Central Safety Group Melbourne

Ethics in safety

This was such an interesting presentation that challenged us to look at the broader scope of our profession. In the words of Keith Govias, OHS professionals are moral change agents, and an ethical charter is a core element to their identity.

Discussions on ethics can be quite theoretical, but Keith put a very practical slant on it. While he began by explaining some complex theories, he did it in such a way that they could be understood and applied. Each of the 5 theories produces a different way of approaching ethics in business, such as the most common, which is a cost-benefit analysis. Keith showed us how to look beyond this.

One of the most interesting parts for me was when he discussed how to apply an ethical framework to incident investigation, to create a just culture that doesn't focus on worker error.

Another fascinating topic was the discussion of ethics versus following the law, and how mandatory vaccination policies pose an ethical conundrum.

Keith also discussed a number of valuable free resources available, such as ethical counsellors, the Body of Knowledge chapter on ethics that you can access here, and of course, networks such as your own Central Safety Group.

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New psychological hazard regulations

There is clearly a great deal of interest in this topic judging by the turnout. It was also invaluable to have Tracey speaking to us, because she was a representative for Ai Group on a working group that reviewed WorkSafe Victoria’s proposed OHS Amendment (Psychological Health) Regulations.

She expressed frustration that jurisdictions are forming their own codes rather than adopting the National Code. However, we have seen this occur with other hazards, so I suppose it is not that surprising.

Ai Group have a few concerns about the draft Victorian regulations. The first is about the heirarchy of controls, where information, instruction and training are the lowest order control. While this is appropriate for physical hazards, such as manual handling, it is not really applicable for psychological hazards in their view.

Another issue is the section on Prevention Plans: Ai Group has asked for much more detail to be given about those, because the draft code gives scant guidance on this topic.

They are also concerned about reporting requirements, including the need to report twice a year as well as the notion of notifiable incidents. While it is self-evident that Tracey is speaking on behalf of employers, I would love to hear the employees' and union perspective on this, as I suspect they would have very different views.

Public comment on the proposed regulations closed on 31 March, but you can read the initial proposed draft along with 79 submissions here: https://engage.vic.gov.au/proposed-psychological-health-regulations

During discussion after the presentation Tracey gave us a timeline for the legislation: penalties will not come into effect until 2024; the Regulations are due to be released in July 2022, while the Compliance Code is due in October 2022. For the latter there will be just 2 weeks allowed for public comment, so keep an eye out for that.

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Keith Govias

Date & Time: Tuesday 10 May 2022 at 12:00pm 

PLEASE NOTE: ONLINE ZOOM Event:

Speaker: Keith Govias, Principal Consultant - Workplace Risk, Gallagher

Topic: Ethics in Safety

Keith Govias will talk about Ethics in Safety. Keith is an OHS professional who has held a Fairfax Fellowship in Ethical Leadership.

More details coming soon.

Note: RSVP by close of business Monday 9 May 2022.  When booking, please ensure you select the May Event from the dropdown list (shaded orange), to RSVP.

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Jason Green

Date & Time: Tuesday 14 June 2022 at 12:00pm 

PLEASE NOTE: ONLINE ZOOM Event:

Speaker: Jason Green, President, Australian branch - Workplace Health Without Borders

Topic: TBA

Jason will be talking about how the OHS community here can get involved.

More details coming soon.

Note: RSVP by close of business Monday 13 June 2022.  When booking, please ensure you select the June Event from the dropdown list (shaded orange), to RSVP.

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Tracey Browne

Date & Time: Tuesday 12 April 2022 at 12:00pm 

PLEASE NOTE: ONLINE ZOOM Event:

Speaker: Tracey Browne, Manager - National Safety & Workers' Compensation Policy and Membership Services, Ai Group

Topic: New psychological hazard regulations

Victoria has developed draft regulations for psychological health, and work is happening at the national level to develop Model WHS Regulations on this topic. What responsibilities will employers have under this new legislation? How might it affect the workplace? Will it have an impact on workers compensation?
These and other issues will be discussed in a zoom presentation at midday on 12 April by Tracey Browne, Manager, National Safety & Workers' Compensation Policy and Membership Services at Australian Industry Group (Ai Group).
Tracey is currently representing peak national employer organisation Ai Group on a working group reviewing WorkSafe Victoria’s proposed OHS Amendment (Psychological Health) Regulations, which were released for public comment closing on 31 March 2022. Tracey also represents industry as a member of Safe Work Australia, who are developing the Model Regulations and supporting Code of Practice.
The new WorkSafe regulations reflect the existing requirement in the Act to manage both physical and psychological health and safety. WorkSafe considers that they will provide clearer guidance to employers on their obligations to protect workers better from mental injury.
After her presentation Tracey will invite questions and discussion.

About the speaker:
Tracey Browne joined the national employers’ representative Australian Industry Group (Ai Group) in 2001. She has been their Manager of National Safety & Workers' Compensation Policy and Membership Services for the past 14 years.
Tracey’s role includes representing employer views and interests to governments, regulators and other relevant bodies, when legislative and policy changes are being considered. She is also responsible for information, advice and training in relation to safety and workers' compensation for Ai Group membership and staff.
Before joining AiG, Tracey worked in OHS and workers compensation roles in industry and lectured on safety and workers compensation at Ballarat University.

Note: RSVP by close of business Monday 11 April 2022.  When booking, please ensure you select the April Event from the dropdown list (shaded orange), to RSVP.

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Pam Pryor AO

Date & Time: Tuesday 8 March 2022 at 12:00pm 

PLEASE NOTE: ONLINE ZOOM Event:

Speaker: Pam Pryor AO, Manager OHS BoK Development, Australian Institute of Health and Safety

Topic: The Changing Role of the OHS Professional

OHS is now suffering from 'disciplinary ambiguity' according to a recent international study. You will hear why from Pam Pryor, Manager OHS Body of Knowledge Development for the Australian Institute of Health and Safety, in a CSG lunchtime Zoom presentation on 8 March.

Changes affecting the OHS profession include the COVID-19 pandemic opening new ground on workplace safety; the growing discussions around psychological health and safety, and the fact that many OHS professionals now include ‘wellness’ as part of their role.

These all highlight the lack of clarity around the role of the generalist OHS Professional, according to Pam.

Pam is co-author of a recent paper [The OHS Professional: International and Australian Perspectives] published as part of the Body of Knowledge. She will offer insights and perspectives on the current status of the generalist OHS professional in Australia, why it is now seen to be in some respects an ‘emerging profession’, and where it is headed.

If you are employed in OHS or a related field, this session should not be missed.

About the speaker:
Pam Pryor is an internationally recognised specialist in OHS capability and related aspects of OHS professionality.

She is currently responsible for the development and ongoing maintenance of the Australian OHS Body of Knowledge (BoK). Bok is the collective works developed by a range of specialists that informs OHS education, certification and further development of OHS professionals. (See www.ohsbok.org.au)

Her work with the International Network of Safety and Health Professionals developing the OHS Professional Capability Framework earned Pam the 2017-18 President’s Award from the American Society of Safety Professionals.

In 2018 she was appointed an Officer of the Order of Australia for her contribution to OHS Professionals, through her leadership and advisory roles, particularly in developing standards for education frameworks.

Note: RSVP by close of business Monday 7 March 2022.  When booking, please ensure you select the March Event from the dropdown list (shaded orange), to RSVP.

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The changing role of the OHS professional

It was another big turnout for our March event and it was great to see so many people staying on after the recording had finished to continue the discussion. As OHS professionals, attendees had much to think about during and following Pam's presentation.

Pam made it an interactive session by conducting a number of short polls throughout. The polls prompted us to contemplate our roles as well as the emergence of the concept of "wellness" and how that fits into OHS. The polls do not show up on the recording, but Pam does discuss the results and we have included a summary of the results in the presentation package.

While Pam began by analysing some of the challenges for OHS professionals, she also looked at the positives of how we can take control of our roles and "craft" them to improve both our own work and our organisations themselves. Pam also alerted us to a range of resources, including research, publications and the OHS Body of Knoweldge (BoK), which is a wonderful free resource under the auspices of the AIHS. See www.ohsbok.org.au

Pam also touched on some other topics that are currently being developed by AIHS in position papers and for future BoK chapters. The talk of a Code of Ethics certanly piqued attendees' interest and CSG will be looking to address this topic at an event later this year. As always, Central Safety Group is here to serve its members, so we always welcome your suggestions for future speakers and events.

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New perspectives on OHS

The February event was a great start to our 60th anniversary year with Life Member Kevin Jones presenting to the group. Kevin always has interesting perspectives on current OHS issues to stimulate our thinking. Some provocative ideas to start the year inspire and revive us after the last two years of dealing with the pandemic.

I was particulalry taken with Kevin's assertion that OHS practitioners can become very insular and narrow-focussed whilst fulfilling the needs of a particular employer; that there is little OHS activism as well as a failure to see OHS within a broader social context. It was also challenging to ponder the limitations of the catch cry of taking "reasonable care".

Kevin demonstrated the way in which lateral thinking can enhance one's perspective on OHS by discussing some recent publications, some of which are not straight OHS books. He shared with us his methodology for finding books that are relevant to OHS practice even when there is no mention of safety in the title. His curious mind is a real boon for us, as he is able to discover interesting publications that we might otherwise be unaware of.

Kevin also discussed publications that are on OHS topics, including an article providing a new definition of a "safe system of work" that sounds fascinating. Details of the books he discussed can be found in his presentation notes as well as in the Further Reading section of the website (log in first). Kevin also pointed out that a very valuable resource is the WorkSafe library in Geelong.

There are plenty of other past presentations by Kevin on our website, including his discussion of some other publications in a short video as part of our free CSG Talks series in 2020, A look at some new thinking.

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Kevin Jones

Date & Time: Tuesday 8 February 2022 at 12:00pm 

PLEASE NOTE: ONLINE ZOOM Event:

Speaker: Kevin Jones Freelance writer, SafetyAtWorkBlog

Topic: New Perspectives on OHS

Note: RSVP by close of business Monday 7 February 2022.  When booking, please ensure you select the February Event from the dropdown list (shaded orange), to RSVP.

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Return to work in COVID times: managing psychosocial risk

We had an amazing turnout for our last presentation of the year, which was not surprising considering the topic and the calibre of speaker. Natasha Lazareski's presentation covered some interesting ground that included the inherent contradictions one must face as we all venture back to work post the latest phase of the pandemic.

One such contradiction is within our reactions to situations, where our instinct can be in conflict with a more rational response. Natasha advised organsiations to normalise the fact that we all have different responses to COVID, but still to establish clear guidelines for the workplace that all must follow. Another aspect of this balancing act is to ensure that you don't give out mixed messages, because this can erode trust. We only have to think of how that played out in the community when authorities communicated ever-changing rules and information.

With communication being such a key to successful return to work, Natasha said she believes that workplace Health & Safety Representatves will become the new frontline heroes. That was a great way to emphasise the importance of those roles!

Natasha's presentation went at a cracking pace with a lot of information in her slides, some of which were skipped over due to time constraints. Therefore, do check out the powerpoint slides as well as the video itself.

If you'd like to hear more from Natasha, you can also take a look at her short video as part of our free CSG Talks series last year, Workplace safety in pandemic times.

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