Wellington Council

Wellington Council is located 362 kilometres north-west of Sydney.

Currently it has a population of 9200 people, with the majority of the its local residents living in the urban centre Wellington and surrounding villages of Geurie, Mumbil, Stuart Town and Euchareena.


Long before the introduction of the OHS Act in 2000, the Council considered OHS to be an integral part of its everyday operation and at all times aims to:

• Reduce accidents in the workplace
• Comply with legislation, codes of practice and Council policies
• Involve all employees in the decision making process to ensure safety
• Manage all potential hazards in the workplace
• Ensure all actual incidents are investigated and causes controlled
• Provide effective injury management for all its employees.

To ensure the ongoing success of Wellington Council’s OHS Management System, the Council continually measures:

• All work activities to OHS controls
• Promotes lines of open communication between management and employees
• Manage, investigate and sign off on recommendations following incidents
• Employees report all incident/accident/hazards in the workplace and assist in any investigations
• Employees involve themselves in risk assessments conducted in their work area
• Ensure all contractors and visitors are aware of and comply with the Council’s OHS policies and procedures.

The Council knows how important employees are to its organisation and is committed to providing their staff with the “time to work safely”. Within the first few years of implementing changes to its OHS Management System, the council saw a 30% reduction in accidents and injuries. It also saw an increase in the reporting process of incidents/accidents and hazards. This has assisted management in reducing the level of risk to employees in the workplace.

Future projects currently being undertaken by the Council include:

• A visit to Council by Heath Francis from the WorkCover paralympian program in February 2009. Heath visited staff on site, addressed staff on his life changing experience/accident and spread the WorkCover safety message
• Have all employees sign off on the safety charter which covers the Council’s policy of “there is always time to work safely”
• The final editing, implementation and delivery of Council’s “Supervisor Handbook Guidelines”
• Fund, develop and implement Council’s business continuity plan by end of 2009
• Train two Council staff in enterprise risk management. This model is to be in place by the end of June 2009
• Install large safety signs at entry/exit points in the Council’s main depot.

“SAFETY IS AN ATTITUDE NOT A PROCESS”

To find out more about Wellington Council, visit http://www.wellington.nsw.gov.au/eservice/navigation.jsp.