Snapshot: activities and issues
Improved safety, fairness and productivity for Queenslanders
Queensland's positive industrial relations climate is one of the reasons for the state's continued strong economic growth. Queensland has the lowest levels of industrial disputation in decades. Queensland's average quarterly strike rate for the 12 months ending 30 June 2006 was 2.5 working days lost per 1,000 employees - for Australia, the average rate was 5.4 working days lost per 1000 employees.
Workplace health and safety and electrical safety for Queenslanders again improved. Over the last five years, the compensated work-related injury rate in Queensland declined by 10.5%. The rate now stands at 14.6 claims per 1000 workers. Queensland's rate of electrical fatalities per million people continues to fall - from 3.58 fatalities per million at June 2001 to 0.88 at June 2006 (five year moving average). This is substantially below the national five year moving average of 1.9 fatalities per million for the same period.
Responding to WorkChoices
The department has responded to the federal government's WorkChoices changes with a package of measures including:
- the new Fair Go Queensland Advisory Service
- the Compare What's Fair tool for workers to check entitlements under a proposed Australian Workplace Agreement
- support for the Queensland Government's High Court challenge to the validity of the WorkChoices legislation
- development of the Smart Workplaces program.
Targeted inspection programs bring big results
The department's three inspectorates use a range of evidence-based techniques to plan their audit and inspection activities to improve safety, fairness and productivity in Queensland.
Targeted audit activity across 10 industries by industrial relations inspectors led to $1.6 million in wages being recovered for employees. In total, inspectors recovered more than $10 million on behalf of employees through wage complaint activity, audits and prosecutions.
Workplace health and safety inspectorsvisited more than 26,000 workplaces, a 25.5% increase on the previous year, and issued 18,665 enforcement notices.
Electrical safety inspectors focused their work on repairers of electrical equipment, electrical lighting products and audits of electricity entities. Inspectors conducted more than 2,800 investigations and issued more than 1,655 notices.
Effective prosecutions
The department continued its effective program of prosecutions in workplace health and safety, electrical safety and industrial relations.
Workplace health and safety inspectors initiated 171 prosecution actions, which resulted in $4.2 million in fines and costs being awarded—with a success rate of 94%. The highest fine awarded was $80,000.
This year, 31 electrical safety prosecutions were completed with a 90% success rate. The highest fine awarded was $40,000.
In industrial relations there were 160 legal proceedings against employers for the recovery of wages and offences - with a 97% success rate.
Wages recovered on behalf of employees needs
Strong client satisfaction with departmental services
DIR's clients have continued to report high levels of satisfaction. Overall satisfaction with the department's services stands at 83%, the highest level seen since the annual survey of the department's clients began in 2000.
In research conduced in 2006, by research firm AC Neilsen Pty Ltd, more than eight in ten clients said they were satisfied with the service they had received. Survey respondents said they found staff courteous and friendly (89%) and competent and knowledgeable (77%). They also said that staff listened carefully (76%) and made the course of action available clear (79%). This year the proportion of clients indicating they had visited the department's websites rose significantly to 59% (50% in 2005).
Client satisfaction with service delivery
Getting the message out
Giving Queenslanders the information they need to help them to improve safety, fairness and productivity in their work environment is an important job and the department uses a range of tools to get the message out.
Advertising campaigns were used to promote the safety message 'don't DIY electrical work' and tell the community about the new child employment laws. More than 2,000 people attended 88 events across the state as part of WorkSafe Week.
The department's telephone information services responded to more than 400,000 calls and there were more than 2 million hits on the department's website.
The department's new Internet site, launched in July 2006, is a major resource for the community offering a huge amount of information about safety and fairness.
Workplace Health and Safety - clients accessing information
Private Sector Industrial Relations - clients accessing information
Improving safety in small business
This year the department launched a new advisory service to help small businesses with fewer than 20 employees to improve workplace health and safety.
Free workplace health and safety consultations are a key feature of the service and this year the department completed more than 800 of them across Queensland. The program targets 10 high risk industry sub-sectors including metal manufacturing, printing, automotive repairs and food retailing.
As part of each consultation, a small business advisor looks at the health and safety issues and risks at in the workplace, prioritises the issues according to seriousness, provides information on the types of solutions available to control the risks and works with the small business operators to develop an action plan to reduce health and safety risks.
Landmark public sector agreement
The department successfully completed a Memorandum of Agreement with the Queensland Council of Unions. The agreement established consistent wage outcomes across the public sector (4% per annum or $30 per week, whichever is the greater) as well as enhancing a number of employment conditions.
The most notable of these enhancements is the increase in paid maternity/adoption leave from six weeks to twelve weeks.
After Cyclone Larry
Cleaning-up and rebuilding after Cyclone Larry in Innisfail generated significant safety risks. Asbestos clean-up and safe removal of heavy debris, working at heights for roof repair, fallen powerlines, use of portable electricity generators and electrical equipment damaged by water were just some of the risks faced by residents and workers.
DIR responded by allocating extra workplace health and safety and electrical safety inspectors to the region, preparing specialised information packages and working with emergency services, local government, employers and unions.
New child employment laws
The Child Employment Act 2006, and its supporting regulation, aims to ensure that work does not interfere with children's schooling and that children are prevented from performing harmful work.
The act sets a general minimum working age and restricts working hours for children who have not yet completed compulsory schooling.
The department's Children and Young Workers Code of Practice 2006 addresses specific workplace health and safety risks associated with having children and young workers in the workplace. The code was developed with extensive consultation with industry, union stakeholders and the Commissioner for Children and Young People.
The new laws follow an extensive review of child labour in Queensland by the Children's Commission in 2002-04.
Queensland's ageing workforce
Population ageing is one of the biggest issues facing the Queensland labour force.
DIR has analysed the implications for the Queensland workforce and provided to advice to employers about this issue.
This year the department produced a new publication Valuing Older Workers - Preparing Your Business for an Ageing Workforce. The booklet tells employers about the changing composition of the workforce and tightening of labour supply and the benefits of engaging older workers. It also debunks many of the myths associated with older workers.
DIR has also produced the Productive and Safe Workplaces for an Ageing Workforce Strategy. The strategy is to help Queensland employers understand the workplace health and safety implications of a steadily ageing workforce and to implement practical plans in their workplaces which will assist employers to reduce risk and subsequently to benefit from employing a productive and healthy ageing workforce.
Department of Industrial Relations - annual revenue
Department of Industrial Relations - Staffing (full time equivalent)
Last updated November 7, 2006
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