Qld announces range of events to celebrate Safe Work Month

Safe Work Month is held nationally in October; to mark the event, Workplace Health and Safety Queensland (WHSQ) is taking a new approach to encourage a focus on safer, healthier workplaces for everyone, every day. Its new Work Well 365 Speaker Series of free online events are held throughout the year, to encourage Queensland businesses and workers to focus on the importance of work health and safety, mental health and wellbeing, and best practice rehabilitation and return to work. The speaker series features industry-leading experts who will discuss ways to predict and manage injury risks using artificial intelligence, managing work-related violence, mental health and wellbeing, corporate accountability for work health and safety, and more.

First up as part of the Work Well 365 Speaker Series is Dr Sarah Cotton, an organisational psychologist who will address mental health in the small business sector on 28 July. Business owners and workers are encouraged to register for Cotton’s presentation and to stay tuned for new Work Well releases every month between now and November.

WHSQ will also release regular updates with the launch of new event programs and resources. With in-person events back, Safe Work Month presents an opportunity to take the learning beyond the podium and into the networking areas, so attendees can connect, collaborate and share ideas with other industry professionals.

Work health and safety professionals and business leaders are invited to network and learn in person at the Work Well Breakfast Forums. With expert speakers addressing good work design, incident preparedness and equipping workers with high-performance skills, behaviour and attitudes about safety, it’s an event that all work health and safety professionals are urged to attend. The Breakfast Forums will take place across Queensland: in Rockhampton on 5 August, Toowoomba on 18 August, Cairns on 22 September and Mackay on 2 November.

The Work Well Conference (previously named the Injury Prevention and Return to Work Conference) will take place in Brisbane on 24 October 2022. The conference will give attendees an opportunity to reconnect with the health, safety and return to work community. The conference will focus on practical information for designing health and safe work, fostering a culture of health and safety, enhancing teams’ safety skills, behaviours and attitudes, and navigating complex case management.

WHSQ has also provided a range of free resources to help raise awareness, change behaviour, and improve health and safety performance in workplaces. Access films, event recordings, podcasts and downloadable digital promotional tools on the WHSQ website.

Image credit: ©stock.adobe.com/au/Maxim Blinkov