Outcomes from Melbourne safety inspections

Over 170 businesses were visited in Springvale from 20-24 July, with a further 167 businesses inspected in Flemington, Kensington and North Melbourne from 3-7 August, as part of WorkSafe’s Safer Work Zones campaign for small businesses.

WorkSafe gave businesses advance warning that inspectors would be checking that workplace health and safety and return-to-work requirements for injured workers were being met. Some businesses responded positively to the campaign by using the advance warning to make safety improvements.

Despite this, WorkSafe still issued 233 improvement notices and identified a further 51 issues which were fixed on the spot. Issues included unsafe manual handling, unguarded machinery, unmaintained forklifts, risks of falls from height, unmaintained fire protection equipment, damaged electrical equipment, damaged storage racking and poor housekeeping. Four significant issues were identified in Springvale, where prohibition notices were issued and work was ordered to cease due to immediate risks to people’s safety.

WorkSafe also identified 25 breaches to the Accident Compensation Act, where employers had failed to display ‘If you are injured’ posters or adequately support workers who had been injured.

WorkSafe’s Executive Director, John Merritt, called on communities to keep working to make health and safety improvements: “Safety isn’t just a job for WorkSafe. It’s a job for everyone in the community.

“Our inspectors will continue to be [in] the area to ensure notices are complied with and conduct more visits. If you run a business, you have a responsibility to make sure it’s safe for employees and other people, including customers. Ignoring known safety issues is a shortcut to having an injury, an inspection or a prosecution in your workplace.”

Multiple Safer Work Zones campaigns are being rolled out around the state, with visits to Oakleigh and Campbellfield scheduled later this year.