Safety capability survey
The Safety capability survey is a leading indicator tool that provides an overview of the potential of an organisation to maintain work health and safety (WHS) when faced with uncertainty, risks, and other modern work environment challenges.
Capable workplaces will manage and respond to these challenges in ways that promote safe and productive work, prevent injuries and illnesses, and support sustainable recovery and return to work (RTW).
Take the next step to improve the capability of your organisation by preparing your workplace and registering here.
The survey asks participants how WHS and recovery and RTW is perceived and managed in their workplace. The survey results will identify areas of strength and areas where safety capability could be improved, with suggestions as to how to use our resources and tools to help take positive action for a safer, healthier workplace.
The survey will remain in 'draft status' until you’re ready to make it live. It will automatically close in nine weeks if you don’t complete the survey.
Once the survey is live, you will receive a templated invitation via email with your unique URL to email directly to participants. Please feel free to amend the invitation as you like.
When your organisation has completed the survey, you’ll receive a report, accompanied by a single page executive summary. The report scores each of the 14 focus areas to provide an overall picture of your current workplace level of Safety capability, key strengths and improvement opportunities.
Use our resources to develop an action plan and communication strategy to make positive safety capability changes at your workplace.
Preparing your workplace
Explain the survey’s purpose and benefits to your staff to engage them and increase participation. We recommend you:
- communicate with your workforce about the safety capability survey and the benefits of being involved i.e. improve their work health and safety.
- identify your survey administrator and champions to help manage the process. They should be interested in and understand safety capability, leadership and culture.
- use our resources to learn more about safety capability and how to gain commitment, identify your champions and communicate your plan.
Resources include:
- a Safety capability information flyer (PDF, 0.36 MB) to provide an overview of the survey and what to expect
- a business case (DOCX, 0.74 MB) template to help engage your senior leaders and the broader workforce
- a communication plan (PDF, 0.22 MB) to keep your workplace informed during the survey
- a project timeline
- a promotional poster (DOCX, 1.29 MB) to remind people about the survey.
Frequently asked questions
Take the opportunity to explore the results further with your workers. Focus groups and informal conversations will provide further context and help you understand the survey results better. Organisations are also able to re-take the Safety capability survey. This may be helpful if you have concerns about the validity of results (e.g., sample size, representation across different work groups and roles).
Recovery and return to work is an indicator of an organisation’s approach to injury management and return to work. How an organisation responds to an incident demonstrates safety beliefs and values to workers. Recovery and return to work can also have implications for absenteeism, turnover, and workforce stability, which can contribute to the organisation’s ability to manage and respond to risks.
There are no direct costs associated with doing the survey. Changes you make as part of interventions may require financial investment by your organisation.
No. All participants need to complete the survey via a computer, mobile phone, or tablet with internet connectivity.
No. Data is deidentified and your organisation will not be able to identify you. Data is reported at the group-level, meaning your organisation does not have access to individual responses, only the aggregated report.
The survey takes approximately 15 – 20 minutes to complete it.
The survey is not compulsory, and you can exit at any time to withdraw your responses. Your data will not be included in the final report unless you complete the survey.
The survey is designed to improve the capability of your organisation to maintain work health and safety by promoting safe and productive work, preventing injuries and illnesses, and supporting sustainable recovery and return to work.
You can ask the survey organiser or nominated survey champions in your workplace (if appointed). Alternatively, you can review Safety capability, leadership and culture to find out more about safety capability.
Take advantage of tailored face-to-face advice provided by our Injury Prevention and Management (IPaM) advisors. IPaM advisors can assist you assess your safety management system and advise you on how to make improvements. IPaM is free for Queensland businesses. Register for IPaM to talk to an advisor.
The data is stored in Australia on secured servers.
Resources
View the Resources page for information and tips on how to improve your systems and processes to build your safety capability and understand your legal obligations.