;

The Government’s Working Safer blueprint provided the programme of change necessary to transform health and safety at work.

The Royal Commission on the Pike River Coal Mine Tragedy and the Report of the Independent Taskforce on Workplace Health and Safety concluded that there is no one problem and no one solution to improve the workplace health and safety system. Meaningful change requires investment, focus, and commitment from government, businesses, and workers together.

Working Safer is framed under three critical areas: working smarter, targeting risk, and working together – ultimately to work healthier and safer. These priorities, along with strengthening WorkSafe, form the strategic priorities that guide our organisation’s focus and effort.

Working smarter

We aim to work smarter by promoting accessible information, robust professional advice, and  effective training so that more people in workplaces know what is expected of them in relation to health and safety at work, and how to take action. We aim to base our activity on the best available information on risks and their underlying causes, and evidence on what interventions work.

Targeting risk

WorkSafe targets its effort based on levels of risk. Businesses in high hazard industries, and sectors with common risks of acute, chronic, or catastrophic harm, will need to do more to manage their risk. Businesses with lower levels of risk will have less risk to manage to meet their responsibilities and will have minimal health and safety costs. Our harm-prevention activity is focused on higher-risk industries, common risks across industries, and lifting health and safety capabilities in all businesses.

Working together

WorkSafe needs everyone to play their role in health and safety at work; we all have an interest in reducing work-related harm and death. For workplace leaders it is about effective safety governance, and for workers it is about engagement and participation; for everyone it is about effective collaboration on health and safety.

Strengthening our organisation

WorkSafe itself is continuing to strengthen and consolidate our organisation, ensuring that we have the internal skills, systems, tools, and technology needed to support a smart and capable regulator.