Safe Actions

09/12/2025

This is crazy busy time, and it is easy to get caught up in the stress of it, and perhaps miss the stress in others.
This is from a newsletter I receive from :
Kind and Collective Collaborative
They generally have some 'good stuff' to make me stop and think:

"Reframing is the intentional process of shifting our internal narrative. Instead of viewing situations through a lens of failure, judgment, or frustration, reframing invites us to see through the lens of curiosity, compassion, and growth. 🌿

From a psychological perspective, cognitive reframing is a method of identifying unhelpful thoughts and reinterpreting them in a way that is more balanced, realistic, and constructive. It doesn’t deny difficulty - but it removes the emotional charge of guilt, shame, or fear, allowing us to approach challenges from a calmer, more empowered space.

At Kind & Collaborative Empowerment, reframing helps us to:

✅ Recognise behaviour as communication
We view all behaviours - even the ones that feel confronting or confusing- as messages. Rather than focusing on surface-level “compliance,” we explore what the child is trying to express or cope with, using behaviour as a guide.

✅ Honour the nervous system’s response to stress, overwhelm, or unmet needs
Our team acknowledges that many behaviours stem from a dysregulated nervous system, particularly in individuals with sensory processing differences, trauma histories, or demand avoidance. Reframing allows us to see these behaviours as adaptive.

✅ Create space for more supportive, connected, and regulated interactions
Instead of reacting with consequences or control, reframing empowers us to respond with curiosity, co-regulation, and care. This creates a safer space for learning, connection, and growth- for both the individual and their caregivers.

02/12/2025

So the Conference was awesome, it was great to reconnect and I got my mojo back!
I will share more next year but for those of us who are committed to safe workplaces, where both the individual, their family and workplace needs are balanced, then we are not alone

25/11/2025

As we get closer to Xmas, the tempers often get shorter. Abuse of workers can happen face to face and digitally.
SafeWork Australia has some information regarding on line abuse

https://www.safeworkaustralia.gov.au/safety-topic/hazards/workplace-violence-and-aggression/online-abuse-workplace

18/11/2025

Today I have my first Xmas celebration. I have been careful to use the ladder to hang the decorations, space out my activities, wear gloves to handle the ham and pile the presents on a chair rather than the floor. So far so good

11/11/2025

The NDIS has released a code of conduct video.
This covers safety and competency and highlights hazards related to insufficient training and supervision. It shows controls that can be implemented.

youtube.com/watch?reload=9&v=-DV5nkj36ds&t=1s

04/11/2025

This week I am off to the AAMHP Conference in Brisbane.
It is two days of complete nerdism into manual tasks in the health care sector. I will catch up with friends, contacts and suppliers and share information on new understandings and equipment options over the coming months.
CANNOT WAIT

28/10/2025

Aged care changes start soon - not sure how I feel about them....

Older Australians entering the aged care system will have to pay for "non-clinical" services such as showers and help with medication under wide-ranging changes taking effect in November.

21/10/2025

Summer is just around the corner - do you have a heat stress plan?
In general I am not exposed to heat stress as my training occurs indoors... except for training gardeners and applying restraints to wheelchairs in vans.
Here is a resource to help you think through the risks

https://www.worksafe.wa.gov.au/working-safely-hot-conditions

14/10/2025

SafeWork Australia released this report late last year. It combines nursing and social assistance work forces together.

https://data.safeworkaustralia.gov.au/profile/whs-profile-nursing-care-support-workforce

The top three conclusions are:

Body stressing’ and ‘traumatic joint/ligament and muscle/tendon injuries’ are significant risks especially when manually handling patients and clients in care.


The frequency rate of serious claims due to ‘Being assaulted by a person or persons’ is 6.5 times higher compared to all other occupations.


Over the last 10 years mental health conditions, and serious claims related to mental stress, have almost doubled.

Safe Work Australia is exploring the WHS profile of different occupations to help illustrate the risks workers most frequently encounter while performing their duties.

07/10/2025

The issue of plastic mats has again arisen. These are being placed over carpet to ease the movement of hoists and wheelchairs.
This hazard can be eliminated by removing the carpet.
The Code of Practice How to Manage Work Health and Safety Risks indicates a clear presumption of safety over cost so when workers are involved the above control should be selected.
When a product is manufactured , imported or supplied to be used by workers then designers, manufacturers, importers and suppliers of equipment, substances or structures have duties under WHS Act 2020. In relation to manufacturing and selling equipment these duties include:
• ensuring that equipment, substances or structures designed, manufactured, imported or supplied are without risks to health and safety, as much as reasonably practicable.
• testing and analysis and providing specific information about the equipment or substance.
In the model Code of Practice Health Care and Social Assistance Sector (p88) it specifies:
Carpeting should be avoided in clinical areas where patient care occurs, or in areas where:
• the carpet may make it difficult for workers to push patient beds
• wheelchairs or other wheeled equipment like food and medication trolleys are used, or
• unsecured carpets or floor mats should generally not be used unless they can be fixed in place, as they pose a trip hazard.

In addition to the above, providing a mat will:
• restrict the movements of the worker – they will only have one path they can use to move the equipment.
• increase the risk of a bending floor and cracking of the floor surface if placed on a carpet with high pile or soft underlay

I have been unable to find anything the relates to safe working load of mats. However, when moving a hoist, one needs to consider the weight of the hoist, the hoist operator/s, the client in the hoist and the weight of the wheelchair on the mat. Assuming one hoist operator, and a power wheelchair, then the combined weight on the mat could exceed 300kg.

And if you need something more, then the Australian Standard for testing of hoists AS10535 does not test the operation of hoists on carpet, let alone plastic mats placed on top of carpet.

So ask the supplier for the testing data, the safe working load of the mat, the density of the carpet and/ or underlay that the mat can be placed on and evidence that the use of the mat on a floor surface is compliant with the manufacturers AS10535 testing.

30/09/2025

Tomorrow is the start of WorkSafe Month
Plan to increase reporting of hazards - it is the best way to meet your worker duties and ensure that your employer knows the hazards within the workplace.

23/09/2025

Pressure care goes hand in hand with manual tasks. We need to be using our manual tasks as opportunities to inspect skin, we need to ensure our manual tasks are done and not causing pressure injuries and use equipment like slide sheets to reduce friction and shearing. There is some PD available in Perth in November to shine a spotlight on pressure care.

https://mailchi.mp/unicarehealth/enewsletter-august2025?e=c26174055e