Department of Agriculture, Water and the Environment, 2020
Online version
The Department of Climate Change, Energy, the Environment and Water is committed to the mental and physical health and safety of our people, our visitors and others who work for us and with us.
The Department and its senior executives, including the Director of National Parks, are committed to meeting the requirements under the Work Health and Safety Act 2011 (Cth) (WHS Act) and the Safety, Rehabilitation and Compensation Act 1988 by having a work health and safety management system, and a rehabilitation management system aligned to relevant Australian and international standards.
Our proactive strategies are aimed at enhancing the health and wellbeing of our people and will contribute to improved safety outcomes.
Our leadership is critical to promoting a safety culture that is inclusive, supportive and free from harassment, discrimination and bullying. Together we acknowledge our shared responsibilities.
Commitment
Our proactive strategies are aimed at enhancing the health and wellbeing of our people to achieve desired outcomes. We commit to:
- providing and maintaining a safety-first workplace culture where we take care of each other and provide a work environment where safety is prioritised
- enhancing an integrated work health and safety management system
- taking all reasonably practicable measures to eliminate or, where that is not possible, minimise risks to the physical and mental health, safety and wellbeing of our people and others using the hierarchy of controls
- providing effective information, wellbeing programs and training for our people
- fostering a collaborative and cooperative relationship with our people and other stakeholders through effective consultation regarding health, safety and wellbeing activities at work
- encouraging effective early intervention practices to better identify risk and minimise the impact on the physical and mental health of our people
- supporting the rehabilitation of our people following an injury or illness, enabling a safe and productive return to work
- promoting a nationally consistent approach to rehabilitation and improving awareness of rehabilitation initiatives to ensure timely and effective outcomes monitoring and evaluating work health and safety performance as part of a continual improvement process to assess the effectiveness of our work health and safety management system.
We each contribute to building and maintaining a physical and mentally healthy work environment by caring for one another and always putting safety first. Each of us plays an important role in engaging in meaningful, respectful and open consultation about health and safety matters to achieve our strategic outcomes.
We acknowledge our shared duties under the WHS Act are committed to consulting, cooperating and coordinating health and safety activities to achieve positive safety outcomes for our people.