Workplace Safety

The NSW Government believes that it is a basic right that every person works in a safe, secure workplace. If a workplace injury or illness does occur, injured workers should be afforded care, dignity and respect, to ensure they are able to make an early, safe and durable return to work.

Strategies to improve the NSW public sector’s OH&S and injury management performance are a priority for Government, in particular reducing the number of public sector employees injured at work, improving return to work rates and reducing the cost of workers compensation claims and premiums. These improvements will help ensure that the public sector continues to provide the highest quality services to the people of New South Wales.

WorkCover NSW maintains responsibility for public sector OH&S policy with the Department of Premier and Cabinet and NSW Treasury partners in the design, co-ordination and implementation.

The following public sector strategies are underpinned by the provisions of the Occupational Health and Safety Act 2000, the Workers Compensation Act 1987, the Workplace Injury Management and Workers Compensation Act 1998 and their supporting Regulations.

Working Together

Working Together: Public Sector OHS and Injury Management Strategy 2005-2008 is a three-year strategy to secure improvements in the public sector’s workplace safety, injury management and return to work performance. It builds on the Government’s OH&S and injury management policy and guidelines Taking Safety Seriously.

Working Together aims to achieve five targets, including a reduction in the incidence of workplace injuries and cost of claims, more timely return to work for injured staff and the provision of appropriate information and training for managers. Further information is available at the Working Together website.

NSW Workplace Safety Summit – Public Sector Industry Action Plan

Delegates to the 2005 NSW Workplace Safety Summit participated in nine industry-specific working groups one which represented the NSW public sector. The Public Sector Industry Action Plan focuses on two priority issues, manual handling and psychological injuries, and proposes a number of steps that the public sector and key stakeholders should undertake to reduce work related injuries and illnesses in the public sector.

Psychological Injury

The aim of Leading Well: The role of leadership in improving the prevention and management of psychological injury is to provide guidance to public sector agencies to:

• make improvements in leadership performance
• promote proactive management of the organisational factors that can give rise to psychological injuries
• promote appropriate post-incident counselling and
• improve claims management and return to work.

Leading Well is based on research into the causes and remedies for psychological injury which shows that effective management of human resources issues can reduce, and even prevent, psychological injuries occurring. The strategy is supported by an Action Plan that outlines strategic and operational activities to be undertaken by stakeholders.

The Occupational Stress Hazard Identification and Risk Management Strategy seeks to provide agencies with practical guidance in identifying their risk or potential exposure to occupational stress in the workplace and outlining key issues in developing local prevention and management strategies. Agencies should address poor systems of work, working environments and organisational practices that are or can create stressors. The effective management of occupational stress is a key component in improving the efficiency and health of our organisations.

Healthy Workforce

A staff member’s health can be significantly influenced by behavioural choices they make. Attempting to influence those choices through health promotion is one important way to improve the health, happiness and productivity of employees and reduce the levels of sick leave and absence associated with workplace injuries. All public sector agencies are required to have healthy workforce programs in place.

A Healthy Workforce: Policy on improving the health and well being of public sector employees aims to assist agencies develop comprehensive healthy workforce programs and details seven steps to implement an effective program.