DEST Stakes Its Claim as a Healthy Employer of Choice

Departmental Media Release

A safe and healthy place to work – a great place to be!

Thursday July 1, 2004

The launch of an innovative strategy in Canberra today has positioned the Department of Education, Science and Training (DEST) as one of the Australian Public Service’s healthiest places to work.

Launching the Health, Safety and Wellbeing Strategy, DEST Secretary, Dr Jeff Harmer said he was committed to ensuring that when it came to health and safety, DEST would continue to be an employer of choice.

"Although workers compensation premiums have, as a whole, risen across the APS, DEST’s premium is set to fall.

"This trend very much reflects a culture that has placed people’s health, wellbeing and work-life balance right at the forefront of the way the Department does business."

This financial year DEST’s workers compensation premiums will fall from 1.33% to 1.20% of the Department’s payroll while the average across the APS will rise from 1.43% to 1.67%.

DEST has already taken out a health and safety award in 2003 for its Occupational Overuse Syndrome Prevention Programme and has a very low incidence rate for injuries (approximately half that of the Australian Government overall).

During the launch the Department also signed up to the 10 year National Occupational Health and Safety Commission targets set out in the Comcare Statement of Commitment.

Throwing his support behind the Strategy, Australia’s gold medal winning Paralympian Michael Milton, told DEST staff at the launch he had used education and self awareness about health to achieve success and urged people to become more aware of their own health needs.

Under the Strategy the Department has introduced the HealthSTART initiative with money raised from staff participation going directly to help our Paralympic Team in Athens.

Dr Harmer said he was impressed with the way people at DEST had already taken responsibility for their own health and wellbeing.

"DEST people have even developed their own unique Health, Safety and Wellbeing Network which organises workplace-based special events and health and wellbeing activities," Dr Harmer said.

The Health Safety and Wellbeing Strategy aims to eventually eliminate all preventable injuries in the workplace, and to use best practice approaches to support people with injury or illness, regardless of whether they are the subject of a compensation claim or not.