WHS Success for 2025: Going beyond ‘No Incidents’.
As 2024 comes to an end, it’s the perfect time for businesses to reflect on their WHS systems and ask an important question: What does WHS success look like for us in 2025?
If your only goal is an incident-free year, what are you planning to do to achieve it? As we look toward 2025, relying solely on a clean incident record from the past can lead to complacency. Just because nothing happened last year doesn’t mean risks have been managed effectively or that incidents won’t occur in the future. True WHS success comes from proactive strategies that anticipate and address potential risks, ensuring safety isn’t left to chance.
Clarifying WHS Success
So, what does WHS success actually mean? It’s more than having zero incidents. It’s about creating an environment where foreseeable risks are identified, assessed, and controlled before they lead to harm. Success could involve setting measurable goals, such as:
Reducing exposure to high-risk tasks.
Increasing near-miss reporting and learning opportunities.
Improving staff consultation and engagement in WHS processes.
Proactive strategies, such as hazard identification, leadership buy-in, and ongoing education, drive long-term improvements that go beyond surface-level indicators.
The Misconception of 'No Incidents'
At Risk Collective, we’ve observed many businesses that believed a long stretch without incidents indicated strong WHS practices. However, when a serious incident eventually occurs, audits and investigations often reveal significant gaps in their health and safety systems — gaps that were overlooked due to a false sense of security.
An empty incident log can provide false comfort. Without thorough risk management, the "no incidents" mindset can hide dangerous gaps in health and safety practices. While aiming for zero incidents is a valuable goal, it shouldn’t be the sole focus. businesses should aim for a strong WHS system that actively manages risks. This means taking time to assess:
Are we addressing critical hazards in our workplace?
Do we understand what controls are truly working?
Are we involving our workers to identify and resolve risks?
Proactive risk management creates resilience. It’s not about avoiding incidents through luck; it’s about ensuring risks are consistently and effectively managed.
Why a WHS Strategy Matters
A clear WHS strategy identifies what your business wants to achieve over a defined period, e.g. 12 months. It provides direction, helps you focus on the right WHS activities, and ensures responsibility and accountability are assigned. A well-defined strategy also allows you to track progress and measure how effectively you are targeting key areas of WHS improvement.
Developing a WHS strategy helps businesses:
Set clear goals for reducing risks and improving safety outcomes.
Allocate resources effectively by identifying who is responsible for each action.
Track progress and adapt to changing circumstances.
With a solid strategy in place, businesses can move beyond surface-level indicators and create a culture where risks are actively managed, and health and safety becomes part of everyday operations.
The Value of Strategy Sessions
At Risk Collective, we work alongside our clients to develop effective WHS strategies that align with their business goals. We facilitate strategy sessions to provide structure, clarity, and direction, ensuring that health and safety initiatives are both actionable and achievable. We break the process into five key components:
Focus Areas: Identify risks most relevant to your operations, including higher-risk activities and areas where there is potential for injury or exposure to litigation.
Actions: Determine the specific and practical steps required to reach your desired outcome. Clearly outline what needs to be done.
Timelines: Set realistic deadlines for implementing controls and improvements.
Resources: Allocate people, time, and tools to complete each action effectively. Ensure everyone involved understands their responsibilities and has the support needed to succeed. or some actions, you may identify that you don’t have the required expertise internally. In these cases, it’s important to identify and engage any external resources needed, such as consultants, trainers, or specialist services.
Status: Regularly monitor and update the progress of WHS initiatives.
By following this approach, businesses can take the guesswork out of WHS planning and ensure their priorities are aligned with the realities of their workplace. Update plans as needed to address new challenges or changing conditions and keep goals relevant.
WHS Strategy in Action
Once the strategy is set, it’s essential for the senior leadership team to regularly review progress. This ensures WHS initiatives are on track and effective, while also identifying areas that need adjustment. Regular reviews not only keep the strategy relevant but also help officers meet their due diligence obligations by demonstrating active oversight and commitment to work health and safety.
By embedding these reviews into your regular leadership processes, businesses can foster a culture of continuous improvement and accountability in WHS practices.
How to create a WHS Strategy for 2025
The next step is determining what areas need the most attention. Here are a few practical tips:
Consult your team: Workers often have first-hand knowledge of hazards in their roles. Engage them through discussions, surveys, or team talks.
Review past data: Look at surveys, incident reports, near-misses, and inspection and audit records to identify patterns.
Go beyond internal data: Look at what’s happening in your industry, or the industries you supply to (if you're a staffing firm). External data sources can offer valuable insights:
Safe Work Australia’s Interactive Data: Provides an overview of industry-specific data on workplace incidents and hazards in Australia. Explore the Interactive Data.
WorkSafe Victoria’s Injury Hotspots: Displays accepted workers’ compensation claims for each industry, helping to identify common hazards. Visit Injury Hotspots.
Focus on high-risk areas: Focus on risks most pertinent to your operations. For example, our retail client last year concentrated on customer aggression and violence and manual tasks as key risk areas.
Monitor changes: New processes, technology, or staffing changes can create unexpected risks that need to be addressed.
By combining insights from your team, internal data, and industry resources, you can identify the most relevant hazards and develop strategies to manage them effectively.
The Road Ahead
WHS success in 2025 starts with a clear strategy, proactive planning, and a commitment to improvement. By moving beyond a "no incidents" mindset, businesses can build safer, healthier workplaces where risks are actively managed, not left to chance.
What are your WHS goals for 2025?
What do you want to achieve to create a safer, healthier, and more resilient work environment?
Now is the time to reflect, plan, and take action.