About The Awards

Judging Criteria

You are welcome to contact the Office of Regulatory Services or the Office of the ACT OHS Commissioner if you are uncertain which category best suits the innovation/solution that you are nominating.

When preparing your submission please ensure that you address each of the criteria listed below the category for which you are nominating.

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Categories

  1. Best Workplace Health and Safety Management System

    1. What was the solution developed and implemented?
    2. How clearly does the system achieve a demonstrated commitment to workplace health and safety?
      Information provided could include demonstrated management commitment to the systematic management of Occupational Health And Safety (OHS) and injury management, ongoing planning of OHS improvement and evaluation of the system, systematic identification, assessment and control strategies for the organisation’s hazards.
    3. To what extent was the integrated approach developed in consultation with workplace parties and, where appropriate, with outside organisations?
    4. How well is the approach integrated into the overall operations of the company?
    5. Has there been a demonstrated improvement in health and safety in the workplace as a result of the integrated approach?
    6. How much potential is there for the system to have broader application across other workplaces and industry?
    7. Whether evidence of your organisation’s systems approach has been demonstrated through the inclusion in your submission of:
      • An external audit report conducted within previous 2 years
      • Evidence of control measures in place
      • Claims or incident/injury data for at least the previous 12 months
      • Evidence of OHS reporting and consultation
      • Any other evidence to show a systems-based approach.
        (For example, a systems approach demonstrates that all elements function according to fundamental rules, that analysis of the elements can be completed with a consistent auditing approach and each part of the overall system can itself be studied as a complete system. In a systematic approach short term goals are continually set and met, and are seen as contributing to the "higher" goal of elimination of risks to health and safety, improving the viability of the business and contributing to the wellbeing of anyone affected by the business operations.)

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  2. Best Solution to an Identified Workplace Health and Safety Issue

    1. What was the workplace health and safety issue?
    2. What form of risk management system or process was used to identify the issue?
    3. How was the hierarchy of control applied to develop the solution?
    4. How effective was the solution for the control of the identified hazard?
    5. To what extent was the solution developed in consultation with workplace parties and, if appropriate, outside organisations?
    6. How original and innovative was the solution?
    7. How well did the solution impact on the overall operations of the company?
    8. Has there been a demonstrated improvement in health and safety in the workplace as a result of the solution?
      (Provide claims or incident/injury data and any other OHS reporting as evidence)
    9. How much potential is there for the solution to have broader application across industry?

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  3. Best Workplace Health and Safety Practices in Small Business

      1. Describe your innovative and systematic workplace health & safety practice/s.
      2. Describe the reason why it was developed.
    2. Describe who was involved and how they participated in the development of your workplace health & safety practice/s.
      Include in your application examples such as:
      • to what extent employees were involved
      • whether discussions were held through an OHS committee
        (for some small businesses this may not be applicable)
      • testimonials from happy clients, customers, etc.
      • whether outside consultants were involved in the development; and/or
      • anyone else who was involved in the development
    3. How did you develop this/these workplace health and safety practice/s?
      Describe how you did this with examples such as:
      • how you eliminated the risk
      • how you used a substitute
      • how you used an engineering control and/or
      • how administrative controls were put in place
    4. Describe how you implemented this/these health and safety practice/s into your workplace:
      Describe how you did this with examples such as:
      • communicating with staff
      • training employees, and/or
      • explaining how you monitored the progress of the practice/s
    5. Describe how the workplace health and safety practice/s has benefited your business
    6. Detail the benefits of this/these practice/s by providing examples and evidence that supports your application such as testimonials, photos, increase in morale and/or productivity, financial gain, raised awareness etc.

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  4. Best Public Sector Leadership Award for Injury Prevention and Management

    1. How did your agency demonstrate leadership in injury prevention and return to work, as evidenced through:
      • assessment and reporting on OHS performance with the use of continuous improvement principles (implementing, monitoring and review); and/or
      • best practice in risk management and injury prevention; and/or
      • fostering a safety culture.
    2. How does your agency review, integrate with other departmental systems and continually improves its OHS management system.
    3. What outcomes has your agency achieved as a result of your initiatives including achieving key national OHS targets set out in the National OHS Strategy 2002-2012 and/or targets set by state or territory governments.
    4. How does your agency influence the OHS practices of external parties to improve OHS outcomes.
    5. Your application should be supported with the provision of evidence including:
      • Size and scope of your organisation
      • An external audit report conducted by 3rd party auditor within the previous 2 years
      • Evidence of how senior management demonstrate safety leadership
      • Evidence of how staff awareness and engagement is evaluated
      • Evidence of effective risk control measures in place
      • Claims data trends for the previous 2-3 years
      • OHS reporting and consultative mechanisms
      • Internal review and evaluation mechanisms
      • Extent of consultation throughout agency
      • Any other evidence to support your entry

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  5. Best Individual Contribution to Workplace Health and Safety

    1. What were the individual’s health and safety achievements/contributions and how were they accomplished?
    2. What barriers, if any, were encountered while implementing them?
    3. How were the improvements in health and safety performance measured?
      (Supporting material can be supplied to assist in demonstrating claims to the above criteria, this could include but is not limited to: claims and incident/injury data and other OHS reporting information.)
    4. In what way was the individual’s approach and contribution innovative in achieving better OHS performance?
    5. Describe how the individual’s impact on health and safety management and performance was above and beyond their immediate field/area of responsibility.
    6. What is the potential for the individual’s contribution to have broader application?
    7. What communication and consultation processes were required/used to implement their achievements/ contribution?

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  6. Most Successful Promotion of OHS in Workplaces

    1. To what extent does the entry achieve active commitment by all employees in the workplace?
    2. Positive changes to workplace culture achieved by the promotion?
    3. How widely has the entry achieved increased OHS awareness in the community?
    4. How original and innovative is the solution/initiative/contribution?
    5. How cost effective and easy to implement/use is the solution/initiative/contribution?
    6. The potential for the solution/initiative/contribution to have broader application?
    7. The measured/measurable improvements in health and safety performance achieved?
      (Provide claims or incident/injury data and any other occupational health and safety reporting as evidence.)

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  7. Best Workplace Health and Wellbeing Program

    1. What motivated the organisation to implement a health and wellbeing program?
    2. How did the organisation assess the specific health and wellbeing needs of its workforce and how does the program address these needs?
    3. What tangible support (e.g. financial, time-off for employees) did the organisation give to the program?
    4. What were the measures of success for the program and how well have they been achieved? In particular, has the program had a measurable impact on the organisation’s OHS and/or general performance and, if so, what was it?
    5. How effective is the program in encouraging employees to become more physically active?
    6. How effective is the program in encouraging employees to better manage their health and wellbeing?
    7. What is the long term potential for the program to continue and to provide lasting benefits to the organisation?
    8. How much potential is there for this initiative to have a broader impact on encouraging a stronger focus on physical activity and health and wellbeing through the workplace?

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