Injury Prevention refers to the collections of policies, procedures, and practices used to minimise the risk of harm to people. In the Workplace Injury Rehabilitation and Compensation Act 2013, an injury is defined as any physical or mental injury and, without limiting the generality of that definition, includes industrial deafness; and disease contracted by a worker in the course of the worker's employment (whether at, or away from, the place of employment); and recurrence, aggravation, acceleration, exacerbation or deterioration of any pre-existing injury or disease. WorkSafe Victoria provides a definition of an injury being, in the primary sense, as involving a physiological change that is sudden and ascertainable or dramatic. An example of an injury in the primary sense is a fractured arm. An injury in the extended sense is a disease that does not involve a sudden physiological change. An example of an injury in the extended sense is dermatitis. Injury prevention is therefore the prevention of the occurrence of the incidence of physical injuries that arise out of or in the course of worker's employment, which is accomplished through safety intervention and practice.
Effective injury prevention begins with the proactive, structured, and methodological identification of hazards before they cause harm. Under the Model Work Health and Safety Act and its associated Codes of Practice, businesses are required to examine the tasks, environments, and systems of work that may expose people to risk, and to do so in a manner that is systematic, consultative, and evidence‑based. This includes recognising hazards that arise from plant, equipment, substances, work design, and human factors, and understanding how these hazards may interact to expose workers to concentrations of hazard that, in sufficient repetition or dose, expose them to risk.
Risk stratification requires understanding the harm that could occur, how severe that harm could be, and how likely it is to happen. While not every hazard requires a formal risk assessment, assessment is needed when the degree of risk is unclear or when the consequences may be significant. This process ensures that decisions about control measures are informed, proportionate, and aligned with the requirement to eliminate risks where reasonably practicable, or otherwise minimise them through effective and sustainable controls.
Implementation of control measures with regard to the effectiveness, necessity, and practicability of those controls as informed by risk assessment is essential in the prevention of injuries the sustainability of safe participation at work. The hierarchy of control measures provides a structured method for selecting the most effective controls, beginning with elimination and progressing through substitution, engineering controls, administrative measures, and personal protective equipment. Injury prevention requires businesses to prioritise higher‑order controls wherever possible, recognising that administrative controls and PPE, while important, are less reliable than measures that remove or isolate hazards and are most appropriate to use when considering residual risks that cannot otherwise be mitigated. Controls must be tailored to the specific context of the workplace, integrated into safe systems of work, and supported by clear information, training, instruction and supervision.
Where Injury Prevention initiatives arise from and are informed by hazard identification and risk assessment, injury prevention is an ongoing process owing to the business lifetime requirement of hazard identification and risk assessment, review of working systems and plant, and owing to the natural ageing of people, plant, and workplaces as a function of time. Control measures must therefore be reviewed regularly to ensure they remain effective, particularly when work processes change, new information becomes available, or incidents occur. Consultation with workers is essential throughout this process, as workers possess critical insight into the practical realities of work and the effectiveness of controls.
Each workplace is different, with different demands, methods of business, and is staffed by people whose capacities, needs, and risk profiles are different. Managing ergonomic, environmental, and occupational health and safety challenges requires a business to examine and engage with the ecosystem of factors that give rise to risk, and how that risk may affect people. Each workplace is different and so sometimes the same problem will require different solutions. This applies to workers as well - every person is different and so may require different support, supervision, or resources to perform comfortably and sustainably. Under Work Health and Safety law, consultation with the workforce, the control of risk as far as is reasonably practicable, and the provision of information, training, instruction and support to the worker by the workplace, is essential to meet obligations to provide workers with a workplace that is as free of risk as far is reasonably practicable.
In our capacity as consultants, Atlas Physio will explore and scope the business and its needs, examining how exposures, risks, and processes contribute to the hazard ecosystem, best inform the design and arrangement of procedural, policy-based, and practical risk controls. Our solutions are tailored to the needs of those with whom we work, implemented in a simple, sustainable, and supportive fashion, designed to be robust and resilient, and to support the ongoing life of the business as well as the sustainable wellbeing of the workers who undertake the day to day activities of work.
At Atlas Physio, we provide reporting, structured control, and ongoing management of risk onsite, on the road, and wherever work is done. We are open seven days a week, and are happy to offer a brief complimentary discussion to explore the needs of your business and your workers if you are an employer, and your needs if you are a worker. Reach out today to arrange a discussion and take the first step toward managing risk and working safely, supported by expertise that is practical, reliable, and designed to deliver lasting results.