National Safe Work Month 2026 gets underway

October is National Safe Work Month, and this year’s theme is ‘Safe work is for life’. Each week will have a different focus, with the first week’s focus (running 1–11 October) being ‘For life: why WHS matters’, which encourages workplaces to reconnect with the purpose behind WHS and the role of everyone in the creation of safe and healthy work.

“To help start the conversation, workplaces can use the activities in the 2026 National Safe Work Month activity kit to discuss what safe and healthy work means to them, identify workplace hazards and explore practical improvements that could prevent harm,” Safe Work Australia (SWA) said. “This week also includes World Mental Health Day on 10 October, providing an opportunity to reflect on psychosocial health and safety at work.”

The activity kit includes a flexible program of weekly activities, videos and discussion guides and is available to download here.

You can watch the Week One campaign video here, while to learn more about this year’s theme, click here.

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