Australian WHS Research Database
This database is intended to help people working in the WHS research space get an understanding of the breadth of projects happening across Australia at any given time. We encourage you to use this list to network and expand your own research.
You can register your own research for inclusion here
Jump to:
| Safety hazards | Physical hazards | Psychosocial hazards |
| Ergonomic hazards | Organisational hazards | Chemical hazards |
| Biological hazards | Policy |
Safety hazards
A sociotechnical system for plant and machinery safety in the Australian construction sites
Projected completion: January 2025
Nazi Soltanmohammadlou, Dr Carol Hon, Prof Robin Drogemuller (Queensland University of Technology)
This research project is funded by Building 4.0 CRC PhD scholarship program. The project aims to provide a comprehensive analysis of the safety risk factors associated with operating all commonly involved construction plants and machinery in Australian construction sites.
The specific purposes of this study are to:
- Identify causes of fatal and nonfatal incidents related to most common plant and machinery in Australian construction sites.
- Devise system thinking-based accident causation model as a conceptual framework to identify causal/contributing factors of vehicles and construction machinery accidents.
- Develop quantitative analysis of causal/contributing factors to achieve complementary outcomes to have a more accurate systematic model.
Conversations about life, health and safety: social supports for young construction workers' health and safety
Projected completion: September 2023
DProf Helen Lingard (RMIT), Dr Rita Zhang (RMIT), Dr Jack Clarke (RMIT), Prof Lyndall Strazdins (Australian National University), Dr Christine LaBond (Australian National University), Dr Tinh Doan (Australian National University), David Solomon (Master Builders Association NSW), Omesh Jethwani (Master Builders Association NSW), Skye Buatava (Centre for Work Health and Safety), Daniel Craig (Centre for Work Health and Safety).
A collaborative research project involving RMIT, ANU, Master Builders Association of NSW, and icare aims to understand and improve supervisor-worker communication in the NSW construction industry. The project utilizes an interactive online game to encourage open conversations about safety, health, and life between young construction workers and their supervisors, with the goal of creating a safer and more supportive working environment. Findings and intervention outcomes will be shared upon completion.
Digital lock-out tag-out / energy isolation tool
Projected completion: June 2025
Serg Ivkovic (SafeWork NSW)
Develop digital tool that can be customised to suit a variety of applications and utilised to develop an application specific, step-by step process of safely isolating (or safely containing) dangerous energy and restoring energy back to equipment.
Developing a Health and Safety Maturity Framework for Small Construction Businesses: An Interventional Study
Projected completion: January 2025
Dr Tanvi Newaz (University of Newcastle), Dr Marcus Jefferies (University of Newcastle), Prof Temitope Egbelakin (University of Newcastle), Dr Liyaning Maggie Tang (University of Newcastle), A/Prof Riza Yosia Sunindijo (UNSW)
The project aims to identify barriers and interventions for small construction businesses to support work health and safety (WHS) in their place and develop a Health and Safety Maturity framework to recommend pathways for small businesses to improve the maturity of their WHS Practices.
Human-Centred Interactive Hazard Education in OTR Tyre Handling
Projected completion: June 2024
Dr Sara Pazell (The University of Queensland), Dr Robin Burgess-Limerick (The University of Queensland), Real Serious Games (technology partner), EMESRT (industry sponsor), ACARP (project funding)
This project extends ACARP C33005 Human Factors Aspects of Tyre Handling Equipment Design and Operation Examined within an EMESRT Control Framework Approach.
This is participatory, tranformative action research. It uses human factors methods for knowledge elicitation among subject matter industry experts to communicate known fatality hazards in off-the-road tyre handling operations (mining industries). The transfer of knowledge is communicated via digital twin environments with scenarios conveyed from many system actors (different points of views). It is enhanced by formative learning modules and the impact of this under investigation through telemetry, interviews, and concept mapping methods.
The aim is to contribute to resilient tyre maintenance work systems in the global mining community through a human factors analysis of accessible and effective training & learning experiences that depict safety-critical tyre handling equipment operations.
Human Factors Aspects of Tyre Handling Equipment Design and Operation Examined within an EMESRT Control Framework Approach
Completed: September 2022
Dr Sara Pazell (The University of Queensland), Dr Robin Burgess-Limerick (The University of Queensland), Dr Lidiane Narimoto (Universidade Federal de São Carlos), Mike Boyle (project partner), Real Serious Games (technology partner), EMESRT (industry sponsor), ACARP (project funding)
The primary objective of this project was to analyse the trye handling operations, consider the equipment types, and align with the initiatives of the mining industry to reduce exposure to unwanted and adverse events through improved equipment and work design.
Over three phases, this project evaluated the human factors aspects of tyre handling equipment design and operation within an Earth Moving Equipment Safety Round Table (EMESRT) - Control Framework approach and provides functional performance requirements for this equipment. It illustrates a process by which human factors principles should be applied to equipment design and operation within the EMESRT Control Framework approach. This project is linked to project C33007 to assist development of the EYECUE technology to minimise and or mitigate hazardous exposures that lead to tyre and rim handling fatalities.
Impact of job quality on health and well-being of construction workers: Comparisons between Australia and Bangladesh
Projected completion: January 2024
Mohammad Sabbir Ahmed Shourav (RMIT University), Dr Rita Zhang (RMIT University), D/Prof Helen Lingard (RMIT University)
Job quality is a strong determinant of workers' health status over their working life span, and it is a key factor for sustainable workforce participation. Job quality refers to work and employment characteristics of jobs that impact the health and well-being of workers. However, it is often concluded that job quality is difficult to measure as it is a contextual phenomenon and varies according to individuals, occupations, and institutional regimes. As a result, the way job quality affects health and well-being in developing countries is likely to be different from that in developed countries due to different political, economic, and cultural contexts. So far, limited research has been conducted to comprehensively identify the job quality factors and understand the relative significance of these factors in affecting the health and well-being outcomes of workers in the context of the construction industry. Moreover, little is known about how job quality impacts the health and well-being in the construction industries across different national contexts and whether there is any difference between developed countries and developing countries. These knowledge gaps give rise to this doctoral research, which aims to compare the impact of job quality factors on construction workers' health and well-being between Australia and Bangladesh.
Situational assessment as a marker of cognitive skill decay
Projected completion: December 2025
Prof Mark Wiggins (Macquarie University), A/Prof Brett Molesworth (UNSW Sydney), Dr Jaime Auton (The University of Adelaide), Dr Daniel Sturman (The University of Adelaide), Dr Ben Morrison (Macquarie University)
The aim of this study is to test how differences in exposure to complex tasks change the capacity for situational assessment. Amongst drivers, pilots and electricity controllers, the capacity to assess and respond effectively to changes in the operational environment are critical in sustaining performance and ensuring the safety and security of the public. Establishing the nature of this relationship will enable, for the first time, objective measures of cognitive skill decay. In evaluating cognitive skill decay more accurately, we will provide a cost effective, easily administered tool, enabling practitioners to identify and address areas of development and providing data to anticipate when cognitive skill decay is most likely to occur.
The ageing demographic of the Australian workforce – Work health and safety in an ageing workforce in two critical industries: Construction and Nursing
Projected completion: December 2023
A/Prof Marc Antoniou (Western Sydney University), Dr Celia Harris (Western Sydney University), Dr Jed Montayre (Western Sydney University), Dr Liyaning Maggie Tang (The University of Newcastle), Dr Weicong Li (Western Sydney University), Dr Ruth Brookman (Western Sydney University)
This research project will increase an understanding of how to improve WHS and prevent psychological and physical harm among older workers in two industries that are critical to NSW and Australia: construction and nursing. By exploring two disparate industries using the same methods, measures, and concepts, the research design permits comparison and examination of WHS issues affecting older workers that will be generalisable, enabling us to understand over-arching issues and commonalities, as well as industry-specific challenges, and how to address them.
The Healthy Older Worker (HOW) Toolkit
Completed: November 2022
Prof Tim Bentley (Edith Cowan University), Dr Leigh-ann Onnis (Edith Cowan University), Dr Alexis Vassiley (Edith Cowan University), Catherine Andrew (Edith Cowan University), A/Prof Ben Farr-Wharton (Edith Cowan University), A/Prof Carlo Caponecchia (UNSW), A/Prof Sharron O'Neill (UNSW), Dr Abilio de Almeida Neto (Centre for Work Health and Safety).
A three-phase, mixed-methods research project undertaken to inform the development of a toolkit resource aiming to improve the ability of organisations to effectively manage the risk of physical and psychological injury in older workers.
Working safely with collaborative robots: How can workers engage safely with collaborative robots?
Completed: September 2022
Dr Matthias Guertler (University of Technology Sydney), Dr Marc Carmichael (University of Technology Sydney), A/Prof Gavin Paul (University of Technology Sydney), Dr Nathalie Sick (University of Technology Sydney), Laura Tomidei (University of Technology Sydney), Victor Hernandez Moreno (University of Technology Sydney), Annika Wambsganss (University of Technology Sydney / Technical University of Berlin), Manisha Amin (Centre for Inclusive Design), Rebecca Grace (Centre for Inclusive Design), Leila Frijat (University of Technology Sydney), Jane Cockburn (Kairos Now), Sazzad Hussain (Centre for Work Health and Safety)
The use of collaborative robots (cobots) in Australian workplaces is rapidly increasing. Cobots offer both workers and business the opportunity to complete repetitive tasks more efficiently. But with this new technology comes new risks to the health and safety of workers in these changing environments. The challenge these risks posed is that their implications hadn’t been fully explored, leaving workers vulnerable while their workplaces and roles quickly transform. A joint team from the Centre for Advanced Manufacturing, University of Technology Sydney, the Robotics Institute, University of Technology Sydney, the Centre for Inclusive Design, Kairos Now, and the NSW Centre for Work Health and Saftey undertook research to better understand these risks, and develop guidance on how to safely introduce and use cobots in the workplace. The projectconsidered design principles of safe human-cobot workplaces, before conducting interviews and workshops with industry partners to help develop an effective intervention. Resultantly, a WHS framework was created supporting the safe operation of collaborative, autonomous robots in the workplace. This was then translated into a practical set of guidelines.
Work health and safety harms affecting in-home carers
Projected completion: January 2024
Dr Elizabeth Convery (The Behavioural Insights Team), Dr Erin Lawn (The Behavioural Insights Team), Saul Wodak (The Behavioural Insights Team), Dr Josh Rhee (The Behavioural Insights Team), Tash Woods (The Behavioural Insights Team), Dr Sancia West (Centre for Work Health and Safety), Dr Sanet Du Toit (University of Sydney), Dr Denise Jepsen (Macquarie University), Dr Carmel Laragy (University of Melbourne)
This research focuses on addressing the work health and safety (WHS) concerns of in-home care workers in the aged care and disability sectors. It investigates the risks, impacts, and training needs of workers hired through digital and traditional platforms, aiming to improve safety measures and support for carers.
WHS Management Tool for AI
Projected completion: August 2023
Dr Panimaya Jeffreena Fernando (Centre for Work Health and Safety), Angelica Vårhammar (Centre for Work Health and Safety), Dr Sazzad Hussain (Centre for Work Health and Safety)
This research aims to address the work health and safety (WHS) effects of implementing AI systems. By developing a risk management tool, businesses can identify and mitigate WHS risks throughout the lifecycle of AI operations. The goal is to prioritize worker well-being and provide practical support for businesses adopting AI technology.
Physical hazards
Exoskeletons in the manufacturing workplaces
Projected completion: June 2025
Serg Ivkovic (SafeWork NSW)
Industrial exoskeletons are an emerging technology for augmenting, enabling and assisting people in their everyday activities. As the use of exoskeletons in industrial applications becomes widespread, it is almost inevitable that future incidents and injuries involving the use of exoskeletons will take place. Trying to pre-empt these situations, by working proactively to ensure that necessary tools are in place for the SW NSW to assist PCBUs (mainly end users) by providing information and guidance around this emerging technology.
Research topic and prepare a document (with an assessment criteria) to assist PCBUs in the manufacturing sector with the implementation of Industrial Exoskeletons in their workplace environments.
Understanding the Heat-Work Injury Phenomenon in Australia: An Evaluation of Risk, Susceptibility and Attributable Burden
Completed: February 2020
Dr Blesson Varghese (University of Adelaide)
Belsson's PhD research examined the important public (and occupational) health issue of injuries in workers associated with heat exposure – a problem that may become more salient as global temperatures rise.
hazards
Dynamic model of happiness, stress and wellbeing at work: A cross national/ cultural study
Completed: May 2022
Dr Yong Wah Goh, (University of Southern Queensland), Agota Kun (Budapest University of Technology and Economics), Rong Wang (Shenzhen University), Yayoi Watanabe (Hosei University), A/Prof Erich Fein (University of Southern Queensland), Janet Hou (University of Queensland), Jiang Jiang (Beijing Normal University), Ikuko Noro (The Jikei University School of Medicine), Loshnah Jeevanandam (National University of Singapore)
This research investigates and integrates factors that impact on experience of wellness and stress across cultures within the workplace. A cross culturally robust and holistic model outlines the symbiotic relationship of stress and wellness factors that determine wellbeing.
FIFO workers and mental health
Completed: December 2017
Prof Sherif Mohamed (University of Southern Queensland)
Investigate the psychosocial health implications for employees in a FIFO working environment and seek recommendations for change.
Identifying Western Australian offshore oil and gas workers mental health hazards and risk control measures
Projected completion: September 2023
Emma D'Antoine, Dr Janis Jansz, A/Prof Ahmed Barifcani, Prof Mark Harris, Sherrilyn Shaw-Mills, Dr Christopher Lagat (Curtin University)
Qualitative study researching the psychosocial stressors present for Australian oil and gas workers.
Impact of prefabrication on mental health
Projected completion: December 2024
Rasaki Fagbenro, A/Prof Riza Yosia Sunindijo (UNSW Sydney)
Understanding the impact of prefabricated construction on the mental health of Australian construction workers. This is PhD research of Rasaki Fagbenro, he started in 2022 and will submit his thesis in the end of 2024.
Mental Health and Wellbeing of Construction Workers During the COVID-19 Pandemic
Projected completion: October 2023
Distinguished Prof Helen Lingard (RMIT University), Dr Payam Pirzadeh (RMIT University)
The purpose of the study was to understand how construction workers (including those working in FIFO arrangements) experienced work, life and wellbeing during the COVID-19 pandemic and identify lessons for prevention-based approaches to managing mental health in the post-COVID period.
Mental health at work: Priority industries, economic indicators and implementation gaps
Projected completion: April 2025
Kristy Burns, Prof Janaki Amin, Dr Louise Ellis (Macquarie University), Dr Abilio Neto (Centre for Work Health and Safety)
This PhD research consists of 3 research phases:
- Analysis of psychological distress rates and productivity losses by industry of employment using National survey data to identify priority industries. Part (a) 17/18 data, and part (b) 20/21 data.
- Scoping review to understand industry-wide strategies to improving workplace mental health, both Internationally and in Australia.
- Evaluation (including economic indicators) of industry-wide approach to workplace mental health.
Positive mental health for young construction workers
Projected completion: December 2024
Samuel Frimpong, A/Prof Riza Yosia Sunindijo (UNSW Sydney) ,
Developing strategies to promote positive mental health for young construction workers with Global South backgrounds. This is PhD research of Samuel Frimpong, he started in 2021 and will submit his thesis early next year.
PPE, PTSD and reality TV: The art of trivialising health and safety
Projected completion: July 2023
Dr Trajce Cvetkovski (Australian Catholic University)
Through the lens of reality television (TV), this article explores the role of popular culture in shaping attitudes toward health, safety and wellbeing (HSW) at the workplace. Specifically, it examines how HSW is trivialized in hugely popular building and renovation reality TV shows. By critically analyzing the entire Season 16 of The Block (2020) (n = 50 episodes), I have identified trivialization and subsequent casualization of attitudes in two distinct but interconnected workplace safety arenas: (1) psychosocial hazards awareness and (2) enforcement of administrative or lower wrung interventions. A cultural theory of risk perception is applied in this study to examine the influence of specific cultural biases in this reality show. Cultural theory demonstrates how entrenched social beliefs dilute the value of HSW awareness and its legitimacy. This study assists in understanding how some HSW concerns are trivialized in society and that such trivialization is re-enforced in the tele-real narrative. Creating awareness of these processes may help regulators and agencies in conceptualizing how to make sense of how emerging HSW issues are perceived by the audience, and potentially counteract misguided or ignorant views and misconceptions about workplace culture.
Social capital and mental health in remote construction work
Completed: August 2022
Prof Sherif Mohamed (University of Southern Queensland)
Examines current levels of psychosocial isolation within remote road construction teams, and consequential impacts on mental health and workplace safety. Evaluates ways of developing team social capital and mental health within construction work teams.
Support me! Support for social work/ mental health professionals
Projected completion: December 2023
A/Prof Azizur Rahman (RMIT)
Specifically, this research project aims to address the following research questions:
- What kind of social support do social workers and nurses have in mental health workplaces?
- How effective is the perceived level of social support to reduce the effect of psychological demands on their mental wellbeing?
- What other types of resources do social workers and nurses have?
- Do social workers and nurses perceive resources differently depending on their cultural background?
This research will use a qualitative methodology using interviews and / or focus groups to explore perceptions of resources and their effects. The participants will be a mix of mental health professionals (social workers, nurses) in hospitals and other settings. Thematic analysis will be used to analyse the data. The findings from this study will serve as valuable indicators for devising targeted interventions to improve psychosocial work environments by bolstering support services available to these critical professionals.
Thematic and quantitative analyses of stress and wellbeing narratives in the workplace
Projected completion: March 2024
Dr Yong Wah Goh, Dr Chris Kossen (University of Southern Queensland)
This project endeavours to examine and identify features in narratives that indicate stress and wellness experience of employees in the workplace.
Using a bio-psycho-social-spiritual model in first responder organisations to prevent psychological harm post exposure to traumatic events
Completed: June 2023
Rev Mark Layson (Charles Sturt University)
The project aimed to reconsider both the cause of distress in first responder (police, fire, ambulance), and the way that organisations prevent and respond to that distress. The reconsideration involved applying "moral injury" learning from military contexts to the first responder context. A holistic biopsychosocial-spiritual framework was developed as a primary prevention strategy. This framework produced interventions for organisations, leaders, wellbeing professionals, and individual workers.
Ergonomic hazards
Using artificial intelligence to inform effective risk assessment of workplace musculoskeletal disorders
Projected completion: October 2026
Mehrdad Hassani, A/Prof Nektarios Karanikas, A/Prof Dimitri Perrin, Prof Richi Nayak (Queensland University of Technology)
This research, will create a machine learning model to assess the risks of MSDs using data of psychosocial, organizational and work-design factors (e.g., work shifts and duration, awkward postures, workplace, task demands, and stress levels) and individual characteristics (e.g., age, BMI, gender, height, weight, education, work experience, sleeping hours, smoking habits). To achieve this, a systematic process will involves the following steps: collecting data, pre-processing data, selecting a machine learning algorithm, training the model, evaluating the model, and deploying the model. Thus, instead of relying on traditional risk assessment tools and being restricted by their limitations, the goal of this study will be using machine learning as a new, more reliable, and comprehensive musculoskeletal risk assessment tool.
Organisational hazards
Advancing occupational health & safety (OHS) in context
Projected completion: December 2024
A/Prof Nektarios Karanikas, Dr Haroun Zerguine (Queensland University of Technology)
The project adapts a consultative and collaborative approach between QUT and Hutchinson Builders (HB) to co-design and facilitate the implementation of contemporary safety approaches that meet the needs and context of the company. More specifically, this study uses a combination of cross-sectional (surveys and focus groups) and longitudinal (field notes/observations over a period of time) methods to address the following research questions:
- What 'new safety view' principles match best the different contexts/operational profiles of HB?
- To what extent and how are the 'new safety view' principles from RQ1 implemented across HB?
- What are the required time and resources and possible risks related to the implementation of 'new safety view' principles identified in RQ1/RQ2 across HB areas/sections with a higher appetite for a change?
- What are the experiences, strengths and limitations of the implementation of 'new safety view' principles decided in RQ3 in different HB contexts?
A staged approach will be adopted to ensure that any changes will not be a blanket initiative across the company and will not unreasonably increase risks. Any changes will be first commonly understood, assessed and agreed, and then co-designed and implemented across various sections/areas of the company depending on their needs and appetite.
The role of the research team will be kept to the least intrusive by acting as an agent of providing evidence-based knowledge and information in each project phase. The researchers will inform and facilitate any changes, whose agents will be company staff. This strategy will ensure that HB remains the owner of the changes and actively engages with all critical decisions and deliverables during, between, and after each project phase. This approach will expectedly increase the sustainability of the changes to be implemented successfully and the development and maintenance of respective skills within the company.
Developing a personal leadership competency model for safety managers
Projected completion: December 2023
Prof Sherif Mohamed (University of Southern Queensland)
This project looks at the emotional, social and cognitive competencies to help safety managers achieve a better understanding of themselves, of others and of their worksite environments.
Improving safety compliance and safety participation: The role of subtle leadership
Projected completion: June 2024
Prof Sherif Mohamed (University of Southern Queensland)
This project investigates the different attributes of subtle leadership in improving safety compliance and participation levels.
Strengthening the priority of WHS for business leaders
Projected completion: May 2024
Prof Tim Bentley (Edith Cowan University)
This multi-phase, mixed-methods research project seeks to empower senior Australian business leaders with new tools to affect real change in work health and safety outcomes through prosocial behaviours focused on the prioritisation of WHS. The research responds to the need for a better understanding of how commercial drivers influence the prioritisation of WHS by business leaders, which is fundamentally important to driving WHS improvements.
Triple Wins: work hour cultures for health, safety and gender equality in construction
Projected completion: December 2024
Distinguished Prof Helen Lingard (RMIT University), Dr Lyndall Strazdins (Australian National University), Assoc Prof Michelle Turner (RMIT University), Dr Phillip Bohle (University of Tasmania), Emeritus Prof Sara Charlesworth (RMIT University), Dr Natalie Galea (University of Melbourne)
This project examines the effect of a Draft Culture Standard which is being implemented in pilot construction projects in NSW and Victoria. The research involves a longitudinal study design investigating the effects of the Culture Standard on mental wellbeing, women's workforce participation and time for life in the construction industry. This project relates to the Culture in Construction initiative.
Chemical hazards
Non-Destructive Digging and Asbestos Contaminated Soils
Projected completion: July 2023
Dr Payam Rahnamayiezekavat (Western Sydney University), Kim Femia (EDP Consultants), Dr Ehsan Sorooshnia (Western Sydney University)
Ongoing research in collaboration with Western Sydney University aims to address the safety challenge of using non-destructive digging (NDD) on asbestos-containing materials. By developing specific controls and safety procedures, the research aims to enable safe NDD operations on asbestos-contaminated soils. This breakthrough could expand the application of NDD in previously restricted sites and transform the construction industry.
Welding fume harms
Completed: June 2023
This is a multi-stage project investigating harms from welding fume exposure in Australian workers.
Specifically, it investigates:
- health effects associated with exposure to welding fume;
- workers' exposure to welding fume;
- current use of control measures;
- barriers and facilitators to the use of control measures; and
- a potential intervention to increase control measure use.
Biological hazards
Use of medicinal cannabis in the workplace: Implications for workplace health and safety
Projected completion: November 2028
Veronica O’Neill, A/Prof Nektarios Karanikas, Dr Adem Sav, Prof Michelle Gatton (Queensland University of Technology)
This research aims to:
- Provide a comprehensive understanding of the factors that influence the severity/frequency of adverse events of medicinal cannabis and identify existing countermeasures;
- Offer understanding of the reasons and benefits of use of medicinal cannabis by workers in the workplace;
- Investigate Australian stakeholders’ knowledge and perceptions of medicinal cannabis use and current practices within the workplace;
- Develop a guideline and recommendations to clarify the expectations and responsibilities of each stakeholder in balancing the benefits and risks associated with medical cannabis in the workplace.
Policy
An integrative framework of occupational health and safety and health promotion in Australian workplaces
Projected completion: October 2026
Yanming Lu, A/Prof Nektarios Karanikas, Dr Julie-Anne Carroll (Queensland University of Technology)
The research objectives are:
- To review the effectiveness of workplace interventions that contain both OHS and Workplace Health Promotion (WHP) components, and to identify and appraise existing integration frameworks;
- To identify and understand the Australian contexts where integrated approaches show promise in improving worker health, safety, and wellbeing; and
- To develop, evaluate, and refine an integration framework to inform the effective practices of improving worker health, safety, and wellbeing.
Developing a health, safety, and wellbeing (HSW) procurement model for Australian construction industry
Projected completion: May 2024
Dr Tanvi Newaz, Dr Marcus Jefferies, Faiza Kanwal (The University of Newcastle)
Despite the importance of contractors’ or subcontractors’ procurement in the construction industry, a small number of research exist in this area which shows that this category of research needs more consideration to improve the safety conditions of the construction industry. The procurement system plays a vital role in describing the roles and responsibilities of the stakeholders involved in the project. Noteworthy to mention in this context, many of the accidents relative to the construction industry are preventable as they are attributed to initial professional and managerial decisions which are taken well before the work commences on site. This indicates that the selection of a suitable procurement system is essential for the success of a construction project in terms of achieving desired WHS outcomes. Hence, the aim of this research is to identify the Health, Safety, and Well-being factors that can be incorporated into the procurement stages of a construction project and develop a safety procurement model for the Australian construction industry.
Harmonisation first — Sentencing inconsistency afterwards: Down the Federal rabbit hole of the model Work Health and Safety Act 2011
Completed: September 2021
Dr Trajce Cvetkovski (Australian Catholic University)
The object of harmonised work, health and safety legislation is to provide balanced and consistent outcomes. Despite this purpose, sentencing outcomes for significant prosecutions have become inconsistent. This article critically analyses the extent to which inconsistency exists. It presents data for the past 5 years concerning monetary penalties ordered against corporate offenders for the most significant type of prosecutorial activity. The discussion that follows identifies and assesses key differences in the seven penalties and sentences laws that apply respectively to the harmonised scheme. A key theme to emerge is that sentencing processes are not harmonised. However, remedying current inconsistencies could be achieved by the adoption of sentencing guidelines for the promotion of consistency for monetary penalties.
Regulator Readiness
Projected completion: July 2023
Dr Lee Huuskes, Angelica Vårhammar (Centre for Work Health and Safety)
This research project focuses on preparing work health and safety (WHS) regulators for the future of work. It aims to understand emerging work arrangements, review the current regulatory framework, identify gaps in regulation, and develop practical solutions. The goal is to ensure effective regulation and the promotion of safe working environments in the evolving work landscape.
The common law civil action for breach of statutory duty: History, elements and prospects
Projected completion: June 2024
A/Prof Neil Foster (The University of Newcastle)
My PhD by publication is a collection of papers, and linking material, on the common law tort action for "breach of statutory duty". This is directly relevant to the WHS Law area as the most common use of this civil action is in the case of industrial safety accidents.