OHS in the Public Sector
OHS in the Public Sector
The ASCC is encouraging the public sector to be leaders in occupational health and safety practices. All levels of government have a role to play in providing leadership to encourage safe and health workplaces. The ASCC is driving research in the areas of OHS and workers’ compensation, and has developed resources and guidance materials to encourage the up-take of OHS best-practice in the public sector.
Leadership in government workplaces
The Safe and Sound Discussion Paper outlines a best practice model on safety leadership in government workplaces.
View the Safe and Sound Discussion Paper
The publication Government Leaders, Safety Leaders provides a step by step model for implementing best practice in workplaces and provides examples of how employers and governments can lead by example. The leadership model has five major components: senior management commitment; systems review and improvement; accountability measures; executive information; and incentives.
View Goverment Leaders, Safety Leaders
OHS resources for the public sector
Occupational Health and Safety (OHS) in Australia is state based and all OHS regulations and legislation is the responsibility of state and territory OHS authorities. The states also produce guidance material specifically for public sector workers in that jurisdiction.
Website links for OHS and injury management in the public sector are:
NSW: Working Together NSW
WA: Public Sector Safety
Commonwealth: Comcare
The ASCC leads research and analysis of OHS and workers' compensation in Australia and uses the findings of this research to progress national consistency in Australia.
Find out more about the ASCC's research activities.
The business and procurement practices of government are far reaching. The public sector employs over 1.5 million people which is about 20 per cent of the Australian workforce. Of these, approximately 16 per cent work for the Australian Government, 73 per cent work for state government and 10 per cent for local government.
Guidance on OHS in Government Procurement has been developed to promote the adoption of safety standards in all government procurement activities.
View the Guidance on OHS in Government Procurement
National Strategy
The Australian Safety and Compensation Council oversees the implementation and further development of the National OHS Strategy 2002-2012 (National Strategy) a collaborative initiative between Federal, State and Territory governments and employer and employee groups.
The National OHS Strategy 2002-12 (National Strategy) identifies five national priorities to bring about short and long-term OHS improvements, as well as longer-term cultural change. The fifth priority is to strengthen the capacity of government to influence OHS outcomes. It aims to improve the health and safety performance of government as public sector employers.
Page last updated: 22/08/2007