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National Safe Work Month is held annually in October. It encourages all individuals and organisations to prioritise workplace health and safety and take preventative action to reduce the number of work-related injuries, illnesses and fatalities. The campaign aims to promote a positive safety culture and to emphasise the importance of good workplace health and safety practices.
National Safe Work Month is important because the latest data from Safe Work Australia shows that in 2022, 195 workers in Australia were fatally injured at work and 127,800 serious workers’ compensation claims were made. No job should be unsafe and no death or injury is acceptable. National Safe Work Month provides a valuable opportunity to raise awareness of workplace health and safety issues and highlight the collective benefit safe and healthy work has to individuals, organisations and the wider community.
Each year has a different theme. This year’s chosen theme “safety is everyone’s business’’ has been designed to encapsulate a safe and healthy working environment as a fundamental principle across all industries and occupations, while reinforcing the business benefit that comes from committing to safer workplaces. The theme emphasises the positive outcomes of good OHS/WHS risk management, as well as highlighting individual, organisational and wider community benefit.
Each week of National Safe Work Month revolves around a different topic. This year the weekly topics are:
- Week 1: Workplace health and safety fundamentals. (This week gets back to basics by unpacking the fundamentals of WHS that everyone should know).
- Week 2: Psychosocial hazards. (Preventing psychological and physical harm at work are equally important. Encompassing World Mental Health Day, this week looks at how to identify and manage psychosocial hazards).
- Week 3: Risk management fundamentals. (Risk management is integral to a safe and healthy workplace. This week learn how to undertake a risk assessment, including how to identify hazards in the workplace).
- Week 4: Musculoskeletal injuries. (This week looks at musculoskeletal injuries and how to effectively manage the risk of harm).
Content is likely to vary from regulator to regulator across Australia.
Stay up to date and get involved via National Safe Work Month 2024 | Safe Work Australia
Or via your local OHS/WHS regulator websites WHS regulators and workers’ compensation authorities contact information | Safe Work Australia
