National Safe Work Month 2025

September 29, 2025

National Safe Work Month is held every October to encourage workplaces across Australia to prioritise health and safety.

It’s a time to reflect on the systems, culture and daily practices that keep workers safe. It’s also an important reminder that workplace health and safety (WHS) is not an option.

Over the past 10 years, there have been more than 1,880 traumatic injury fatalities in Australian workplaces and over 1,165,100 workers have made a serious workers’ compensation claim involving more than one week of working time lost.

These numbers are a stark reminder that no injury or fatality is acceptable. Every worker has the right to return home safely.

In 2025, the campaign theme is “Safety: every job, every day.” It’s a call for all organisations - large or small, in the office or on the tools - to make safety part of every task.

This year’s campaign steps through the WHS risk management process across four themed weeks:

Week 1: Identify hazards
Week 2: Assess risks
Week 3: Control risks
Week 4: Review controls

By taking action in October, workplaces can embed safer practices that last well beyond National Safe Work Month.

How workplaces can participate

Participation doesn’t have to be complicated.

Many workplaces hold toolbox talks, safety-themed team meetings or SafeTea events, an informal gathering with morning tea where WHS issues are discussed.

Employers can use the campaign to consult with workers, review existing procedures and look for improvements. Workers can raise issues with health and safety representatives or managers, while industry groups can share campaign resources with their members.

Safe Work Australia has developed an Activity Kit with templates, discussion guides and checklists to help workplaces run events and implement the WHS risk management process throughout October.

Week 1: Identify hazards

Hazard identification is the foundation of WHS.

A hazard is something with the potential to cause harm. Whether physical such as machinery or chemical substances, immaterial like noise, or psychological such as stress, fatigue or workplace bullying.

Even if a workplace has a risk register, hazards should be reviewed regularly to capture new risks. This involves:

Inspecting the physical or digital workplace
Reviewing incident reports and leave records
Consulting workers and health and safety representatives
Analysing industry data for common injury trends

Look beyond typical cause and effect. A worker reporting burnout may signal a psychosocial hazard requiring action.

Walk through the workplace with fresh eyes, update the risk register and open up conversations about emerging risks.

Week 2: Assess risks

Once hazards are identified, the next step is to assess the risks they pose.

A risk assessment looks at two key questions:

What could happen if someone is exposed to the hazard?
How likely is it to happen?

The severity of the potential harm, combined with the likelihood of it occurring, determines the level of risk.

Risk assessments can be simple discussions or more detailed analyses using specialist tools. For higher-risk activities, such as construction work, Safe Work Method Statements (SWMS) are often required.

This process helps workplaces decide:

How serious a risk is
Whether existing controls are adequate
What new actions should be taken
How urgently action is needed

Updating the risk register with this information ensures there’s a clear record of risks and priorities.

Week 3: Control risks

Controlling risks is where workplaces take practical steps to reduce harm.

The goal is always to eliminate risks where possible. If elimination isn’t reasonably practicable, risks should be minimised using the hierarchy of controls, a framework that prioritises the most effective measures.

This hierarchy includes:

Elimination – Removing the hazard entirely
Substitution – Replacing a hazard with something safer
Engineering controls – Redesigning equipment or processes
Administrative controls – Introducing policies, training or rosters
Personal protective equipment (PPE) – Last line of defence

A spill on a floor can be addressed immediately with a clean-up and signage.

More complex hazards, such as exposure to hazardous chemicals, may require substitution, ventilation systems, safe work procedures and PPE.

Employers must consult workers on control measures to ensure they are practical and effective.

Week 4: Review controls

Risk controls only work if they’re effective and maintained.

Reviewing controls is essential to ensure they continue to reduce risks over time.

Reviewing controls involves:

Consulting workers about whether controls are practical and used correctly
Checking incident data for trends
Testing whether new hazards have been introduced by the controls
Setting review periods in the risk register

If a noisy machine has been enclosed to reduce noise exposure, monitoring should confirm the enclosure is maintained, workers are using it correctly and other risks such as poor ventilation haven’t been created.

This step reinforces a safety culture where workers feel comfortable raising issues and continuous improvement is part of daily operations.

Using the Activity Kit for practical guidance

Safe Work Australia’s National Safe Work Month Activity Kit is designed to help workplaces put the WHS risk management approach into action throughout the month.

This practical resource can be downloaded from the Safe Work Australia website here

Use the suggestions and activities in this kit to plan how your workplace will participate in National Safe Work Month. It includes:

Templates for risk registers and assessments
Guides for workplace consultations
Discussion questions for each week’s theme
Promotional resources to raise awareness

Workplaces can also host SafeTea events using the kit, encouraging open conversations over a casual setting like morning tea or lunch.

These activities help normalise talking about WHS and make safety a shared responsibility.

Conclusion

National Safe Work Month 2025 is a chance for every Australian workplace to act on the theme “Safety: every job, every day.”

By following the weekly steps of hazard identification, risk assessment, risk control and review, organisations can strengthen their WHS systems, reduce the likelihood of injury or illness and build a culture of safety.

Whether it’s through a simple toolbox talk, a SafeTea session or a comprehensive review of WHS processes, every action contributes to a safer workplace.

October is the time to start but the benefits extend all year round.