Owen Whittle

Owen Whittle has been with UnionsWA since November 2012. He has been its assistant secretary since 2013 before becoming secretary in December 2020 and the second youngest person to serve in the role. Mr Whittle has been involved in occupational health and safety, workers’ compensation, and the successful passage of the Work Health and Safety Act 2020 that included industrial manslaughter law reform.

Mr Whittle was a ministerial staffer during the Gallop-Carpenter Governments. Prior to joining UnionsWA, he was the communications and campaigns officer for the Australian Manufacturing Workers Union WA for its highly successful local jobs campaign.

Mr Whittle has been a board member of Workcover WA since 2014, and was previously a director and chair of the Welfare Rights & Advocacy Service. He was also a member of the Commission for Occupational Safety and Health, the LNG Jobs Taskforce, and the Ministerial Advisory Panel on Work Health and Safety Reform.