Category ten – Best demonstrated leadership in work health and safety and return to work systems (Individual or organisation entry)
This award recognises outstanding leadership in work health and safety (WHS) and rehabilitation and return to work (RRTW) systems and practices, implemented by an individual or organisation.
The individual or organisation demonstrates strong leadership, culture, and commitment to continuous improvement and sharing knowledge in work health and safety and rehabilitation and return to work systems.
Leadership exists at all levels of an organisation. While the level of safety and return to work maturity will vary from person to person and across different organisations, all safety and return to work leaders share a common objective – to create safer and more productive workplaces.
Strong leadership in WHS and RRTW requires a ‘systems’ (i.e. work design) and a ‘person centred’ approach to understand a worker’s and workplace’s unique risk factors which contribute to workplace injuries and lessening the impact of an injury on the workplace, the worker, their family and the wider community.
Entry criteria
Please provide a detailed example for each criteria below.
Demonstrates, through actions and decisions, that a positive safety and return to work culture is a core workplace priority. Consultation and support of staff is gained by promoting and fostering a positive safety, rehabilitation and return to work culture.
There is organisation-wide commitment to person centred approaches to workplace safety and return to work initiatives both at operational and strategic levels.
The organisation/individual’s work health and safety and rehabilitation and return to work initiative/s are practical, cost effective, and innovative, and developed with input from a range of stakeholders and staff using best practice methods.
How do you encourage discussion about problems, errors, and incidents, to reduce the likelihood of major destructive or harmful events in work health and safety and return to work systems?
How do you identify and assess risks and challenges, and make meaningful changes to safety, return to work and effective team performance?
How has the organisation implemented initiatives that are practical, cost effective and innovative towards increasing work health and safety and return to work capability?
The initiative/s have broader application across other workplaces and industries in work health and safety and return to work systems, and positive feedback has been received from industry about the initiative/s.
How do you provide practical support to help solve issues and offer solutions that can assist a worker’s health and safety, early and safe recovery and return to work.
How do you demonstrate your commitment to fostering a positive safety culture in your workplace?
How do you monitor and/or maintain a positive safety culture in your workplace?
Consider the workplace’s ability to:
- encourage people to talk openly about safety-related mistakes so others can learn
- raise any safety topic in discussion without fear of backlash or ridicule
- talk about anything related to safety, even if controversial.