HSE Articles

Australia's work health and safety priorities for the next 10 years

Written by Nicolina Holmes

Earlier this year, SafeWork Australia (SWA) released the new 10-year national strategy for work health and safety (WHS). The strategy sets the framework for industry and regulators to achieve the goal of reducing worker fatalities, injuries, and illnesses over the next 10 years.

The direction of the 2023-2033 national WHS strategy was informed by the context of the current and emerging employment landscape as well as stakeholder insights. The new strategy was also guided by the achievements made and activities implemented from the 2012-2022 national WHS strategy, with the aim to expand on the positive momentum shown throughout Australia in the last 10 years.

Shaping the new strategy: past achievements and activities

The 2012-2022 national WHS strategy included three national targets, seven action areas including leadership and culture, priority industries and priority conditions such as occupational lung diseases and mental health.

These are some of the outcomes from those targets, actions areas and priority conditions:

National targets: all three targets were achieved or on track to being achieved by the end of 2022.
- 35% decrease in traumatic injury fatalities, against a target of 20%
- 24% decrease in the incidence rate of serious injuries, against a target of 30%
- 30% decrease in the incidence rate of musculoskeletal claims, against a target of 30%

Action areas:
- Leadership and culture: COVID-19 disrupted the nature of work with many Australians having to work from home or under different conditions. SWA played an important role in ensuring leaders of businesses and communities continued to maintain worker health and safety as a priority.

Prevention measures for priority conditions:
- Occupational lung diseases: SWA conducted a six-month education and awareness campaign and published the Model Code of Practice: Managing the Risks of Respirable Crystalline Silica From Engineered Stone in the Workplace to address the prevention of silicosis and other occupational lung diseases.
- Mental health: The model WHS Regulations were amended to include psychosocial risks and a new model Code of Practice for managing psychosocial hazards in the workplace was published.
- Mental health from harmful behaviours: Amendments to the Fair Work Act 2009 and Sex Discrimination Act 1984 were made following a national inquiry into sexual harassment, including a positive duty to eliminate discrimination and harassment.

Download a comparison chart between the 2012-2022 national WHS strategy and the 2023-2033 national WHS strategy below.

Shaping the new strategy: fatality and workers’ compensation data

Whilst the recent progress of reduced worker fatalities and injuries is positive, SWA data shows it’s still not enough. Workers are dying or being seriously injured from the same workplace hazards. Musculoskeletal conditions continue to account for most compensation claims for serious injury; and the six high-risk industries requiring targeted attention continue to be agriculture, construction, transport, manufacturing, healthcare and social assistance, and public administration and safety.

In addition, the current context of work has seen the rise of compensation claims for psychological injuries, and the rise of cancer and respiratory diseases for occupations such as stonemasons and engineered stone workers.

A snapshot of the latest work-related fatalities and serious injury and illness compensation claims proves the continued need for a national focus on worker health and safety protection.

Snapshot of the latest statistics

For the 2022 calendar year:

195 worker fatalities occurred
72% of worker fatalities involved a vehicle
most fatalities occurred in the transport, postal and warehouse industry
most fatalities happened to machinery operators and drivers.

For the 2021-2022 financial year:

127,756 serious injury and illness claims were made
most of those claims were made in the healthcare and social assistance industry relating to psychological hazards.

Shaping the new strategy: WHS challenges now and ahead

The way Australians work has changed extensively since the previous strategy was developed in 2012. Factors such as COVID-19, climate change, hybrid work, Artificial Intelligence (AI) and emerging technologies have identified emerging challenges, alongside the challenges that persist in the workplace landscape.

Persistent challenges

Managing psychosocial risks: Improving Persons Conducting a Business or Undertaking’s (PCBUs), workers’ and communities’ understanding of and compliance with psychosocial duties.
Health and safety vulnerability: Developing PCBUs’ understanding of factors affecting a worker’s WHS vulnerability, such as being young or from a culturally and linguistically diverse background and including these considerations when designing safe work systems.
Supporting small businesses: Tailoring WHS information and advice for small business owners to drive more positive WHS outcomes.

Emerging challenges

Rise of AI, automation and related technologies: Ensuring the introduction of new technology does not bring new or additional WHS risks to workers.
New types of work: Providing more clarity around WHS roles and responsibilities for workers and PCBUs with multiple jobs, overlapping or shared work and responsibilities, or with employment in gig or platform work contexts.
Workforce demographic shifts: Proactively designing safe work environments to cater for older workers and migrant workers with culturally and linguistically diverse backgrounds.
Hybrid work: Assessing the impact of flexible working arrangements on risk management processes and consultation with workers.
Climate-related risks: Considering increased extreme weather events, new decarbonisation and circular economy technologies and industries, and the spread of infectious diseases as workplace hazards requiring control measures.
More complex supply chains: Applying a more systematic approach to WHS risk management across global supply chains to ensure consistency and clarity. This will be particularly significant for high hazard and industries such as the emerging hydrogen industry.

The new strategy: goal and targets

Considering the recent claims data, existing and developing workplace challenges, and the outcomes from the previous strategy, the 2023-2032 national WHS strategy has set a national goal of further reducing work-related fatalities, injuries and illnesses.

Eight national targets have been set to help track progress towards the national goal. These are:

30% decrease in the number of worker fatalities caused by traumatic injuries
20% decrease in the frequency rate of serious claims resulting in one or more weeks off
15% decrease in the frequency rate of permanent impairment
Reduce the overall incidence of work-related injury or illness among workers to below 3.5%
No new cases of accelerated silicosis by 2033
20% decrease in the frequency rate of work-related respiratory disease
All SWA members take action to increase the awareness of PCBUs about their duty to protect workers from exposure to harmful substances coinciding with the introduction of new workplace exposure standards
All SWA members take action to build the capability of PCBUs, regulators and workers to comply with their duty to manage psychosocial hazards at work

The new strategy: enablers and actions

To achieve the national goal and fulfil the new national vision of ‘safe and healthy work for all’, the strategy has detailed three critical enablers and five forward-thinking actions.

The enablers

Embedding good WHS practices: PCBUs to invest in good WHS practices for arising challenges such as changing employment and operational arrangements, global supply chains and the increased use of technology; and for regulators provide information to help ensure compliance.
Deepening knowledge of WHS risks: Broadening the evidence base for WHS risks that informs regulation and policy development by addressing data gaps in areas such as occupational diseases and the experiences of injuries among different work groups.
Collaborating to respond to WHS challenges: A more effective and consistent collaboration and exchange of information and insights between PCBUs and workers at a local level, and between governments, industry and unions at a national level.

The actions

Information and raising awareness: Running information and awareness campaigns to help businesses improve their WHS awareness and compliance.
National coordination: Jurisdictions working together to tackle complex WHS challenges that affect all Australian workplaces such as sexual harassment.
Data and intelligence gathering: Sharing data between governments, industry and other stakeholders to understand trends and patterns to develop policy based on evidence.
Health and safety leadership: Governments, industry, organisations, PCBUs and workers to play their part in building a culture of health and safety and lead by example.
Compliance and enforcement: Improving compliance and enforcement across goods and labour supply chains, and in poor performing sectors and high-risk sectors .

The new strategy: a changed WHS system

The enablers and actions will also be crucial in driving significant shifts to the national WHS system. These shifts will help Australian jurisdictions successfully and collectively navigate the new and ever-evolving working landscape and its impending challenges.

Shift one: from harmonised to mature

In the previous decade, all jurisdictions (except Victoria) aligned their WHS legislation to the model WHS laws for a more harmonised approach to protecting workers from physical and psychological harm. The aim is to strengthen information sharing and collaboration between these jurisdictions, including coordinating compliance and enforcement, capacity building and education, and awareness campaigns for significant WHS issues.

Shift two: from ‘how’ to ‘why’

Effective WHS risk management is generally achieved by organisations with a strong health and safety work culture. These organisations appreciate the contributions of their workers and worker representatives in developing and implementing preventative control measures. This mindset is the focus, cultivating a safe and healthy workplace culture and good work design with workers at the centre.

Shift three: from ‘current’ to ‘evolving’

The strategy proposes broadening the data, research and intelligence gathered to better inform the WHS responsibilities of new and emerging types of work and technologies, and to better forecast and action potential emerging hazards and risks.