Safety professionals and CFOs need to speak the same language ahead of new OHS Act

Safety professionals need a broader depth of education and experience in order to affect positive workplace change and influence senior executives, according to insurance and risk adviser firm Marsh. This is particularly the case ahead of impending legislation that will broaden the senior executives' safety responsibilities.

The new national standard in occupational health and safety - the Model Work Health and Safety Act - is due to be adopted from 1 January 2012. Under the Act, those responsible for safety will be defined not only as executive directors and officers of a company, but also anyone who affects the financial standing of a company, including CFOs and non-executive directors.

Rob Kosova, Principal at Marsh, said CFOs are the most likely among senior executives to be unaware of their own safety obligations: “Most CFOs have little to do with an organisation’s human capital. However, as defined by the new Act, those with the ability to affect the financial standing of a company, such as a CFO, are, for the first time, defined as responsible for OHS.

In view of this, Kosova commented that safety professionals have an opportunity to bring this Act to the attention of their executives; however they must have a solid grasp of their company’s operational and financial structure so they can bridge the gap of understanding in their own workplace.

“Education and experience is key, however, much more needs to be done in terms of industry accreditation and training so that safety professionals can work at the executive level,” he said. “Safety professionals should work with CFOs to address productivity, lost time, year-on-year savings and expenditures, and workers’ compensation. Given $6.3 billion was paid out in workers’ compensation in Australia in 2007-08 (ref: Key Workers’ Compensation Information, Australia 2010, Safe Work Australia), it is an area they should not ignore.

“One way for safety professionals and CFOs to measure the effectiveness of their safety policies is to check their workers’ compensation premiums against the industry average. When safety translates into positive returns or savings for the company, CFOs will pay attention.”

As defined by the Act, Kosova says executives with OHS obligations must:

• Keep up to date with work health and safety matters;
• Understand the issues, risks and hazards associated with the business;
• Ensure resources are available to eliminate or minimise risks to health and safety in the workplace, and wherever else employees conduct work;
• Ensure review processes are in place and incidents, hazards and risks are responded to in a timely way; and
• Verify compliance and performance by way of positive performance indicators.