Occupational health and safety in Australia: The construction industry's response to the national strategy 2002-2012

In 2002, the National OHS Strategy 2002-2012 was agreed upon by all Australian governments, the Australian Chamber of Commerce and Industry and the Australian Council of Trade Unions. The Strategy established ambitious targets for the reduction of occupational injury and workplace fatalities in Australian industry, including a reduction in the incidence of fatalities of at least 20 per cent by 30 June 2012 (with a reduction of 10 per cent being achieved by 30 June 2007) and a reduction in the incidence of workplace injury by at least 40 per cent by 30 June 2012 (with a reduction of 20 per cent being achieved by 30 June 2007). The Strategy establishes five priority areas to achieve these targets: (I) to reduce the impact of risks at work; (II) to improve the capacity of business operators and workers to manage OHS effectively; (III) to prevent occupational disease more effectively; (IV) to eliminate hazards at the design stage; and (V) to strengthen the capacity of government to influence OHS outcomes. Workers' compensation statistics show that the fatality rate in the Australian construction industry is 9.2 per 100,000 workers, compared to 3.1 for all industries and since 1997/98 an average of 49 construction workers are killed each year - nearly one per week. The paper presents the Australian construction industry's OHS performance in relation to the National Strategy objectives and describes the industry-led development of a Guide to Best Practice for Safer Construction. The manner in which the Guide addresses the five priority areas contained in the National Strategy is described and the potential impact of the Safer Construction project is considered.