La Trobe University gains OHS accreditation

On achieving accreditation for its Master of Ergonomics, Safety and Health, La Trobe becomes the second university in Australia to meet the exacting standards for accreditation set by the Australian Occupational Health and Safety Education Accreditation Board.

OHS advisors are increasingly required to have university qualifications with the Australian OHS Education Accreditation Board setting the benchmark for such qualifications. While the accreditation of university OHS education focuses on the generalist occupational health and safety role, the La Trobe program is unique in Australia in that it has an ergonomics and human factors emphasis.

Work-related musculoskeletal disorders (MSDs) are Australia’s largest occupational health and safety problem, both in numbers of workers affected and in costs. A recent report from Safe Work Australia estimated that in 2008-09 such conditions cost Australian business and the community $25.2 billion, placing MSDs as the highest of six ‘Priority Disorders’.

La Trobe graduates, who are able to study fully online, are well equipped to play a key role in managing these priority disorders within an OHS generalist framework. Program leader Dr Jodi Oakman said the accreditation process had been most beneficial and clarified the outcomes expected of graduates who would be work-ready when they entered the profession.

Accreditation Board registrar Pam Pryor said that as the second university to go through the accreditation process, La Trobe had contributed to the refinement of the accreditation process and the documentation required to ensure that it was ‘user friendly’. The Board has moved quickly to ensure that its accreditation processes comply with the new TEQSA environment and the expectations of graduates established in the Australian Qualifications Framework.