Safer Work Zones / Safe Towns
Safer Work Zones is a workplace safety program aimed at making Melbourne’s suburbs safer places to work. In regional Victoria, this program is known as Safe Towns.
The program concentrates on a particular suburb or town, and on small businesses which traditionally have limited contact with WorkSafe inspectors
Employers are given prior notice that workplace inspections will take place in a particular area, giving them time to carry out safety checks.
WorkSafe Inspectors then carry out inspections, focussing on whether employers are meeting both their workplace safety and return to work obligations.
If risks to safety are identified, employers may be able to take immediate measures to fix the problem. This is known as voluntary compliance.
An inspector may also issue an Improvement Notice or Prohibition Notice for more serious safety breaches. This action will require an employer to take action within an agreed period and in the most serious incidents involving immediate risk, for the activity to cease until the risk is remedied.
To help small business address safety issues, WorkSafe has developed a special guide, 12 ways to make small business safer which focuses on the top 12 common hazards identified by WorkSafe Inspectors during Safer Work Zones / Safe Towns campaigns. Employers with up to 50 employees can also register for a free, three-hour session with an independent OHS consultant.
List of Safe Towns Safer Work Zones campaigns for 2009/10 as at 15/6/2009
| SAFER WORK ZONES CAMPAIGNS (METROPOLITAN AREAS) | |
| Campbellfield | 5 - 9 October 2009 |
| Central Business District (CBD) Melbourne | 18 - 22 January 2010 |
| Seaford | 8 - 12 February 2010 |
| Preston | 1 - 5 March 2010 |
| Williamstown | 19 - 23 April 2010 |
| Bayswater | 3 - 7 May 2010 |
| SAFER TOWNS CAMPAIGNS (REGIONAL AREAS) | |
| Surf Coast | 16 – 20 November 2009 |
| Bacchus Marsh | 22 - 26 February 2010 |
| Portland | 22 – 26 March 2010 |
| Sale | 17 – 21 May 2010 |
| BOTH METROPOLITAN AND REGIONAL | |
| Small business retail |
30 November – 4 December 2009 |
Forms & Publications
