An inter-agency community of practice will be established. It will focus on agencies working together and learning from each other by providing a platform for sharing information and resources, exchanging practices and trialing new ideas.
The community of practice will assist agencies to meet the challenges of workplace health, safety and injury management, and will bring together public sector health and safety staff several times a year to network and leverage the significant expertise and experience that already exist.
Watch this space as more information becomes available. Public sector agencies will be contacted regarding their participation in this new network
Community of Practice event - 24 September 2019
The inaugural Community of Practice event was held on Tuesday 24 September and was attended by around 70 occupational health and safety (OSH) professionals who are passionate about creating and maintaining safe workplaces.
The attendees were welcomed by the Deputy Director General of the Department of Mines and Industry Regulation and Safety (DMIRS), Ian Munns. The event was also attended by Darren Kavanagh, Commissioner of Occupational Safety and Health, and members of the Advisory Committee for this initiative.
Links to the presentations made at the event by three of the key agencies on current industry statistics and reports are below:
- DMIRS and OSH in the Public Sector – presented by Sally North, Director WorkSafe Service Industries and Specialists, DMIRS
- Public Sector OSH & IM Community of Practice – presented by Karen Van Der Hoeven, Workers' Compensation Section Manager, Insurance Commission of Western Australia and
- Workplace Safety and Health Community of Practice – presented by Chris White, Chief Executive Officer, WorkCover WA
This platform provided a great opportunity for OSH professionals from agencies of varying sizes to network and establish productive contacts for mutual benefit.
New OSH professionals benefitted from networking with experienced practitioners and were able to seek advice. The attendees were encouraged to share their good news stories, concerns and queries with the sector and find solutions as a community.
There was a panel discussion in the latter part of the event. Sally North, Karen Van Der Hoeven and Chris White were on the panel and answered questions from the attendees.
Keep an eye out for the date of the next event in the new year and we hope to see you all there, along with some new faces.
Thank you for supporting this initiative and working to maintain safe workplaces.