Call for workers compensation funds to be allocated to research

Fifty of Australia’s leading OHS researchers called for a percentage of workers compensation funds to be allocated to research, during the recent Research Conference associated with Safety in Action.

The meeting, organised by the Safety Institute of Australia (SIA) Academy of University OHS Education and Research, identified the need for the design of good jobs, the implications of the green economy for occupational health and safety and the role of regulators in determining which methods of surveillance, standards and enforcement are most effective.

Dr Geoff Dell, Dean of the SIA College of Fellows, said: “We simply do not have enough knowledge about the impacts of health and safety. Whilst Australia can usefully call on international research, we need a sound academic base in this country.”

Conference Chair Professor Niki Ellis, CEO of the Institute of Safety, Compensation and Recovery Research, agrees that occupational health and safety will have to change.

Referencing recent views expressed by Dame Carol Black during the World Congress of Internal Medicine in March, Professor Ellis said: “As a discipline, OHS is not fit for the 21st century. It is isolated, has a limited academic base and remit, uneven provision, lack of good quality data, a poor image and is perceived by many as the servant of the employer.

“Obviously research is only one part of fixing this. We need to invest in developing a relevant forward-looking research agenda, working closely with regulators, employers and workers in industry and using the latest foresight research methodologies to understand better the future of work and the workforce.”

The SIA Academy of University OHS Education and Research will be petitioning the heads of Workplace Health and Safety Authorities (HOWSA) and the heads of Workers Compensation Authorities (HWCA) to take action on their declaration.

Dr Dell added: “This meeting revealed the heat of fifty frustrated researchers from around Australia. It is beholden on us to make sure that their declaration is taken to the HOWSA and HWCA. We hope they will enable the Australian OHS research community to better assist them to deliver OHS services.”