IP Australia is committed to providing a healthy and safe working environment for all workers (employees, contractors and others) and visitors, and continued to prioritise matters related to work health and safety (WHS). For example, in 2019–20, we:

• launched a new WHS Strategy (2019–21), which aims to increase our organisational WHS maturity, focusing on four areas:
  • a positive safety culture
  • evidence-based risk management of WHS risks and opportunities
  • a physically and psychologically safe workplace
  • continuous improvement.
• supported employees through education and ergonomic reviews during the relocation of our Melbourne-based staff and a major refit of our Canberra office
• enhanced our WHS risk management and contractor WHS management capability
• offered annual flu vaccinations, skin checks and health assessments, and promoted healthy lifestyle actions for our staff through our health and wellbeing allowance
• continued to offer free counselling services to all employees and their immediate families through the Employee Assistance Program.

In line with the WHS Strategy, we implemented corrective actions raised by Comcare in late 2018, which were signed off by Comcare in March 2020.

One incident during the year was deemed notifiable under section 38 of the Work Health and Safety Act 2011 and was reported to Comcare.