Our understanding of mental health and its importance to overall wellbeing had matured greatly in the past decade. It’s now much more socially acceptable for individuals and organisations to talk about mental health, offering support and assistance.
We know that 42.9% of all Australian’s aged between 16-85 years’ will experience a mental disorder at some time in their life (ABS National Study of Mental Health and Wellbeing, 2023). For employers this means that at anytime a proportion of their employees will be experiencing a mental health issue.
It’s vital that local governments have systems in place to support these individuals and reduce the risk of psychosocial hazards that may lead to psychological injury. Not only do
local governments, as PCBUs (person conducting a business or undertaking), have a duty of care to provide a safe workplace and take all reasonable steps to manage physical and psychological hazards, the Work Health and Safety Act (2020) WA (WHS) explicitly talks about psychological safety.
In addition to meeting regulatory responsibilities, there are many other benefits to addressing psychosocial hazards and creating a mentally healthy workplace. These include:
The 2024 WA Local Government Convention over 8 to 10 October was an excellent opportunity to chat with members and talk about the issues that matter to you. Over 650 delegates attended from across the state and we appreciated the effort many made to seek out our team to provide feedback and ask questions.
Members are once again asking questions about fire safety for e-bikes, e-scooters and other light electric vehicles (LEV), alongside the installation of EV charging stations. This is an evolving risk area and members should consider the developing situation.
2023/24 proved an interesting year for the LGIS scheme and our members. There have been inflationary pressures, labour markets have been tight and skilled workers difficult to find, the workforce is ageing, and there has been substantial legislative change including the Local Government Act and a brand-new Workers Compensation and Injury Management Act.
Definition: Psychosocial hazards
Psychosocial hazards are those that may cause psychological harm (whether or not it may also cause physical harm).1 People who are exposed to psychosocial hazards at work are at greater risk of developing a work-related psychological injury, and poorer mental health outcomes.
Mental health conditions account for an increasing proportion of serious workers’ compensation claims, and have drawn significant attention over recent years as awareness of their impact on individuals and workplaces has grown
SafeWork Australia’s report, ‘Psychological health and safety in the workplace’, published in February 2024, highlighted the changing impact of work-related psychological injuries in Australia.
From LGIS’ perspective the local government experience echoes the National findings. Psychological injury claims for the sector are on the rise, are typically more complex and take longer to resolve, and total claims costs are higher than physical injuries.
On 7 October 2024 the City of Mandurah launched their three- year ‘Mentally Healthy Workplace Strategic Action Plan’ with an introductory video from their CEO, Casey Mihovilovich. This is an exciting initiative for the City with strong engagement and support from the leadership team, Health and Wellbeing Committee, and broader staff group.
To develop the plan the City gathered and reviewed people- related metrics and processes through a desktop study. There was also stakeholder consultation with plenty of focus groups and on-on-one interviews. The last part of the research phase was a psychosocial risk survey conducted across the organisation. This first phase allowed the City to identify hazards and information to start assessing the risks.
Four focus areas were identified and the plan has been developed around these, they are:
Communication, consultation and collaboration: – the City recognises that communication is a key tool to support the mitigation of many psychological risks.
Capacity building: training will be delivered to all staff to develop their skills and build capacity across the organisation. Training is the key to improving confidence and engagement at work.
Governance and leadership: actions within the plan will be actively monitored and governed with clearly defined leadership and reporting.
Wellbeing foundations: are baseline process and procedures that form the strong foundations of the Mentally Healthy Workplace Plan.
This strategic framework has led to a variety of practical applications and initiatives including:
In implementing their plan, the City has enthusiastically engaged LGIS’ services through the psychological safe program.
Over 326 City staff have attended LGIS workshops on dealing with difficult customers and personal mental health. Their people leaders have participated in the leadership program with more scheduled in November. It’s particularly important that the City’s
executive and leadership group have engaged with the plan. This demonstrates a true commitment to creating a mentally healthy workplace and also ensures that people leaders are equipped with the knowledge to identify and mitigate psychosocial hazards.
LGIS counsellor Anill Goman has delivered the majority of our services to the City and has been impressed with their approach. “It is truly commendable to see the City of Mandurah’s dedicated initiative to increase psychological safety in their workplace. Through extensive consultation with their workers, the City
has made significant progress in fostering an inclusive and supportive culture” Anill Goman said.
“Their efforts to create an environment where workers feel valued and empowered to be their authentic self at work is commendable. This proactive approach not only contributes to a positive work environment but also prioritises the well-being and mental health of the workers. It is inspiring to witness the City’s commitment to creating a workplace that promotes psychological safety, ensuring that everyone feels respected, heard, and supported,” he continued.
To support the implementation of their Plan the City has developed a range of resources to give staff and leaders ready access to resources. Their ‘Mental Health and Wellbeing Directory’ is a key resource for all staff providing easy access to information on mental health, the factors impacting it, support available and how to help others.
Identifying psychosocial hazards by role
The City is now in the process of reviewing all roles to better understand the psychosocial hazards associated with them. Generally, most staff have a decent understanding of the physical risks of a role, but the psychosocial hazards aren’t as well understood.
LGIS’ suite of over 50 job dictionaries gave the City a head-start as they started to assess role hazards. The LGIS job dictionary includes a breakdown of each job role outlining the demands – physical, postural, cognitive, emotional, organisational and the frequency of these demands.
For more information on how LGIS can support your local government create a mentally healthy workplace contact the People Risk Team at [email protected]
The recent WA Local Government Convention was an excellent opportunity to chat with members and talk about the issues that matter to you. LGIS also appreciated the invitation from WALGA to provide members with an update at their AGM on our 2023/24 results and achievements. For more information, our end of financial year reports, A Year in Review and Annual Financial Report, are now available on the LGIS website or you can read the article on page 18.
By their very nature playgrounds have an element of risk, designed to challenge children and deliver development opportunities. They’re valued and sought-after amenities in every local government area across Western Australia. They also come with high levels of expectation from the community that they will be well designed, in appropriate locations and maintained in a condition that ensures safe and enjoyable experiences for children
The claimant (child) was travelling across a bridge in the playground and fell through a confined space causing a broken femur, cuts and bruises. The claimant alleged that the playground was unsafe and had design flaws that didn’t prevent children from injuring themselves.
LGIS is the unifying name for the dedicated suite of risk financing and management services for WA local governments, established by the WA Local Government Association in conjunction with JLT Public Sector (part of the Marsh group of companies). LGIS is managed by JLT Public Sector (ABN 69 009 098 864 AFS Licence 226827).
Risk Matters, via this website, is designed to keep members, their staff and elected members informed on topical risk management and insurance issues and LGIS programs and services.
