Frontline staff boost to keep Queensland workers safe

• Miles Government has delivered a $97 million boost to the Office of Industrial Relations (OIR) for frontline services that make workplaces safer
• 140 new positions including in Workplace Health and Safety, the Workers’ Compensation Regulatory Service, the Electrical Safety Office, and the Work Health and Safety Prosecutor
• Includes 40 new WHS inspectors and 9 new Electrical Safety inspectors

The 2024-25 Miles Government budget is backing Queensland workers by funding an additional 140 staff to help keep them safe.   

Over the next five years, there is a $96.7 million boost to meet the health and safety compliance needs of Queensland’s rapidly growing economy.

This funding provides 40 new Work Health and Safety inspectors, along with new specialist advisors to provide support and advice on Queensland's nation-leading psychosocial code of practice.  

The Electrical Safety Office, which regulates electrical safety in all Queensland workplaces and households, will get an additional 9 inspectors along with other new staff.

When it comes to Workers’ Compensation, timeliness is vital both in terms of decisions and reviews. Medical Assessment Tribunals provide an independent medical assessment of injury and impairment for compensation claims, and extra staff will help this happen even more quickly. If a worker seeks a review of a workers’ compensation decision, the time frame for that review is incredibly important: providing additional review unit staff will ensure reviews are delivered in a timely fashion.

The independent Office Work Health and Safety Prosecutor is also getting extra staff, including two new prosecutors.

The contact centre at the Office of Industrial Relations takes around 150,000 calls a year, including notifications of serious workplace and electrical safety incidents, safety complaints and questions on worker safety. The centre is getting new staff to ensure when workers and businesses get in touch, they can report incidents and get the information they need, faster.

Quotes attributable to the Minister for Industrial Relations Grace Grace MP:

“Queensland has added an extra 111,600 jobs over the past 12 months, the most of any state. As the unemployment rate remains low at 4.1% - down 1.5% on the pre-COVID level - and industries like construction continue to boom, we must ensure we have enough frontline staff to regulate industries and support Queensland workers.

“That’s why I am proud that this budget is yet again delivering what matters for Queensland and is providing a boost of around $97 million for 140 new staff in the Office of Industrial Relations to deliver critical frontline regulatory services.

“The Miles Government will always back Queensland workers, and alongside our nation leading laws, that means investing in our health and safety regulators.  

“Everyone deserves to go to work and come home safely to their loved ones, and the Miles Government will always do everything we can to ensure that’s exactly what happens.

“This is in stark contrast to the Queensland LNP, which has consistently voted against the health and safety laws we’ve introduced to keep Queenslanders safe, and would repeal them if they got the chance."

ENDS

Further information:

OIR improves the wellbeing of all Queenslanders by protecting the rights and safety of Queensland workers, workplaces, and the community by helping industry to create fair, safe, and healthy workplaces. OIR incorporates Workplace Health and Safety Queensland (WHSQ), the Electrical Safety Office (ESO), Workers Compensation Regulatory Services (WCRS) and Industrial Relations.