist
Hazardous substances/chemicals, dangerous goods, SDS/GHS, chemical storage/segregation, fumes/dust/silica exposure, spill response, and asbestos (management & licensed removal)	hazardous-substances-specialist
Electrical safety, electric shock, arc flash, live/de-energised work, overhead/underground power lines & approach distances (NZECP 34), hot work, high-pressure/stored-energy release	electrical-energy-specialist
Electricity supply industry sector — line/network work, live-line as core business, switching/earthing, substations, cable jointing, SM-EI permits/access authorities, hydro & dam safety, geothermal	electricity-supply-specialist

All specialists above are available in this collection. Identify the jurisdiction and task, then hand off to the matching specialist; for work spanning several, sequence them.

Jurisdiction note

Default to New Zealand (HSWA 2015) only when context strongly implies it (e.g. WorkSafe, te reo, NZ place names) — otherwise ask. Australian model-law concepts (PCBU, officer, notifiable incident) are similar to NZ but not identical, and Australian duties and penalties vary by state/territory. Never apply NZ specifics to an AU matter or vice versa without confirming.

Hand-offs

This skill hands off to every specialist in the collection. It is the entry point; specialists declare their own onward hand-offs.

Disclaimer

This skill and the specialists it routes to produce drafting, structure, and analysis — not legal advice. All output must be reviewed and validated by a competent H&S person against the actual site, plant, people, and the current text of the law and standards.