Following its launch by the Secretary in May 2017, a number of Work Health and Safety (WHS) Strategic Plan 2017–19 initiatives were delivered during 2017–18.

A key focus was supporting officers to achieve their Due Diligence obligations under WHS Act. We provided a series of due diligence training workshops to departmental staff to support implementation of responsibilities outlined in the Officer Due Diligence Manual.

During 2017–18, 304 WHS incidents were reported via the electronic WHS incident reporting system; 107 occurred in Australia and 197 occurred overseas. In response, corrective actions were implemented to eliminate or minimise risks and prevent further occurrences as appropriate.

The department delivered individual WHS briefings to more than 60 staff deploying to 34 overseas locations, including staff from other government agencies. We also provided group training sessions to staff working in Canberra or preparing for deployment overseas. We reviewed our mandatory WHS e-learning and updated it for re-launching in 2018–19. The department conducted visits to Australian offices and missions in Darwin, Perth, Jakarta, Phnom Penh, Makassar and Phuket to support the development and strengthening of WHS arrangements.