Occupational safety, health and injury management
Occupational safety, health and injury management
In 2019–20, we continued our commitment to safe and healthy workplaces. We sought to enlist the support and cooperation of all staff to minimise and control hazards as far as practicable.
Our occupational safety and health (OSH), and workers’ compensation and injury management policies outlined roles and responsibilities of line managers, including the requirement to identify and manage hazards and risks in workplaces.
Occupational safety and health
We continued to adhere to the Occupational Safety and Health Act 1984 and Occupational Safety and Health Regulations 1996. In 2020, we commissioned Franklyn Work Safety to complete an audit of our OSH management systems using the WorkSafe Plan. This audit has been completed and we will use the recommendations to improve our systems.
To ensure there were opportunities for formal consultation on occupational safety and health matters between management and staff, we encouraged worksites to elect safety and health representatives and establish safety and health committees.
We consulted with key stakeholders (including the Insurance Commission of Western Australia, WorkSafe, the State School Teachers’ Union of WA, United Workers Union and the Principals’ Federation of Western Australia) and sought feedback from principals and line managers to develop and implement our safety and health initiatives.
See Responding to COVID-19 for how we responded to OSH issues relating to COVID-19.
Workers’ compensation and injury management
Our Injury Management and Workers’ Compensation policy outlined processes developed in accordance with the requirements of the Workers’ Compensation and Injury Management Act 1981. This included the requirement for written return‑to‑work programs to be developed when injured staff returned to work with medical restrictions on their hours or duties.
All staff with workers’ compensation claims who had at least three days off work were advised of support available to assist recovery and return to work.
We continued to collaborate with the Insurance Commission of Western Australia to manage workers’ compensation claims.
See Table 12 for details on our OSH performance indicators.
Table 12: Occupational safety and health performance indicators 2017–18 to 2019–20
| Indicator | 2017–18 | 2018–19 | 2019–20 | Target (a) | Outcome |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Number of fatalities | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | Target not achieved |
| Lost time injury/disease incidence rate (b) | 2.6 | 2.7 | 2.8 | 0 or 10% improvement on 2017–18 | Target not achieved |
| Lost time injury/disease severity rate (c) | 29.9 | 27.4 | 30.6 | 0 or 10% improvement on 2017–18 | Target not achieved |
| % of injured workers returned to work within 13 weeks | 76% | 77% | 75% | No target | – |
| % of injured workers returned to work within 26 weeks | 86% | 84% | 85% | Greater than or equal to 80% | Target achieved |
| % of managers trained in occupational safety, health and injury management responsibilities, including refresher training within 3 years | 90% | 46% (d) | 76% (d) | Greater than or equal to 80% | Target not achieved |
(a) As defined by Public Sector Commissioner’s Circular 2018-03 Code of Practice: Occupational Safety and Health in the Western Australian public sector.
(b) Number of incidents resulting in lost time per 100 full-time equivalent staff.
(c) Number of incidents resulting in lost time classified as severe per 100 incidents resulting in lost time.
(d) The figure is based on current principals who have ever completed the training by 30 June and uses a different methodology from 2017–18.