Section 16(1) applies to every employer. Representatives are only required above 20 employees and a first aider above 10, but a small business still needs someone clearly responsible for health and safety, supervision of the work, and competent people for any hazardous equipment or tasks.

Yes, as long as they are competent for each one and can realistically do the work. In small businesses this is normal.

Section 16(2) refers to a person under the control of the chief executive officer, so it is normally someone inside the business with authority over the work. A consultant can advise, audit and support that person. Accountability stays with the employer.

An appointment sets out duties, and a person who neglects duties the law places on them can be held responsible. It does not move the employer’s own responsibility onto them. This is why legal liability training for managers and supervisors is worth doing before the letters are signed.

Health and safety representatives are designated for a specified period, so their letters need renewing when it ends. Review the rest at least once a year and whenever roles, equipment or projects change. The certificates behind them, such as first aid and lifting machine operator training, expire on their own dates.

Start from what the site actually does, not from a standard list. On a construction site the client’s specification usually names the appointments it expects to see, and the ones almost every construction file must contain are the section 16(2) assignee, the construction manager and construction supervisor (CR 8), the risk assessor (CR 9), the fall protection planner wherever there is a fall risk (CR 10), first aiders (GSR 3), and the task-specific appointments for the work being done, such as scaffolding, excavation, lifting or temporary works. Each letter must be signed by both parties, define the workplace, scope, authority and period, and be backed by proof of competence for that role. Our Legal Appointments Check starts with exactly this question: have you identified which appointments your activities and regulations actually require?

Because the Act places the duties on the chief executive officer, and written appointments are how those duties reach the people who control the work. A chain from the CEO through the section 16(2) assignee to supervisors and competent persons means every hazard has a named owner with the competence, authority, time and resources to deal with it. An appointment letter does not transfer accountability by itself: the CEO stays responsible, and the letter only works if the person understands and accepts the role and can show the inspections, meetings and supervision it calls for actually happen. Without that chain, responsibility is assumed rather than assigned, and an inspector or client treats the gap as a finding.

Only someone who has been given the authority in writing may make a further appointment. The CEO assigns duties under section 16(2); that assignee may delegate in writing to managers and supervisors; each of those may appoint competent persons for the areas they control. A supervisor can appoint an assistant only if their own letter gives them that authority. A letter signed by someone with no authority to sign it is one of the most common findings in a file audit, and it is why our check asks whether letters define scope and authority rather than using generic wording.

No. The Act names the chief executive officer (section 16(1)) and the person the CEO assigns duties to (section 16(2)). A safety officer or safety manager is a job the employer creates and is usually appointed under section 16(2) or, on construction sites, as the construction health and safety officer under CR 8(5), which requires SACPCMP registration. If you need that role filled, see our Safety Officer Placement service. The Mine Health and Safety Act has its own appointment structure and is not covered by this guide.