2018-07-10 Services & Organisation Committee Agenda

SERVICES & ORGANISATION COMMITTEE MEETING AGENDA                                       10 JULY 2018


REPORTS FOR NOTING BY THE COMMITTEE
6                        RESULTS OF NOOSA COUNCIL 2018 WORKPLACE HEALTH AND SAFETY AUDIT
DOCUMENT INFORM AT ION




Author                           People and Culture Manager, Will Burgess-Dean
                                 Executive Services Department

Index                            ECM/ Subject/ WHS/ Annual WHS Management Action & Subject/ Risk
                                 Management

Attachments                      Nil



EXECUTIVE SUMMARY
This report communicates the progress made on improvements to Council’s Work Health and
Safety (WHS) system and safety culture as identified from the results of the recent external audit
undertaken by Local Government Workcare.

RECOMMENDATION
That Council note the report by the People and Culture Manager to the Services & Organisation
Committee Meeting dated 10 July 2018 reviewing the results of the audit undertaken by Local
Government Workcare of Council’s Workplace Health and Safety System and note the significant
improvement in Noosa Council’s Workplace Health and Safety over the last 3 years.


REPORT
Council has made significant inroads in the development, implementation and ongoing evaluation
of our safety management system since the previous external audit undertaken by Local
Government Workcare in September 2015. The purpose of this report is to inform Council of the
specific improvements delivered and to confirm that Noosa has both a functioning WHS system
and a culture that supports safety in the workplace.

1.                       Background

In September 2015, two audits were undertaken by our insurer, Local Government Workcare,
and highlighted significant gaps in Council’s safety management system. WHS injury statistics
also showed that Noosa was a poor performing Council in terms of WH&S with both lost time
injury frequency and duration well above the industry average. At that time, our external audit
scores were 19% and 26% which was not acceptable.

WHS was accordingly classified as a high-level strategic risk by the Executive Team and a two-
year plan to address all the issues and restore Council to a compliant and safe place to work was
developed. The Executive Team, Managers Group, and WHS Committee monitored the two-year
Workplace Health and Safety Management System Plan closely. An internal audit conducted half
way through the Plan confirmed Council’s progress and improvements in establishing a
functioning WHS system.

Delivery of the Plan required the cooperation of all staff and many significant improvements.




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