Safety Around Your Vehicle Compliance Project Launched by SafeWork NSW and 2021 National Return to Work Survey Released

SafeWork NSW has launched the second stage of its Safety Around Your Vehicle Compliance Project. The campaign aims to promote safety practices when working around vehicles.

SafeWork Executive Director, Tony Williams, said tasks performed around vehicles were the leading cause of death and non-driving serious injuries in road transport and logistics.

“During Stage 1 of the project, 1 March to 30 August 2021, inspectors visited 327 transport and construction businesses throughout NSW, issuing 71 notices. They focused on promoting safer working practices for transport operators when loading, unloading and working around vehicles,” Mr Williams said.

“Stage 2 is extended to carry out visits across the supply chain including retail, manufacturing, and wholesale sectors. They will focus on high-risk tasks in and around heavy vehicles such as loading/unloading, forklift safety and traffic management. It will run until the end of June 2022.

SafeWork NSW said a number of serious incidents around vehicles have recently occurred. In August, a 19-year-old worker was fatally struck by a forklift while collecting chickens in a poultry shed near Tamworth. And in another incident in October, a 59-year-old crane operator was pinned against a wall while unloading an air conditioning unit from a truck in Thornleigh.

Additional information on the Safety Around Your Vehicle Campaign is available on SafeWork NSW website.

Read the full story on the SafeWork NSW website.

Initial findings of the 2021 National Return to Work Survey released

Safe Work Australia has released the initial findings of the 2021 National Return to Work Survey. The report titled 2021 National Return to Work Survey Headline Measures Report provides an overview of key return to work measures captured in the 2021 National Return to Work Survey.

Safe Work Australia said the results show a national returned to work rate of 91.6% and a current return to work rate of 81.3%.

According to Safe Work Australia, the ‘returned to work rate’ is the proportion of workers who said they had returned to work after a work related injury or illness, while the ‘current return to work rate’ is the proportion of workers who reported they had returned to work after a work-related injury or illness and were in paid employment when the survey was conducted.

Safe Work Australia said it will publish a more detailed 2021 National Return to Work Survey summary report early next year.

Read full the 2021 National Return to Work Survey Headline Measures Report here.