Tool to review safety incentive schemes in the mining and extractives industry in NSW

There is industry agreement that current safety incentive schemes need to focus principally on lead indicators and reinforcing positive safety outcomes rather than on lag indicators as is often the case. As part of this new focus, safety incentive schemes need to move to rewarding employees who take positive steps to improve OHS on sites, as opposed to being seen to be penalising them for reporting injuries.

The NSW Mine Safety Advisory Council has endorsed a tool to review safety incentive schemes. This tool includes:

• Principles that were developed and agreed by the major stakeholders in the NSW mining industry;
• A checklist to help sites review their safety incentive schemes; and
• An Action Plan to address issues arising from the checklist procedure.

The Tool also commits industry stakeholders (through MSAC) to assess in three years how the transition is progressing. 

This tool aims to assist the industry in the transition from safety incentive schemes that focus on lag indicators, to schemes that focus on lead indicators. Importantly, in the longer-term, with world-leading OHS performance, safety incentive schemes may no longer be required. 

Review of practices

The NSW Wran Review into Mine Safety Review recommended that an independent assessment of production bonus and safety incentive schemes be undertaken. As a result of this, the NSW Mine Safety Advisory Council (MSAC) commissioned Shaw Idea to undertake research on this and other issues in the NSW mining and extractives industry, now known as the Digging Deeper Project.

The Digging Deeper Project concluded that:

1. Recognition and reward schemes should be reviewed and developed in line with good practice principles;
2. The NSW mining industry should no longer pay workers in the industry money or equivalent benefits as a result of achievement of particular targets for outcome data, for example Lost-Time Injury Frequency Rates (LTIFR) and Medical Treatment Injury Frequency Rates (MTIFR);
3. Sites with production bonus schemes should carefully review them to ensure that the payment is not creating a disincentive to address adverse OHS consequences of current working arrangements.

Downloads

Summary of findings from Digging Deeper

Tool to Review Safety Incentive Schemes in the Mining and Extractive Industry in NSW

The Tool to review safety incentive schemes in the mining and extractives industry in NSW is a result of extensive consultation and demonstrates the commitment that union and employer stakeholders have to the MSAC partnership.

All stakeholders in the industry have had an input into the creation of these principles and have agreed to work with them.