Why Don’t Government Agencies go for WorkSafe Plan Awards?

I noticed that about a month ago the Department of Commerce (which includes WorkSafe WA) has secured a Gold WorkSafe Plan Safety Achievers Award and it is good to see that they, the Regulator, are setting the example for the other government agencies.

What I have also noticed is that over the last five years only 13 agencies out of approximately 138 (9.4%) have won silver, gold or platinum awards whilst in comparison, 105 organisations from the private sector have been award winners.

This discrepancy between the public and private sectors is puzzling especially as there is a strong recommendation contained in the Public Sector Code of Practice for OSH (bottom of page 48) which states that agencies should, “showcase the agency’s excellent leadership and innovation in OSH by applying for an award.” i.e. a WorkSafe Plan Award.

What I would like to see is more agencies applying for awards from WorkSafe to provide Top Management with some confidence that they are meeting the WorkSafe guidelines for their safety management systems.

I am also aware that some agencies do carry out their own internal self-audits and that in some cases they are using unqualified and unaccredited WorkSafe Plan assessors to do the task. However, in my opinion, internal audits performed by unqualified auditors do no meet Top Management’s due diligence requirements and may be of little value.

As I am an accredited WorkSafe Plan assessor (I have helped government agencies obtain 9 awards) and to encourage agencies get on board with the WorkSafe Plan.

I am offering a free, no obligation, one hour consultation to discuss how the WorkSafe Plan works and how your agency may be able to apply for an award.

If you would like to know more please ring me on 9381 1743