Victorian Minister for WorkSafe and the TAC Ben Carroll has announced a $1.6 million plan to target aged care and disability service industries to address the high rates of mental injuries caused by bullying, violence, aggression, sexual harassment, high job demands and other psychosocial hazards.
In Victoria, healthcare and social assistance workers has accounted for more than 25 per cent of all accepted workers' compensation claims for mental injuries over the past five years. It is hoped that the workshops will assist participants to gain an understanding of the psychological health challenges in their industries, identify practical ways to prevent employees from suffering mental injuries, and share the outcomes with the wider industry.
The program will be run under WorkSafe Victoria's WorkWell Communities of Practice program. The Communities of Practice takes a collaborative partnership approach to help workplace leaders to take action to create psychologically healthy and safe workplaces.
Australian Primary Health Care Nurses Association will lead consortium partners to co-design an approach that focuses on the practical application of psychosocial safety climate. The Community of Practice will engage workplace leaders from across Victorian residential aged care homes including public, private and not-for profit facilities in peer-to-peer workshops and tailored coaching sessions to build their capacity and help them embed psychosocial safety climate learnings into their workplaces.
National Disability Services will use a co-design process to develop a shared understanding of workplace psychological health challenges within the disability sector. Fifteen large disability service providers will become sector champions, improving psychosocial safety climate within their own organisations and then providing support to others across the industry.
Accessible and practical tools and resources will be created to improve the psychosocial safety climate within Victoria’s residential aged care and disability service workplaces.
"Disability and aged care workers support some of the most vulnerable people in our community, so it's vital that employers support them by providing mentally health workplaces that actively prevent harm," the Minister said.
"This initiative will bring together leaders in these key industries to collaborate on strategies and tools that they can share to help care for the carers, so that they can get on with the crucial job of looking after those in need," he said.
Read more: WorkWell Communities of Practice | WorkSafe Victoria