The Promoting effective health and safety leadership – Australian Strategy Topic Paper has been released by Safe Work Australia with the stated purpose  “to describe how the due diligence duties of officers under the harmonised Work Health and Safety legislation support the leadership that contributes to an improved organisational culture.”

 

According to the executive summary there is a shift from physical workplace hazards in the direction of creating safer systems of work and the role that is played by the decision makers in a company in making sure that a workplace is healthy and safe.

 

This means that rather than purely being on the workers or ‘shop floor’ there is a move to include and focus on the people that work in senior management and on Boards that determine how businesses are conducted.

 

The due diligence responsibilities are now connected to the functions that these officers can control that will affect the behaviour and decisions on work health and safety and can influence the safety culture in a workplace.

 

Implications for the Australian Strategy

1. Policy

- Focus on organisational and industry governance as a means of promoting work health and safety

- Prioritise leadership as a means of fostering a workplace culture of health and safety

- Consider further regulatory strategies to develop and promote leadership, governance and a positive organisational culture.

2. Action

- Utilise guidance and compliance approaches that consolidate and reinforce the due diligence requirements of officers.

- Develop performance measures for due diligence and for leadership, and

- Develop an organisational reporting framework for due diligence compliance, leadership and/or culture.

 

For the full document see the Safe Work Australia website.