Refusing unsafe work: what to do and who to tell
Short answer
If a job feels unsafe, say so to your supervisor, employer or HSR and record what you saw. WorkSafe Queensland describes an HSR’s right to cease work where a serious risk is immediate or imminent. The pages quoted below show who can step in, and our state pages cover the rest.
Automatically checked against WorkSafe Victoria and WorkSafe Queensland on 1 Nov 2026.
When the job feels wrong
You’re on a roof edge and the guardrail isn’t there. Or the extraction on the saw is off and the air is white. The supervisor says it’ll take ten minutes to sort. You have a decision to make in the next thirty seconds.
A worker’s own right to stop is a question for your state’s laws, and we haven’t quoted it here. Read your regulator’s page, or ask your HSR, before you rely on it. What this guide does is show what the regulators say about speaking up and about stopping unsafe work.
Speak up early
WorkSafe Victoria’s page lists ways of speaking up. You can point out hazards, ask “Is that safe?”, ask for help with a task you don’t know, or report unsafe conditions. It names the manager, supervisor, employer and HSR as people to report to. Asking the question out loud is often the move that gets the guardrail fitted.
What the Queensland regulator says about stopping work
WorkSafe Queensland’s page describes the right to cease work for HSRs. The rows below quote it. It describes a serious risk as one that may cause death or serious injury or illness. That includes long-latency disease from exposure, such as crystalline silica dust. Its examples are working at heights with no fall arrest system, and removing asbestos without safe work methods or PPE.
The page also covers a faster route, where the risk is so serious and immediate or imminent that it’s not reasonable to consult beforehand. It cites sections 85 and 85A of the WHS Act. An affected worker can also ask the regulator to appoint an inspector to help resolve a cessation-of-work issue.
If you’re the supervisor
Someone says a job doesn’t feel right. Stop and listen. Ask what they saw and where. Look at it yourself before you answer. The easy mistake is to argue the point on the spot, with the crew watching. If they’re right, you’ve lost a day anyway. If they’re wrong, you’ve lost the next report.
On the day
- Step back from the hazard if you can do that safely
- Tell your supervisor what’s wrong, in one sentence
- Take a photo from where you’re standing
- Record a voice note: what, where, when and who you told
- Tell your HSR if you have one
- Don’t argue it out in the moment. The record does that later
After
A written record carries weight. It shows what you saw, when, and who knew. If the site fixes it, the record shows the fix. If it doesn’t, the record is what you take to the regulator. Our report unsafe work pages show each regulator’s route, and what each says about names and anonymity.
In Haznote you can send the report by voice with a photo, and it goes to the manager with the time and location attached. Anonymous reports are a site setting, off by default and best-effort. Haznote doesn’t decide whether you’re entitled to stop work.
What the regulator says
Each row shows the source’s own words, who published them and when they were last checked by script.
| Item | What it says | Source and check date |
|---|---|---|
| Victoria: ways of speaking up | Speaking up can include pointing out hazards to your employer, asking "Is that safe?", asking for help or supervision with a task you're unfamiliar with, and reporting unsafe conditions at work. Source says: | WorkSafe Victoria Checked 1 Nov 2026 |
| Victoria: who to report to | Report unsafe work conditions and work-related injuries and illnesses to your manager, supervisor, employer or HSR. Source says: | WorkSafe Victoria Checked 1 Nov 2026 |
| Qld: the right to cease work | HSRs are able to stop this unsafe work. This is also referred to as the right to cease work. Source says: | WorkSafe Queensland Checked 1 Nov 2026 |
| Qld: where the provisions sit | Cease work provisions are set out in sections 85 and 85A of the Work Health and Safety Act 2011. Source says: | WorkSafe Queensland Checked 1 Nov 2026 |
| Qld: what counts as a serious risk | The term 'serious risk' captures risks that may cause death or serious injury or illness, including diseases of long latency from immediate exposure to a hazard such as crystalline silica dust, and circumstances of psychological threat. Source says: | WorkSafe Queensland Checked 1 Nov 2026 |
| Qld: examples the regulator gives | For example, a worker working at heights with no fall arrest system, or a worker removing asbestos without using the appropriate safe work methods or personal protective equipment. Source says: | WorkSafe Queensland Checked 1 Nov 2026 |
| Qld: when the risk is immediate | Where the risk of exposing workers is so serious and immediate or imminent that it's not reasonable to consult, a HSR may direct the worker, or workers in the HSR's work group, to cease work without consulting the PCBU about the matter or attempting to resolve the matter. Source says: | WorkSafe Queensland Checked 1 Nov 2026 |
| Qld: an affected worker can ask for an inspector | The HSR, PCBU or affected worker may also ask Workplace Health and Safety Queensland to appoint an inspector to assist in resolving an issue arising in relation to ceasing work, or immediately apply to the Queensland Industrial Relations Commission for an order in relation to the issue. Source says: | WorkSafe Queensland Checked 1 Nov 2026 |
Plain answers.
Is there a law about stopping unsafe work?
Yes. The Queensland page cites sections 85 and 85A of the WHS Act for the HSR’s right to cease work. Other states have their own wording, so check yours.
What if there is no HSR on my job?
Tell your supervisor, manager or employer, and record it. Our report unsafe work pages show each regulator’s route if the site doesn’t act.
Will my name be on the report?
In Haznote it is, unless the site allows anonymous reports and you choose one. That setting is best-effort, because voice and photos can still identify someone.
What should I write in the record?
What you saw, where, when, who you told and what they said. Keep it factual. Add a photo if you can take one safely.
Where this comes from.
- Speaking up · WorkSafe Victoria
- Ceasing unsafe work · WorkSafe Queensland
General information, not legal advice. Check the current rules with your regulator.
Record what you saw by voice, with a photo. Your manager sees it with the time.
Run it on one site and see the first report land in the manager’s list.