WorkSafe Victoria has announced a safe work blitz of Traralgon in the state’s LaTrobe area in the state’s south-east. The week long blitz forms part of the Safe Towns campaign involves a dedicated team of inspectors visting the regional area to ensure health and safety compliance.

 

Businesses that do not address workplace health and safety issues will be issued with a safety improvement notice requiring they deal with the matter within a set timeframe.

 

WorkSafe’s General Manager for Operations, Lisa Sturzenegger, said it was in everyone’s interest to address issues sooner rather than later.

 

“In the course of our investigations we often find that businesses were aware of a safety issue, but failed to fix it. In many cases this has resulted in an injury and ultimately led to a conviction and a large fine if the matter goes to court,” she said.

 

“Not addressing health and safety matters can have devastating effects for workers and businesses. We urge businesses to stay on top of potential hazards, no matter how small or large they might be.”

 

 

Statistics show 1948 injuries were reported to WorkSafe from the Latrobe region over the past five financial years, with treatment and rehabilitation costs exceeding $46 million.