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Welcome to the Autumn edition of Comcare's
e-newsletter, Safety Essentials.
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 CEO update
An
important report from the Commonwealth Ombudsman was released publicly
last week detailing cases of two injured workers covered by the Comcare
scheme who were underpaid over several years.
Comcare responded
to the report, welcoming the Ombudsman's scrutiny and reinforced our
acknowledgement of the findings. The Ombudsman commended us for our
actions in addressing the recommendations in his report, including
actively seeking to recompense the workers for financial losses they
suffered as a result of the late payment of their entitlements.
To
enhance Comcare services we recently embarked on a journey to
strengthen our service delivery through a new strategic plan. This plan
will focus on improving care and support for injured workers. Through
consultation with stakeholders we have been using this opportunity to
build on our 21 years of service, and taking recent feedback to
ensure we are better placed to meet the challenges and opportunities
ahead.
I
also want to acknowledge your contribution in making our National
Seminars a high-point for this quarter. 1400 participants, Comcare and
industry speakers all sharing knowledge, ideas and useful strategies on
building or improving 'safety culture' is remarkable. Taking this
further, the SRC Commission opened its annual Safety Awards program and
introduced a brand new category; Best Workplace Health and Wellbeing
Program. I encourage you all to take time out, reflect on your own
achievements and talk with your employees about nominating in this
year's program.
Until next time, stay healthy and safe.
Paul O'Connor
CEO
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 Ahead of the game - The Blueprint for Reform of Australian Government Administration
Last
week a major report into public sector reform was
released, designed to strengthen the APS to meet future challenges.
It’s
the work of the Advisory Group on Reform of Australian Government
Administration – headed by Mr Terry Moran AO, Secretary of the
Department of Prime Minister and Cabinet.
The Blueprint
outlines an ambitious agenda to equip the APS and the nation for the
challenges of the future. It identifies four broad areas where
performance can be improved. Nine interdependent reforms, supported by
twenty-eight specific recommendations, provide a comprehensive strategy
to deliver these outcomes.
The Government is currently considering the reform directions proposed in
the Blueprint and is expected to respond through the Budget process.
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 Comcare's 2010 National Seminars
Comcare
wrapped up it's annual seminar program in Canberra on 26
March. The seminars were held throughout the month in ten
cities across the country and were attended by over 1400 participants.
The information presented by speakers gave
participants
a better understanding of how to build and enhance a workplace culture
based on safety. The strategies and tools showcased gave
participants an opportunity to analyse attitudes, explore opinions
and most importantly… got everyone thinking about 'the
way they do things around their workplace'!
Queensland Rail (QR) shared their 'safety story' of creating a safety campaign based on level-crossing incidents. Through
an integrated campaign aimed at changing attitudes and opinions,
participants heard how QR's employees, their families and wider
community were exposed to the real facts on workplace injury, all based
on real stories and hard-hitting safety messages.
Tony
Bradford from the Centre for Corporate Health presented
on leadership, cultural norms and how behavioural patterns and
styles can build a more productive organisation. Through use of
the Human Synergistics Circumplex tool, participants were able to see
the direct correlation between behavioural styles of leaders and
cultural norms of employees.
Attendees
also took part in a workshop designed to assist
participants identify their own organisation's systems, symbols or
behaviours that demonstrate cultural norms. To improve
organisational health and successfully develop a workplace safety
culture, organisations need to explore factors to influence
behaviour, implement new initiatives and continuously measure to ensure
improvement.
The seminar presentations and handouts are now available to download from our website.
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 2010 SRCC Safety Awards
Nominations for the 2010 Safety Rehabilitation and Compensation Commission (SRCC) Safety Awards are now open.
There’s
a new focus to Commonwealth workplace safety awards this year, as the
SRCC promotes innovation in health and wellbeing programs. The new
award category seeks to recognise organisations that promote health and
wellbeing in the workplace - long before employees are affected by
injury.
There
is also a new category to the Rehabilitation and Return to Work
Award to recognise individuals who are making a difference in
getting workers back to work after an injury occurs.
If
your organisation can demonstrate effective management practices,
system improvement and a high level of achievement in the area of
workplace safety or rehabilitation, then enter this year's awards!
Nominations close Monday 3 May 2010.
Further information on the nomination process, categories and assessment criteria is available on the SRCC website.
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We're speaking to injured workers
Comcare
will shortly undertake research to understand injured workers’ health
outcomes, service experience and expectations of Comcare.
Colmar
Brunton will conduct the research on Comcare’s behalf, and will speak
to injured workers from APS agencies and the ACT Government. In
particular, the research will seek to delve deeply into assessing
injured workers’ perceptions of Comcare’s claims management
process.
The
research activity, which will involve a mix of quantitative and
qualitative questioning by telephone, will take place from late April
to late May and Comcare will receive the results in early June. Comcare
will use the results to assess our performance and shape our services
for injured workers into the future.
For more information about the injured worker research, email the Marketing and Communications Section or call 1300 366 979.
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 National OHS legislation harmonisation update
Refinement of the model Work Health and Safety (WHS) Act provisions will be finalised in the coming month. In parallel to this process
is the development of the model OHS regulations and key associated
codes. It is intended that in late 2010 model regulations and codes
will be released for public comment. In mid 2011 the model regulations
and key codes will be submitted to the Workplace Relations Minister'
Council for endorsement. On 1 January 2012 the model WHS Act
and regulations will commence in all jurisdictions.
More information about the model WHS Act is available on the Safe Work Australia website.
Comcare
is hosting various forums around the country for any organisations that
would like a more detailed presentation on the new Act. Contact
Comcare in your local state to arrange a session for your team.
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 DEEWR and SKM announce innovative new research study
Is
your organisation a high-performing workplace? How do your
organisation's innovation and productivity results measure up? If
you would like to know the answer to these questions, a recently
announced major Federal Government funded project allows you to find
out.
The Department of Education, Employment and Workplace
Relations has commissioned the Society for Knowledge
Economics (SKM) to explore the leadership, culture and management
attributes of high-performing workplaces in Australia. The major
project is a key element of the 'Workplace of the Future' agenda that
was the subject of a 2009 forum hosted by the Deputy Prime
Minister, Julia Gillard.
For more information and to take part in the project visit the SKM website.
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 Launch of national HSMA campaign - we might visit your organisation
This
month Comcare will commence a national campaign looking into Health and
Safety Management Arrangements (HSMAs) and conduct a proactive
safety improvement review to ensure public service agencies in the
Comcare jurisdiction have engaged with their employees to
put HSMAs in place.
Since amendments were made to the Occupational Health and Safety Act 1991 (the OHS Act) in 2007, all employers in our jurisdiction have been required to have HSMAs in place since September 2008.
As
part of this campaign, Comcare will examine several aspects of your
organisation’s HSMA including the level of consultation that occurred
with your employees when it was developed, the mechanisms for reviewing
and varying your HSMA and the dispute mechanisms in place to deal with
issues arising during consultation about OHS matters.
For more information on this campaign, you can contact Comcare's National Compliance Section.
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 National campaign into forklift safety
Comcare is participating in a national campaign to assess and improve the level of forklift safety.
The
campaign is being conducted by the Heads of Workplace Safety
Authorities (HWSA), which is the joint national body of Australia’s OHS
authorities, of which Comcare is a member.
The
national campaign aims to reduce the rate of incidents and injury from
forklift-related tasks such as loading and unloading
vehicles. Forklifts present a well-known hazard in many work
environments, involving a high risk of severe injury or fatality
to operators and others in the workplace.
Outcomes
and feedback from the workplace visits will be collated and referred to
the HWSA representatives for analysis. The results of the campaign
will be released by the end of 2010.
For more information on this campaign, you can contact Comcare's National Compliance Section.
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 National Harmony Day
The Department of Immigration and Citizenship launched a new TV campaign in the lead-up to Harmony Day
which was on 21 March. Harmony Day celebrates the cohesive and
inclusive nature of our nation and promotes the benefits of cultural
diversity. It’s about community participation, inclusiveness, respect
and a sense of belonging for everyone. The Harmony Day TV commercial
celebrates these ideals and captures the spirit of the younger
generation of Australians. 70 people from 20 different countries -
including Malaysia, China, Indonesia, Spain, Ireland and Tonga -
appeared in the advertisements.
Comcare
celebrated by hosting a multicultural food fiesta where staff were
encouraged to share their favourite international dish! How did your
organisation celebrate the cultural diversity of your people? |
