Everyone has a right to a safe working environment.
Occupational violence (OV) poses serious risks to the mental and physical health of our people, as well as job satisfaction and the quality of patient care.
| Occupational violence statistics 2024-25 | |
|---|---|
| WorkCover accepted claims with an occupational violence cause per 100 FTE | 1.0 |
| Number of accepted WorkCover claims with lost time injury with an occupational violence cause per 1,000,000 hours worked | 6.3 |
| Number of Occupational Violence Hazard, Incidents or Injuries (HII鈥檚) reported | 1045 |
| Number of Occupational Violence HII鈥檚 reported per 100 FTE | 16.9 |
| Percentage of Occupational Violence HII鈥檚 resulting in injury, illness or condition | 5.93% |
Due to the nature of their work, paramedics often operate in uncontrolled environments such as private homes and public spaces, where risks cannot be fully eliminated. AV prioritises management strategies to minimise harm, including the right for AV people to tactically withdraw from unsafe scenes and seek support, such as police assistance, before continuing emergency care.
In 2024-25, OV injuries per million hours worked decreased by five per cent compared to the previous year, demonstrating the effectiveness of targeted safety interventions. Near-miss reporting also increased by 10 per cent, indicating a strengthened reporting culture and proactive risk identification across the organisation.
Other dedicated OV-prevention and preparedness initiatives from the past year include:
- Continuation of our comprehensive risk-based OV prevention program, featuring an overarching framework, annual work plans, and a statewide consultative working group.
- Expansion of training initiatives with paramedic graduates receiving a full day of face-to-face OV training.
- Resources for call takers in our communication centres.
- Roll-out of mandatory OV learning modules, designed to equip our people with practical strategies for managing risk and enhancing personal safety.
Updated