B7 Work, Health and Safety

The Directorate holds the health, safety and wellbeing of its workforce and of its students at the core of its education and school improvement agenda. In the 2017-18 financial year, the Directorate continued its strong focus on health and safety performance, and sought to further influence and enhance this performance.

Work continued in addressing the safety risk of occupational violence. The Managing Occupational Violence Policy and associated Plan were published in July 2017. The implementation of this policy and management plan has seen the Education Directorate undertake an extensive body of work to help guide a culture shift across the Directorate in relation to capacity building around identifying and mitigating the risks of occupational violence.

This work has been largely focused on school-based staff and the following bodies of work commenced during 2017-18. The Territory has initiated a system-wide review of the Directorate’s occupational violence approach. This has led to the strengthening of the Directorate’s architecture to support occupational violence with a focus on two main areas:

1. improving organisational culture and training specific to occupational violence; and
2. recalibrating the Directorate’s risk management strategy in relation to occupational violence.

In particular, in August 2016, the Directorate commenced work to identify and treat risks associated with occupational violence in ACT public schools. The program of work included a joint Australian Education Union/Education Directorate working group, formed on 30 August 2016, to progress a program of agreed work. Products from this collaboration includes an Occupational Violence Management Policy and Plan, support documents and products for use in schools and classrooms throughout the ACT Public School system.

In December 2016, the Directorate formalised its Occupational Violence Safety Management System project. This program of work included:

• training for all principals - delivered in December 2016 by the former WorkSafe ACT Commissioner Mark McCabe. The training focused on work health and safety and due diligence;
• training for staff which was delivered by principals at all schools using the resources from Mark McCabe focusing on work health and safety and due diligence;
• teleconferences with all principals where the Director-General held teleconferences with principals on work health and safety and due diligence on 7 December 2016;
• discussions about work health and safety at staff meetings - Principals and Directors – School Improvement (the supervisors of principals) were directed to ensure that work health and safety was an agenda item at staff meetings and at all network meetings (network is a meeting of principals of up to 23 schools based on their geographic location);
• a due diligence audit of work health and safety in schools which was undertaken early December 2016. The audit was undertaken by Health and Safety professionals from the Work Safety team in the Chief Minister, Treasury and Economic Development Directorate. The audit made recommendations regarding training; consultation; mentoring; reporting; training records; risk assessments and registers; support services; and policies and procedures. These recommendations were implemented;
• streamlining operations to ensure a co-ordinated approach to support injured staff which includes timely phone and email contact with injured staff from the Directorate injury management team;
• a review of risk management processes to ensure that risk assessments are reflective of work health and safety risks, the controls are in line with the hierarchy of control and applied within the context of behaviour management planning, the learning process and student context. Work health and safety professionals work closely with, schools and the Directorate’s specialist educators and/or allied health team to provide contemporary risk assessments and associated controls designed to mitigate risk and ensure the safety of staff and students;
• an independent assessment of the systems to mitigate the risks of occupational violence, engaged in December 2016. The review by David Caple and Associates focused on the requirements of a systems approach for the prevention of physical and psychological injury to Principals, teachers and Learning Support Assistants arising from incidents of occupational violence within ACT schools. This report recommended further training for staff working with students with complex needs, work health and safety risk assessment process and student case management approach, improving data capture for occupational violence incidents, develop closer working relationships with Universities to ensure pre-educators and early educators are provided placements and support to teach students with complex needs. The four main recommendations of the review were accepted in April 2017. The recommendations from this review are well advanced in their implementation;
• the Director-General undertaking consultation with staff in May 2017 on the proposed draft occupational violence policy and plan. The new policy was launched in July 2017. A suite of tools and initiatives complemented the policy and were developed to enhance the management of Occupational Violence. Tools include: posters and email banners, risk assessment tools and a renewed intranet page on Occupational Violence Management;
• training learning support assistants through a whole school professional learning or through targeted learning support assistant sessions. This one-day trauma training workshop outlines principles of neuroscience that inform good practice in education and participants develop an understanding of the prevalence and impact of trauma;
• the ACT Government provided $0.9 million in the 2017-18 Budget for additional work health and safety staff resources to support schools to implement changes to practice and better manage this risk. Staff identified as part of this initiative have been engaged;
• in December 2017, the Directorate implemented an initial pilot training program with 14 Learning Support Assistants completing their Certificate IV in Education Support with the Canberra Institute of Technology (CIT). The pilot enabled the participants to build their capability to work with students, particularly those with complex needs and challenging behaviour;
• as of September 2018, 48 schools have participated in occupational violence training. The remaining schools will complete training by the end of 2018 and
• the ACT Government has provided $5.6 million over the forward estimates to support the enhancement and development of sensory spaces into schools where staff are able to support students with complex needs and challenging behaviour to manage their sensory needs. Factsheets and professional learning for this initiative have been developed for schools to support them in creating sensory spaces within the school environment.

As part of the Schools for All Program, the Directorate focussed on ongoing capability development of the workforce with regard to meeting the changing needs of students. This development and training had a particular focus on responding to students with complex needs and challenging behaviour.

In addition to this occupational violence work, the Directorate has delivered a number of initiatives which support its workers’ wider health, safety and wellbeing including reviewing and strengthening the content of the Education Safety Management System including:

• specific risk management guidance material to assist design and technology staff;
• ongoing revision of the Safety Management System to remove duplication, simplify the content, and to adopt changes in ACT legislation including the Global Harmonised System of classification of hazardous substances;
• development and distribution of a quarterly wellbeing newsletter;
• strengthening Directorate guidance material on health and safety roles and responsibilities including clearer linkages to ACT public sector policy;
• providing work, health and safety (WHS) advice for key groups across the Directorate including business managers, building service officers, health and safety representatives, and first aid officers;
• providing an influenza vaccination program for staff; and
• providing a Hepatitis A/B vaccination program for workers in high-risk roles.

Investigations

In 2018 WorkSafe ACT issued the Directorate with two Improvement Notices, one relating to the training of staff in the administration of medication and one due to an electrical shock incident.

The Directorate undertook a range of actions and initiatives to address the requirements of these notices. In both situations the Improvement Notices were removed by WorkSafe ACT as all requirements and recommendations of the notice had been addressed.

The Directorate reported 26 notifiable incidents to WorkSafe ACT during the reporting period. Incidents reported included a gas bottle fire, disturbance of asbestos containing material, electrical shock incidents and falls. Incidents also involved events where a worker or third party attended hospital or sought medical treatment.

Proactively, the Directorate’s Health Safety and Wellbeing team (HSW) completed 76 worker related health and safety risk assessments at 37 schools.

Reporting

During the 2017-18 reporting period, 3,139 worker work health and safety incident reports were received including 38 reports for other parties. Reporting numbers increased from 2,242 in the previous year and this is reflective of increased workforce education on the importance of reporting and the provision of an online reporting tool, RiskMan. This increase in reporting has not seen a significant increase in lost time injuries.

In addition to worker incidents, there were 1,660 student accident and incident reports for the reporting period.

Worker Consultation Arrangements and Health and Safety Representatives

The Directorate is committed to effective communication and consultation with its workers on work health and safety matters at all levels of the organisation.

The Directorate, in consultation with its workers, has established work groups across all schools and the Education Support Office to consult with its workers. The work group may include all workers, or the workers may be arranged into multiple units. Ninety-seven work groups have been formed across the Directorate workplaces including all ACT public primary schools, preschools, early childhood schools, high schools, colleges, and Education Support Office locations.

During the reporting period Health and Safety Representative (HSR) Elections were held. The Directorate had 91 HSRs and 61 Deputy HSRs undertaking these roles during the 2017-18 reporting period.

The Directorate has established reporting frameworks and network wide consultation opportunities to formalise discussions with stakeholder groups, including regular reporting on health and safety performance.

Injury Prevention and Management

Injury Prevention and Management Committee

The Directorate formally consults with worker groups and the Australian Education Union (AEU), CPSU and United Voice through the Injury Prevention and Management Committee. The Committee is the key consultative forum for the Directorate on workplace health and safety matters including:

• providing advice to Corporate Executive regarding injury prevention and injury management performance and compliance;
• facilitating collaboration between the Corporate Executive and Directorate workers to instigate develop and carry out measures designed to ensure workers’ health and safety at work;
• providing advice on the ongoing development and implementation of the Directorate’s WHS policies, procedures and safety priorities;
• considering health safety and wellbeing performance;
• considering specific injury prevention and injury management advice and initiatives;
• providing advice on high level strategic initiatives to address injury data trends;
• reviewing statistical data and identify the Directorate’s risk profile trends through reported hazards, incidents/accidents, injuries or diseases;
• considering matters relevant and reflect on current practice in relation to worker health and safety issues which have not been resolved or not resolved satisfactory at a local level.

Injury Prevention and Management Programs

In 2017-18, the Directorate implemented a range of health and safety programs to support worker welfare including:

• delivery of the Influenza vaccination program to 2,890 permanent and contract employees;
• providing 34 Hepatitis A/B vaccinations to targeted worker groups including building service officers, first aid officers, early childhood educators and learning support assistants;
• providing workstation assessments to assist with ergonomic set-up for 45 workers;
• providing ongoing mandatory health and safety training requirements for key worker groups within the Directorate;
• continue the Employee Assistance Program counselling service for workers and their families for both work and non-work related matters;
• pilot Certificate IV in Education Support and Trauma Training for Learning Support Assistants;
• Occupational Violence Management Induction in schools; and
• recruitment of a chief safety officer.

Performance against the Australian Work Health and Safety Strategy 2012-22 Targets

Target 1 - A reduction of at least 30 percent in the incidence rate of claims resulting in one or more weeks off work

The Directorate has been performing above expectations since the introduction of the performance targets. In this reporting period, the Directorate experienced a significant decrease in the number of claims for musculoskeletal disorders however an increase in psychological injury and secondary psychological injury has seen a sustained number of new five-day claims along with a decrease in psychological injury. A decrease in claims in the broader ACT Public Service is also reflected in the data.

The Directorate is seeking proactive approaches to address the number of claims and to support its workers’ wellbeing. The Directorate has revised its early intervention injury management support for injured workers, is focused on supporting schools with health and safety risk assessment, and is seeking specialist advice to support key stakeholder groups.

Table B7.1: Reduce the incidence rate of claims resulting in one or more weeks off work by at least 30 percent

Source: Chief Minister, Treasury and Economic Development Directorate

Note: Dates are based on those claims received by Comcare in each financial year. Past years' claim numbers may differ from results published in previous annual reports due to maturation of claims data. The report includes accepted claims which result in one or more weeks off work. Data includes claims up to 30 June 2018.

Target 2 - A reduction of at least 30 percent in the incidence rate of claims for musculoskeletal disorders resulting in one or more weeks off work

Table B7.2: Reduce the incidence rate of claims for musculoskeletal disorders (MSD) by at least 30 percent

Source: Chief Minister, Treasury and Economic Development Directorate

Note: Dates are based on those claims received by Comcare in each financial year. Past years' claim numbers may differ from results published in previous annual reports due to maturation of claims data. The report includes accepted claims which result in one or more weeks off work. Data includes claims up to 30 June 2018.

For further information contact:
Director, People and Performance
(02) 6205 9203