Published this week, the report provides an overview of SafeWork SA’s activities, operations and initiatives undertaken in the 2022 financial year.

Significant highlights of the 2021-22 report include:

• Performance statistics for the Educator arm of the agency feature customer service and licensing data. Of note, customer service staff responded to more than 38,000 phone calls and 38,000 emails from the public, and licensing staff processed more than 42,000 licence applications during the period.
• Performance statistics for the Regulator arm of the agency feature data on compliance and enforcement visits, and statutory notices issued. Of note, close to 5000 compliance and enforcement visits were undertaken by regulatory staff, and 89 per cent of complaints or notifications were finalised within six months, exceeding our target of 85 per cent.
• SafeWork SA has now completed the implementation of the 39 ICAC recommendations handed down by the Hon Bruce Lander QC, Independent Commissioner Against Corruption in 2018.
• Continuation of our reform program to create an efficient organisation that engenders trust and meets the expectations of stakeholders, industry and the South Australian community.
• Compliance and enforcement activities led to seven successful prosecutions in the South Australian Employment Tribunal. In 2021-22 there were also seven Enforceable Undertakings entered into with an estimated total minimum spend of more than $1 million.

• Moving to the Attorney-General’s Department following four years as a business unit of the Department of Treasury and Finance, accountable to the previous Treasurer.

SafeWork SA Executive Director Martyn Campbell said the workplace environment had changed significantly because of the COVID-19 pandemic, enabling more flexible working arrangements.

‘Many of us nowblend office and home working, which haspresented new risks to work and workplaces,’ he said.

‘We have adapted our delivery strategy toensure we kept our team healthy whileretaining a response capability for notifiableincidents. This ensured we always had thecapacity to respond to events, even duringlockdown periods.’

With a new Labor Government, SafeWork SA has this year moved to the Attorney- General’s Department, reporting to the Hon Kyam Maher MLC.

‘We look forward to working with our new Minister to implement the Government’s industrial relations agenda, including changes to shop trading hours, psychosocial hazards and the inclusion of industrial manslaughter into the portfolio,’ Mr Campbell said.

Publication of an ‘annual report’ was recommended in the 2018 ICAC evaluation. SafeWork SA has published an Annual Activity Report on its website since 2019

Further links:

• Annual Activity Report 2021-22