This October, National Safe Work Month encourages workplaces around Australia to prioritise work health safety and take action to reduce the number of work-related injuries, illnesses and fatalities. Throughout the campaign Safe Work Australia also demonstrate how safe and healthy workplace benefits workers and employers, their families and the broader community. For 2025, the theme highlights the responsibility of all workplaces, regardless of size, industry, or location, to make safety a core part of workplace culture. In 2023, 200 workers in Australia were fatally injured at work, and there were 139,000 workers compensation claims for serious injuries and illnesses. While overall injury and fatality rates have declined significantly over the past decade, the lives and stories behind these statistics remind us why ongoing action is essential. Every worker deserves to go home safe and healthy, every single day of the year. National Safe Work Month is more than just awareness, it is an opportunity for businesses and employees to pause, reflect, and take meaningful steps to reduce workplace risks. A safe and healthy workplace is a basic right, but it also delivers wide-reaching benefits: more productive teams, stronger businesses, and healthier families and communities. This year, Safe Work Australia is taking a practical approach by guiding organisations through the risk management process week by week. Each focus area is designed to provide practical tools and conversations that can be used during October and well beyond. Week 1: Identify Hazards Identifying hazards is the first step in the risk management process and involves finding things and situations that could potentially cause harm to people. Harm can be physical, psychological or both. Even if you’ve already got a risk register, it’s important to regularly review it to see if anything has changed. You can identify hazards by getting out and inspecting the workplace, talking to your workers and their health and safety representatives, reviewing documents like leave forms and incident reports, and learning from what’s happening more generally in the industry. This goes beyond physical things you can see, you can use this approach to identify mental health and psychosocial hazards too. Week 2: Assess Risks Once you’ve identified hazards, the next thing you need to do is assess the risks by considering what could happen if someone is exposed to a hazard, and how likely it is this could happen. A risk assessment can be as simple as a discussion with your workers, or it could involve specific risk analysis tools and techniques developed for specific risks, or recommendations from a safety professional. For some complex situations, expert or specialist advice may be useful when conducting a risk assessment. A risk assessment can help you to determine: How severe a risk is Whether any existing control measures are effective What action you should take to control the risk How urgently the action needs to be taken Week 3: Control Risks Controlling risks is the most practical and visible step in the process. Where possible, risks should be eliminated entirely. If that isn’t achievable, then they must be minimised using effective control measures, such as providing PPE, updating equipment, or implementing new policies and training. Employers are responsible for ensuring controls are in place, but they must consult with workers to ensure solutions are practical and effective. Week 4: Review Controls The final step is ongoing, reviewing controls. Risks evolve, workplaces change, and new hazards can emerge. This week is a reminder that safety is never set and forget. Regularly reviewing the effectiveness of controls ensures that safety measures remain relevant and continue to protect workers. Working Together for Safer Workplaces In all industries big or small, no workplace death or injury is acceptable. Safety must be a daily commitment in every job, every industry, and every workplace. By stepping through each stage of the risk management process this October, businesses can create safer environments and build a culture where health and safety are at the heart of everything they do. For more information check out the Safe Work Australia website for more information, resources and more.