2014-2015 Work, Health and Safety
Benchmark Report
Introduction
The 2014-2015 Work, Health and Safety (WHS) Benchmark Report has been written using data from 62 disability service organisations. The
largest number of reporting organisations is based in NSW however the report also includes data from six national/multi-state organisations,
eight from South Australia, six from Tasmania, eight from Victoria, one from Western Australia and one from the ACT.
The National Disability Services (NDS) WHS benchmarking exercise is conducted annually and is currently in its fourth year. Participating
organisations are provided with individualised reports which compare their data with that of other reporting organisations. This is intended to
assist organisations to better understand their WHS performance, identify areas for improvement whilst encouraging a sector wide response
to emerging WHS issues.
Overall findings from this report are that injury frequency rates have dropped since the 2011-2012 reporting period from 29.4 to 28.4 but
conversely that injury duration rates have consistently climbed over the same period from 15.9 to 19.2. There was an increase in the number
of slip/trip/fall and manual handling injuries in this reporting period.
NDS recognises the challenges faced by organisations in addressing WHS matters and continues to develop and implement activities which
support organisations pursuing safety for everyone, whether providing or receiving services or a member of the broader community.
Lost Time Injury Frequency Rates
The graph to the right indicates the lost time injury frequency rate
(LTIFR) for all reporting periods between 2011-2015. Whilst the
overall average the LTIFR has again fallen(28.4 compared to 28.7
last year) many service types actually saw a slight increase in this
reporting period. The increase in the number of services reporting
education services resulted in a major decrease in the frequency
rate and Accommodation Services recorded a decrease.
Chart Title
OVERALL
Corporate
Community Transport
Trades
Respite
Only one Community Transport service has reported this round and
this resulted in a ‘data spike’ which has limited statistical meaning
due to the low number of paid employees in this service.
2015
Home support
2014
Community Access/social…
2013
Employment - Open…
2012
Accommodation support
Case Management
Disability Enterprises
Education
0.0 20.0 40.0 60.0 80.0 100.0 120.0 140.0
State and NDIS variations
In this round we have asked organisations if they were in a NDIS
trial site and have collated LTIFR and duration rate data only for
those organisations where all their lost-time incidents related to
trial sites.
Trial Site LTIFR and DR
50
40
30
LTIFR
20
DR
10
0
Org 1 Org 2 Org 3 Org 4 Org 5 Ave
We have also done a comparison of LTIFR and duration rate where
there was more than one participating organisation from a
particular state. Due to low numbers none of this data is
statistically relevant but is interesting.
Average LTIFR and DR by
Location
60
40
20
0
LTIFR
DR
Lost Time Injury Duration Rate
Injury duration rates generally increased in most service areas in 2014-2015 leading to
an overall increase in injury durations rates this period (19.2 compared to 13.6 last
year). Disability Enterprises saw an overall decrease in duration rate and
Accommodation Services and In Home Support the highest increase. Multiple factors
may be at play and influencing the duration rate increase including:
 An increase in the complexity of injury resulting in a delayed return to work.
 Potential issues with returning workers to gainful employment when working
with self-managed clients.
An important influencer for ensuring that injury duration rates remain low is the
application of effective return to work practices. As workers compensation premiums in
NSW for medium to large employers are directly related to the number of days lost due
to work-related injury a focus on early intervention and recovery at work is best for the
employee and for the employer. NDS can support NSW organisations with effective
return to work strategies through the NDS Shared Return to Work Coordinator.
Cause of Injury %
Cause of Lost Time Injury
Cause of injury remains consistent across most categories over the
four years reports have been tabled.
Other
Behaviour of client
In broad categories the top four causes of injury for organisations
reporting were:
Involuntary movement of client
Superficial if not caused by…
Own vehicle accident
Work vehicle accident
Contact with animal/insect
Hand-held tools
Electric shock
2015
Hot surface/sun exposure
Strike/struck by equipment
2014
Entrapment in equipment
2013
Biological agency
2012
Haz substance/material
Workload/organisation
Bullying/harrassment
Slip/trip/fall - outdoors
Slip/trip/fall - indoors
Workplace violence
Static or repetitive usage
Lift/bend/carry person
Lift/bend/carry object
0
5
10
15
20
1.
2.
3.
4.
Manual handling
Slips trips and falls
Violence/behaviour of client
Strike/be struck by machinery/equipment
The Disability Safe Project has attempted to initiate a number of
projects to assist with the reduction of these injury types including
face to face manual handling training, workplace violence research,
slip/trip/fall awareness via an e-learning module and WHS
Committee training. Whilst the manual handling and e-learning
training have been undertaken by many workers uptake in
participating organisations has been limited. There has been no
uptake in the workplace violence research to date.
It is noted that in all cases good risk management practices and
consultation systems are essential to addressing the injury causes
listed above. A risk management for support workers e-learning
module is currently being developed.
Conclusions
Overall improvements have been seen steadily over all reporting periods on the frequency of lost time injuries meaning that fewer workers are
sustaining injuries whilst at work; however those that do sustain injuries are spending more time away from work during their recovery.
With changing Workers Compensation premium calculations in NSW a renewed focus on prevention of workplace injuries and recovery at
work to minimise the impact on organisational operations and budgets is recommended.
Disability Safe activities that may assist your organisation to improve WHS indicators include:
ACTIVITY
Manual Handling Training
PERSON
Susan Smith
Workers Compensation and Injury
Management support
Psychosocial Leadership Training for Frontline
Managers
Injury Management for Frontline Managers
Jeff Lawrance
e-learning modules
http://learning.disabilitysafe.org.au
Susan Smith
Jeff Lawrance
CONTACT
Ph: 9256 3121
E: [email protected]
Ph: 9256 3126
E: [email protected]
Ph: 9256 3121
E: [email protected]
Ph: 9256 3126
E: [email protected]
www.disabilitysafe.org.au