Safety is everyone’s business
Queensland Teachers' Journal, Vol 129 No 7, 27 September 2024, page 20.
October is National Safe Work Month (NSWM) – a time to commit to building safe and healthy workplaces for all Australians.
Held annually in October, NSWM encourages all individuals and organisations to prioritise work health and safety (WHS) and take preventative action to reduce the number of work-related injuries, illnesses and fatalities.
The campaign aims to promote a positive safety culture and emphasise the importance of good WHS practices.
Each NSWM revolves around an annual safety-related theme and each week is dedicated to a particular WHS topic.
Safe Work Australia, the national policy agency responsible for WHS and workers’ compensation arrangements in Australia, has run a national campaign each October to raise awareness of WHS and provide resources for Australian workplaces to run their own events.
Why is NSWM important
The latest data shows that in 2022, 195 workers in Australia were fatally injured at work and 127,800 serious workers’ compensation claims were made.
No job should be unsafe, and no death or injury is acceptable. NSWM provides a valuable opportunity to raise awareness of WHS and highlight the collective benefit safe and healthy work has for individuals, organisations and the wider community.
2024 theme: Safety is everyone’s business
This theme highlights that a safe and healthy working environment is a fundamental principle and right across all industries and occupations, while reinforcing the business benefit that comes from committing to safer workplaces. The theme emphasises the positive outcomes of good WHS risk management, highlighting individual, organisational and wider community benefit.
Let’s keep workers safe and healthy by ensuring WHS is core to how we do business in Australia.
What are the 2024 weekly topics?
Each week of NSWM revolves around a different WHS topic. This year the weekly topics are:
- Week 1: Work health and safety fundamentals
- Week 2: Psychosocial hazards
- Week 3: Risk management fundamentals
- Week 4: Musculoskeletal injuries.
If you want to get involved or access resources for NSWM, visit: National Safe Work Month 2024 | Safe Work Australia.