WorkSafe Victoria inspect retail and hospitality outlets in Melbourne’s central business district

The visits in Melbourne will run for two weeks. Over the past few years, a total of 12,013 workers were injured in the City of Melbourne, with treatment and rehabilitation costs exceeding $170 million. The retail and hospitality industries accounted for more than 1400 of these injuries and nearly $22 million in treatment and rehabilitation. Musculoskeletal injuries, also known as sprains and strains, were the most common injuries experienced.

According to Len Boehm, WorkSafe Victoria, the management of return to work obligations was often juggled among a range of business needs. Helping injured workers return to work in a safe and sustainable way can be a complex process. However, when it is a peak time for retail and hospitality trading, an employer cannot ignore their responsibilities.

When many businesses hire additional workers for the summer trading period, young workers are often at risk as they are less experienced and less likely to ask questions about returning to work and about their safety. More than 1000 young workers have been hurt at work in the City of Melbourne in the past five years.

Inspectors will be checking for the following requirements:

• An injury register
• An occupational rehabilitation program if the employer has an injured worker
• A risk management program, and a return to work coordinator whose role is to assist an injured worker to remain at or return to work as soon as possible after injury

Inspectors will also be checking that information about what to do if a worker is injured is clearly displayed in the workplace. The WorkSafe Victoria inspectors’ primary role is to help business operators, but where they are not addressing return to work issues and meeting their obligations, they will suffer the consequences, including the potential for prosecution.

WorkSafe Victoria have previously conducted similar campaigns in Ringwood, Geelong and Werribee.