Safe and healthy work environments
Workplace Health and Safety Services
What we do
Priorities for 2006-07
Key outcome
Key priorities and achievements
Policy leadership
Service delivery
In the year ahead
This output develops and implements legislative, compliance and education strategies and activities to improve workplace health and safety in Queensland, and provides policy advice on workers’ compensation matters. Client groups include employers, workers, self-employed people, insurers and the community.
Workplace Health and Safety Services
This output develops and implements legislative, compliance and education strategies and activities to improve workplace health and safety in Queensland, and provides policy advice on workers’ compensation matters. Client groups include employers, workers, self-employed people, insurers and the community.
What we do
- development of the legislative framework and standards for workplace health and safety and workers’ compensation
- state-wide inspection, advisory and enforcement activities to promote compliance with workplace health and safety laws and standards
- information, education and training activities to assist industry, employees and the community reduce the risk of work-related injury and disease in the workplace
- strategic policy advice to the Minister on workplace health and safety and workers’ compensation matters
- support for statutory industry bodies including the Workplace Health and Safety Board and Industry Sector Standing Committees
- management of registration, approval and accreditation systems required under the Workplace Health and Safety Act 1995 (PDF, 766 KB).
Priorities for 2006-07
- Continue to implement the Queensland Workplace Health and Safety Strategy 2004–12 and update the supporting action plans to reduce the incidence of work-related death, disease and injury.
- Consolidate and improve our evidence-based approach to decision-making to ensure we effectively direct and measure the impact of our interventions.
- Develop an increased focus on occupational health and the prevention of work-related diseases.
- Contribute to the national consistency agenda for workplace health and safety and workers’ compensation.
- Appoint additional inspectors to respond to the growth in industry and new asbestos management regulations.
- Implement a framework for improved injury prevention and management in the public sector.
- Strengthen our focus on communication, education and information.
- Undertake a range of workers’ compensation activities including a focus on an ageing workforce, national consistency, self-insurance, return to work strategies and psychological injury claims.
Key outcome
Reduction in work-related injury
The Queensland Workplace Health and Safety Strategy 2004-2012 establishes targets for the reduction of workplace fatalities and injuries. Over the eight-year period to 30 June 2012, the target is at least a 20% reduction in the incidence of work-related fatalities and at least a 40% reduction in the incidence of workplace injury.
In the period 2000-01 to 2005-06, the workplace compensated injury rate in Queensland declined by 10.5%. Since the implementation of the Queensland Workplace Health and Safety Strategy, the decline in the workplace compensated injury rate was 1.2%.
Source: Queensland Employee Injury Database, Office of Economic and Statistical Research. Data current as at October 2006.
Key priorities and achievements
What we said we would do |
Achievements |
|---|---|
Continue to implement the Queensland Workplace Health and Safety Strategy 2004–12, the supporting industry action plans and the mechanism of injury action plans to reduce work-related deaths and injury. |
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Use evidence-based methodologies to improve the effectiveness of interventions. |
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Continue initiatives to improve health and safety in small businesses and construction workplaces and reduce the incidence of psychosocial injury. |
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Engage with stakeholders to improve policy development and service delivery. |
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Influence the national agenda for workers’ compensation and workplace health and safety. |
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Policy leadership
Strategies
- Develop policy frameworks to address social and economic change and achieve quality workplaces.
- Develop, support and review strategic and intervention frameworks to achieve effective outcomes.
Action
The output continued to implement the strategies outlined in the Queensland Workplace Health and Safety Strategy 2004-2012 and the five three-year industry action plans.
During 2005-06, a range of legislative changes were approved by the Queensland Parliament to improve safety and fairness.
- In October 2005, Parliament passed the Workers’ Compensation and Rehabilitation and Other Act Amendments Bill 2005. This legislation enhanced workers’ compensation benefits for injured workers and their families; protected the workers’ compensation scheme from the impacts of employers exiting to the federal government self-insurance scheme; adopted aspects of the National Standard for Construction Work; and extended the licensing requirements for the removal of asbestos containing material and adopted the National Code for the Management and Safe Removal of Asbestos.
- Amendments to the Workers’ Compensation and Rehabilitation Act 2006, passed by Parliament on 30 March 2006, reaffirmed the independent and non-adversarial nature of the Medical Assessment Tribunals, following a court decision.
- The Workplace Health and Safety and Other Acts Amendment Act 2006 gave union officials the right to enter workplaces on health and safety grounds. Under the amendments the Queensland Industrial Relations Commission will issue permits that authorise a representative of a registered industrial organisation to enter a workplace where there is a reasonable suspicion that a contravention of the Act involving workplace health and safety has happened or is happening. Authorised representatives will be required to undertake approved occupational health and safety training.
The Amendment Act also amended the Workers’ Compensation and Rehabilitation Act 2003 to require an employer to keep open an injured worker’s job for a period of 12 months. This requirement was previously contained in the Industrial Relations Act 1999. In comparison, the new federal legislation makes it unlawful to dismiss a worker because of a temporary absence due to illness or injury, unless the absence is longer than three months in any 12 month period.
- The Workplace Health and Safety Regulation 1997 was amended to allow the transition of assessments for prescribed occupations to the vocational education and training sector by 1 July 2007. Transitional arrangements are progressing with the Department of Employment and Training and registered training organisations.
- To improve health and safety outcomes in Queensland’s building and construction industry, a range of initiatives were undertaken during 2005-06. Queensland was the first Australian state to adopt the National Standard for Construction Work to improve safety for construction workers and provide a more consistent approach to national regulations. The Formwork Code of Practice 2006, which commenced on 1 January 2006, focuses on safe work systems for formwork. Seminars providing information about the code were delivered in partnership with industry associations.
Following a compliance campaign targeting tower and mobile cranes in 2005, Codes of Practice for Tower and Mobile Cranes were developed.
Service delivery
Strategies
- Use evidence-based interventions to target priority industries/areas.
- Inform and education people in workplaces, and the wider community, about workplace health and safety.
Compliance campaigns
During 2005-06, workplace health and safety inspectors undertook a range of compliance campaigns that were delivered State-wide or regionally.
Statewide compliance programs focussed on areas in which the need for intervention was identified nationally or significant injuries have been experienced.
Statewide campaigns were conducted in 2005-06 in the areas of:
- hazardous substances in the manufacturing industry, particularly boat building
- amusement rides at agricultural shows
- demolition/asbestos
- plant used in the rural industry
- manual handling in distribution centres
- safe use of plant
- consultative arrangements in the construction industry
- manufacturers and suppliers of rural mobile plant.
Regional campaigns were conducted in areas that regional specific data or local intelligence indicates a high incidence or risk of severe injuries.
Regional campaigns targeted areas such as:
- process workers in small goods manufacturing (South-west Queensland)
- childcare centres and tilt-up construction (Brisbane South and Gold Coast)
- non-residential personal carers, musculoskeletal and hit and being hit injuries in manufacturing and scaffolding (Brisbane North)
- mango harvesting and occupational diving (North Queensland)
- metal manufacturing and resorts, with a focus on manual tasks (Central Queensland).
During 2005-06, 26,218 workplace visits were conducted, which represents a 25.5% increase from the previous year. 18,686 enforcement notices were issued requiring improved compliance with workplace health and safety legislation. A further 499 notices were issued in the form of on-the-spot fines as a means of immediately elevating the importance of certain workplace health and safety matters.
A total of 2,295 incidents involving grievous bodily harm or bodily harm were investigated during 2005-06. The majority of these incidents involved slips, trips, falls and hitting objects with part of the body.
Workplace health and safety inspectors prepared 371 breach reports in 2005-06 as a result of undertaking investigations into incidents. These reports were used in 171 prosecution actions, which in turn resulted in $4.2M in fines and costs being awarded.
In cooperation with other Australian jurisdictions, Workplace Health and Safety Services contributed to four national campaigns: rural plant suppliers and manufacturers; falls from heights in road transport; hazardous substances in manufacturing; and demolition/asbestos.
Small business
The new workplace health and safety advisory service to assist small business operators to prevent injury and occupational illness was launched in June 2005. During 2005-06 the service targeted workplaces in high risk industries with 10 or fewer workers. A total of 809 half-day workplace consultations were provided to individual small businesses. As well, advisors gave 71 information sessions to groups of small business operators and conducted 88 networking activities for other government departments or industry associations. A pilot grants program channelled nearly half a million dollars in grants to seven industry associations to help them develop and deliver health and safety assistance to their industry sector.
Prevention of psychological injury
Specialist psychosocial advisers have assisted employers to implement procedures to reduce the risk of work-related psychological injury. These advisers are also improving the skills of workplace health and safety inspectors and Infoline staff so they are able to better respond to complaints. Improved investigation and operational procedures for inspectors dealing with psychological injury were also implemented.
Cyclone Larry Clean-up
The clean-up after Cyclone Larry generated a wide range of workplace health and safety risks. The output responded quickly to provide on-site support with additional inspectors, information about staying safe during the clean-up and educational fact sheets with practical advice on electrical safety and safe handling of asbestos to ensure safety of workers and householders.
Information and education
This year saw continued emphasis on providing advisory and information services through the Workplace Health and Safety Infoline and the department’s website.
Workplace Health and Safety Services assisted Queensland Health, the Local Government Association of Queensland, Brisbane City Council, the Department of Local Government, Planning, Sport and Recreation and the Environmental Protection Agency to develop an information strategy to alert home owners and tradespersons to the risks of asbestos and ways of minimising exposure.
Seminars
In March and April 2006, more than 1,500 people attended seminars at 13 locations across Queensland to explain new workplace health and safety laws introduced by the Workers’ Compensation and Rehabilitation and Other Acts Amendments Act 2005.
Work Safe Week
Work Safe Week, held from 23-29 October 2005, focused on strains and sprains as the most common types of injuries in Queensland workplaces. More than 85 events were held across the State with 24 industry associations and trade union partnership events, involving approximately 2,100 attendees.
In the year ahead
- Implementation of the Queensland Workplace Health and Safety Strategy 2004-2012 will continue. The five Industry Action Plans will be reviewed and implemented. These plans guide the output’s approach to the prevention of work-related deaths, injuries and disease to ensure the long-term targets for reduction in fatalities and injuries are achieved.
- During 2006-07 occupational health and safety priorities include a review of national standards and codes of practice on plant, working in confined spaces, major hazard facilities, certification, falls in the building industry and manual handling.
Major workers’ compensation activities will include a focus on an ageing workforce, national consistency, self-insurance, return to work strategies and psychological injury claims.
- Queensland is committed to national consistency in occupational health and safety and, to the extent that it can be achieved, workers’ compensation arrangements. The output is actively cooperating with states, territories and the federal government in the development of nationally consistent standards, codes and guidance material through the Australian Safety and Compensation Council.
- The Child Employment Act 2006 will be supported by a workplace health and safety code of practice for young workers.
- In preparation for the construction of significant tunnels in Brisbane, a safe tunnelling strategy will be developed. This will include the development of a code of practice for safe tunnelling work, upgrading the skills of inspectors with respect to safety issues relating to tunnel construction and establishing operational relationships between the tunnelling consortium and relevant regional offices.
- The output will continue to consolidate and improve its evidence-based approach to decision-making. A major activity for 2006-07 will be a review and evaluation of the occupational injury black spot methodology. With increased data available through the workers’ compensation scheme, improvements and enhancements to the precision and sensitivity of the methodology are planned.
- Additional inspectors will be employed in regional areas to respond to growth in higher risk industries and new industries, and to new asbestos management regulations including, licensing and compliance activities. The small business advisory service will revise its focus to include timber and food product manufacturing industry sectors and broaden the scope of the program to include small business operators with up to 20 employees.
Last updated June 4, 2009
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