Working together to improve health, safety and injury management in public sector workplaces

Visit news and events page for details. 

2021

DMIRS is committed to supporting the public sector through a Community of Practice for Work Health and Safety (WHS). WorkSafe Commissioner, Darren Kavanagh welcomed more than 80 WHS managers and practitioners on 27 August to discuss current and emerging issues for the public sector.

WHS and injury management trends and topics included the impact of COVID on WHS teams, the preparation of the new WHS Act and our WHS Reform team provided an update on the support available from DMIRS.

Speakers presented on a wide range of interesting topics, represented by the WA Police, Transport, GESB, North Metropolitan Health Service and DMIRS.   

DMIRS Principal Scientific Officer, Kath Jones discussed risk management of occupational violence and aggression (OVA) in public sector workplaces and how the introduction of new laws and codes of practice may impact prevention and injury management. Kath’s presentation gave attendees an eye-opening insight into the different types of OVA, and how they are managed across different public services.

Senior OSH Consultant Kim Whale from North Metropolitan Health Service (NMHS) gave an interesting insight into the roller coaster of COVID in a tertiary hospital.  Kim spoke about how their staff had to prepare for the worst only to return to business as usual several times and how this affected their workforce.

The event was at full capacity demonstrating that there is an interest in sharing information on current public sector issues WHS and injury management topics.

If you would like more information about the WHS Community of Practice, email Public Sector WHS with your questions.

2020

The Community of Practice event in February 2020 was facilitated by DMIRS. Held in the Exhibition Hall at 140 William St, Perth, it was attended by about 100 public sector WHS professionals. Links to presentations are provided below:

• The WorkSafe Plan as a self-audit tool - Chris Kirwin: Director WorkSafe – Industrial and Regional​
• Thrive – Assisting Western Australian workplaces to promote positive mental health and well-being – Karina Jorritsma – Curtin University
• An introduction to the incoming WSH legislation - Andrew Cotgreave: Senior Policy Officer – Department Mines, Industry Regulation and Safety

2019

The inaugural Community of Practice event was held in September 2019. It was attended by about 70 WHS professionals passionate about creating and maintaining safe and healthy workplaces.

Links to presentations by three of the key agencies are provided below: 

• DMIRS and OSH in the Public Sector – presented by Sally North, Director WorkSafe Service Industries and Specialists, DMIRS​;
• Public Sector OSH & IM Community of Practice – presented by Karen Van Der Hoeven, Workers' Compensation Section Manager, Insurance Commission of Western Australia and;
• Workplace Safety and Health Community of Practice – presented by Chris White, Chief Executive Officer, WorkCover WA.

• Having a functioning safety and health committees is a visible way of engaging people in health and safety matters at work, and demonstrating commitment and leadership
• Safety and health representatives play a key role in consultative processes, including identifying and resolving issues.
• Consultation means actively seeking and then taking account the views of workers before making a decision.
• Not all approaches to workplace health and safety will be the same – there is no such thing as a one-size-fits-all solution. Larger agencies, for example, may have well-established safety and health committees. In smaller agencies, Chief Executive Officers may have to take a more hands-on approach to health, safety and injury management practices.
• As well as safety and health representatives, each safety and health committee should have a representative from the agency’s corporate executive and, where possible, include a union representative.
• The committee should report regularly to the agency’s executive on actions and outcomes. Ideally, workplace safety, health and injury management should be a standing item on the executive’s meeting agenda.
• The committee should be prepared to collect data and report regularly on workplace health and safety performance, including to the executive and through the agency’s annual report.

Public Sector Commission

The Public Sector Commission provides instructions for workplace health, safety and injury management matters to be reported consistently across the sector. It drives accountability and performance improvements, and supports effective and efficient practices across the sector.

Department of Mines, Industry Regulation and Safety

As well as a regulatory compliance role through its WorkSafe directorates, the Department of Mines, Industry Regulation and Safety plays a key role in helping WA workplaces to eliminate or reduce exposure to workplace hazards through the provision of information and education resources.

WorkCover WA

WorkCover WA provides advice and education on workers’ compensation and injury management, as well as monitoring compliance. It operates an independent dispute resolution service for workers’ compensation matters.

Insurance Commission of Western Australia

The Insurance Commission administers the Western Australian Government self-insurance scheme, known as the RiskCover Fund. The Fund provides workers’ compensation and liability insurance cover to government departments and agencies.

Mental Health Commission

The Mental Health Commission provides support for identifying and addressing mental health matters in the workplace.