We have countless examples of police officers injured due to poor safety in the courts. When our members go to court to give evidence, they are not allowed to carry all their protective equipment, generally there by themselves and are often called upon to assist court security to remediate violent confrontations.

Police officers take an oath to protect and have a duty to respond. But conversely, they shouldn't unnecessarily be put at risk by the Department of Justice's inaction.

Importantly, this is not just about the safety of police - it includes victims, witnesses, other defendants and court staff, exposed unnecessarily to harm from violence and also psychological injury. The Department has been unwilling to progress remediation of these safety issues over the past 20 years.

The Worksafe Regulator in 2019 worked with the Police Association, conducted a thorough investigation including inspections of the courts and as a result, issued an Improvement Notice in February on his employer's representative, the Secretary of the Department of Justice.

It required action by the end of this year.

The secretary has an obligation under the Work Health Safety Act to exercise due diligence to ensure the safety of all persons within the courts; this duty does not allow risks to safety to be ignored. Excerpts from the Improvement Notice included:

The Police Association was therefore horrified to discover in July - when we wrote to the Secretary of Justice, the Acting Worksafe Regulator and also submitted Right to Information Requests - that the Improvement Notice has been secretively cancelled due to paperwork issues and alleged deficiencies.

Worksafe maintains that it is continuing to conduct investigations and inspections which acknowledges that there are safety concerns in the court precincts. This outcome is unacceptable to the Police Association - and it should be similar to the broader public. If the department had concerns with the Improvement Notice, why didn't they submit an appeal to the courts?

But choose to withdraw the notice after the statutory expiry date?

This decision by Department doesn't align with the experiences the Police Association has had with the Gutwein Government - which is strong on law and order, consultation and collaboration with the Police Association and Tasmania Police on the most effective and efficient ways to achieve a safer community. This situation creates a dangerous precedent. Potentially, the standard that private industry is being held to under the Work Health Safety Act far exceeds and is disparate with the standard to which government agencies have to comply. The former Regulator undertook a thorough investigation and believed that an Improvement Notice was warranted; how can it now be subsequently withdrawn on inexplicable grounds in what any reasonable person would consider a cloud of secrecy?

If it was faulty - which we emphatically reject - then why isn't it being reissued with the deficiencies in the notice rectified, with the same remediation and timeline imposed of December 2020? Why was there no consultation with the complainant?

The lack of accountability and transparency around this issue is intolerable and doesn't pass any legitimate test. Police are consistently held to account for their actions in courts, internal reviews, and Ombudsman and Integrity Commission investigations. We should all expect the same level of accountability and transparency from bureaucrats who are charged to ensure that all Tasmanians are safe in all workplaces.