Union-Engaged Safety Suggestion

Safe Health Zones (SHZ) – Worker-Initiated, Voluntary Pilots

Purpose of this page

This page provides context for union representatives and delegates regarding Safe Health Zones (SHZ) and explains why workers may raise SHZ internally as a safety and dignity-focused suggestion, not as a replacement for existing protections.

The intent is to support worker health, consent, and safety governance, while respecting the role of unions as custodians of industrial standards and worker rights.

What Safe Health Zones (SHZ) are

Safe Health Zones (SHZ) are a post-shift, off-duty recovery framework designed to be explored through small, voluntary, time-limited pilots.

They are characterised by:

  • Access only after clock-off

  • No effect on rosters, coverage, or work allocation

  • No productivity monitoring or performance linkage

  • Voluntary participation with the ability to opt out at any time

  • Clear privacy protections

  • Designed to support post-shift physiological decompression, particularly following night work or extended operations

SHZ do not operate during paid work time unless explicitly agreed as part of a pilot and assessed through appropriate WHS and industrial processes.

What SHZ are not (union-relevant clarity)

Safe Health Zones are not:

  • A substitute for fatigue management systems

  • A replacement for lawful rest periods or breaks

  • A workaround for understaffing or excessive hours

  • A mechanism to extend shifts or blur clock-off boundaries

  • A surveillance or compliance tool

  • A behavioural or disciplinary framework

SHZ are not intended to reduce employer obligations or shift responsibility onto workers.

Why unions may see SHZ raised by members

Workers in night, logistics, transport, health, and critical services increasingly report that:

  • Fatigue accumulates after shifts end

  • Commute-home risk is a growing safety concern

  • Existing systems focus on hours worked, not post-duty recovery

  • Workers want dignity-preserving, consent-based recovery options

The SHZ concept may be raised by members as a worker-led safety suggestion, asking whether recovery environments could be explored without compromising rights, pay, or protections.

Union role and safeguards

Any consideration of SHZ should include, at minimum:

  • Union consultation where applicable

  • Clear voluntary participation clauses

  • No erosion of existing entitlements

  • No substitution for staffing, rostering, or rest compliance

  • Transparent evaluation using aggregate, anonymised data only

NaturismRE recognises that unions play a critical role in ensuring that any new framework does not undermine hard-won protections.

About the worker template

The employee template linked from this page is designed to:

  • Allow workers to raise SHZ without confrontation

  • Avoid language that bypasses unions or WHS governance

  • Encourage assessment by safety professionals

  • Preserve union oversight where applicable

Submission of the template does not imply expectation of endorsement or implementation.

Access the worker template

Download the Word version:
Union Member Request

Position statement

NaturismRE does not promote SHZ as a mandate, policy replacement, or industrial reform.

SHZ are proposed only as exploratory, voluntary pilots, intended to be assessed collaboratively by employers, workers, safety teams, and where relevant, unions.

No pilot should proceed without appropriate governance, consent, and compliance.

Clause de non-responsabilité

This page is provided for informational purposes only.
It does not constitute industrial advice, legal advice, or a recommendation to adopt any framework.
Any engagement with Safe Health Zones remains subject to union processes, enterprise agreements, WHS law, and applicable regulations.