This industry includes:
- defence
- state and local government administration
- public order and safety services.
Public Administration and Safety is one of the industries identified as a national priority for prevention activities in the Australian Work Health and Safety Strategy.
Occupations in this industry include:
- fire fighters
- police
- prison and security officers
- local council workers
- government workers.
Common hazards and injuries
Workers in this industry are likely to be injured at work due to:
- body stressing injuries, including muscular stress while lifting, carrying or putting down objects
- mental stress, resulting from work pressures, bullying
- violence and aggression
- being hit by moving objects
- slips, trips and falls.
Common hazards that workers in this industry are exposed to include:
- sedentary work
- alcohol and other drugs
- hazardous manual tasks.
Some solutions
- Provide training and instruction in safe manual handling procedures.
- Maintain good housekeeping to ensure there are no obstructions or trip hazards on floors or in store areas.
- Encourage a standing friendly work culture: encourage standing in meetings, when reading documents or taking phone calls; invest in height-adjustable desks, use stairs instead of lifts.
- Set realistic work schedules and deadlines.
Violence and aggression
Violence and aggression includes a broad range of actions and behaviours that can create a risk to the health and safety of workers.
Examples include:
- pushing, shoving, tripping, grabbing
- verbal abuse and threats
- using or threatening to use a weapon
- sexual harassment or assault.
Control measures to consider include:
- designing the workplace to ensure safe spaces for workers, safe storage and duress systems
- having written work procedures and protocols that clarify behaviour expectations
- implementing training programs based on your workplace’s needs and appropriate to the needs of workers and the client group involved
- ensuring effective and constructive two-way communication, incident reporting and investigation involving workers, health and safety representatives and management to address hazards as they arise.