OHS in Victoria

17 September 2015

Clare Amies Chief Executive WorkSafe Victoria

WorkSafe’s core business functions are determined by legislation

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Coverage

WorkSafe’s role

Promote and enforce workplace health and safety in Victoria through regulation of performance based legislation

where onus is on employers to comply

Provide insurance protection to employers and benefits for injured workers (incl early RTW) in a ‘no fault’ scheme

through administration of prescriptive legislation

Occupational Health and Safety Act 2004 and related Acts and regulations

Workplace Injury Rehabilitation and Compensation Act 2013 and related Acts and regulations

Operational principles

• Provide highest level of protection against risks to health and safety

• Eliminate or reduce risks to health and safety so far as is reasonably practicable

• Constructive modern regulator • Provide for proactive involvement of workplace parties in

ensuring workplace health and safety

• Manage the scheme as effectively and efficiently as possible

• Maintain pricing-benefits balance • Employment as a significant contributing factor to an injury • Provide for proactive involvement of workplace parties in

enabling early return to work

Historical origin

Product of the perceived inadequacies of the earlier private workers' compensation insurance system from late 19th

century

Product of significant manufacturing activity and radical Victorian politics in late 19th century – Govt took role of

protecting workers

“OHS Regulator” Influence behaviour of workplace parties

“Scheme Administrator” Insurance and assurance

All Victorian employers Victorian employers with employees

Claims per Million Hours Worked (CpMHW)

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Jun-15 result 7.34 Jun-14 result

7.35 Jun-15 target

7.15 7.0

7.5

8.0

8.5

9.0

9.5 CpMHW

CpMHW - Actual

Projected target reduction

Source: Health & Safety Claims Performance Report – July 2015

Vision Mission Values

Strategy 2017

Safety Return to work Service Sustainability Culture & place

Workplace safety and risk controls are

continually improved in Victoria

Continued improvement in return to work

Excellence in service delivery

Continue to deliver good value at an appropriate

cost

WorkSafe is positioned for the future

Objective

Strategic priority

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Strategy 2017

External developments may be

impacting results

Increasing complexity of our environment requires us to be better-connected to, and work better with others

Page 5 Changing insurance business models

Technology & business process re-engineering

Increasing & evolving oversight of

government bodies

Issues with dispute resolution

Broad injury and disability compensation system changes

continue to evolve

External factors have the potential to raise the level of OHS risks

The 2015/16 scan identified key areas to be addressed and monitored

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Resource allocation - interconnected strategic planning

WorkSafe  Victoria  Strategy  2017  

Health  and  Safety  Strategic  Framework/  HSBU  Business  Plan  

Strategic  Priority  RecommendaCons      

Delivery  Approach  

Programs  

Projects  

Determines on what strategic priorities we will focus and why.

Uses internal and external sources.  

Sets delivery direction, approach and resource allocation within Portfolios and Strategic Program Groups – the ‘how’ and ‘who’.  

Risk  Based  Strategic  Framework  (The  H&S  Risk  PrioriCsaCon  tool)  

   Annual Review

Sets the corporate and Business Unit safety objectives, targets and goals.  

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To successfully deliver our health and safety strategy, we need to have the right mix of resources

Campaigns

Guidance

Research

Statistics and reporting

Training

Checklists

Networks and forums

Employer programs

Awards

Seminars / conferences

Grants

Premium incentives

Premium reductions / rebates

Workplace visits (Inspections, voluntary compliance and notices)

Investigations

Prosecutions

Enforceable undertakings

Encouragement WORKPLACES Deterrence

Information, education &

communication Financial incentives Risk of detection Risk of prosecution

Highlights from our recent inspectorate intakes:

new health and safety inspector graduates started out in the field on 28 May 16 new recruits started training on 1 September, of which: 23 New H&S inspectors 19

New H&S investigators 4

Three industry areas stand out in terms of changing work practices, evolving technologies and ways of operating, and comparatively higher injury rates

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16% 12% 5%

RETAIL CONSTRUCTION MANUFACTURING

KEY INDUSTRY AREAS

PROPORTION OF CLAIMS IN SCHEME

PROPORTION OF MILLION HOURS WORKED IN SCHEME

12% 8% 10%

The health care and social assistance sector is growing rapidly in Victoria

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●  Identified as a WorkSafe strategic focus area ●  Formation of dedicated Health Practice Unit within Health and Safety

with focus on industry specific programs and interventions.

64,000

BY 2019:

Graph depicts insured standardised claims from 2014/15 as at 31 August 2015 Source: Employment projections for the five years to November 2019, ABS

Which will mean there will be…

0 1,000 2,000 3,000 4,000 5,000

Claims

Manufacturing

Health Care and Social Assistance

Construction

4,216

4,574

3,195

The industry is growing quickly… …and already accounts for many injuries each year

extra workers projected to be employed in Health Care and Social Assistance

407,000 Victorian workers employed in Health Care and Social Assistance in 2019

19% Growth in employed persons in only 4 years

2nd largest Industry by volume of claims in 14/15

We are ramping up our response:

Work Related Violence

Safe Design

WorkSafe Strategy 2017 2015-16 health and safety priorities

Health Construction Agriculture Manufacturing Warehousing Transport

Indu

strie

s in

focu

s S

trate

gic

wor

k

Major Hazards Facilities Mines Construction

Dangerous Goods

Man

dato

ry W

ork

Young Workers Worker Health Asbestos

Psychological Health

Occupational disease

Manual handling Bullying

Health and safety priorities

Supply chains & networks

Eliminating risk @ source

Increasing awareness &

capability

Improved compliance &

risk control Working with & through others

Whole of organisation

approach

Stra

tegi

c A

ppro

ach

! leveraging off what we have done in the past

! incorporating input from industry ! aligning with the National Strategy and

other jurisdictions

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Returning safety to top of mind: At the end of the day, safety matters

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