Work health and safety commitment statement

Department of Agriculture, Fisheries and Forestry, May 2023

Online version

The Department of Agriculture, Fisheries and Forestry is committed to providing a workplace that protects the physical and mental health, safety and wellbeing of our people, visitors and others who work for and with us.

The Department and its senior executives 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 work health and safety and rehabilitation management systems that are aligned to the relevant Australian and International standards.

Our proactive strategies are targeted at enhancing the health, safety and wellbeing of our people and will contribute to improved safety outcomes through our Safety and Mental Health & Wellbeing strategies.

Our leadership is critical to promoting a safety culture that is inclusive, supportive, adaptive and free from harassment, discrimination and bullying. Together, as a department, we acknowledge our shared responsibilities.

As a department, we each contribute to building and maintaining a physically and mentally healthy work environment by caring for one another and always putting safety first. Each of us play an important role in engaging in meaningful, respectful and open consultation about health, safety and wellbeing matters to achieve our strategic outcomes.

Commitment

We commit to:

• Providing and maintaining a safe and mentally healthy workplace culture where we take care of each other through supporting and providing a work environment where safety is prioritised
• Promoting, and supporting our Core 4 Values, with safety at its centre
• 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 at work
• Promoting a nationally consistent approach to rehabilitation and improving awareness of rehabilitation initiatives to ensure timely and effective outcomes
• 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
• Monitoring and evaluating work health and safety and rehabilitation performance as part of a continual improvement process to assess the effectiveness of our management systems and health, safety and wellbeing programs.

We acknowledge our shared duties under the WHS Act and Safety, Rehabilitation and Compensation Act and are committed to consulting, cooperating and coordinating health, safety and wellbeing activities to achieve positive safety outcomes for our people.