VACC SUBMISSION

PRODUCTIVITY COMMISSION
NATIONAL WORKERS COMPENSATION AND OCUPATIONAL HEALTH AND SAFETY FRAMEWORKS

JUNE 2003

OHS UNIT
VACC
LEVEL 7
464 ST.KILDA ROAD
MELBOURNE
3004

SUMMARY
The Victorian Automobile Chamber of Commerce advocates the implementation of a safe work environment.  However VACC suggests that a national framework for health and safety would be of little benefit to its members and would prefer that adequate financial resources are provided to small business, by both State and Federal Governments, to assist employers comply with the requirements of Occupational Health and Safety legislation.

VACC considers that health and safety legislation is too complex and prescriptive. Current legislation does not support implementation of health and safety practise at the workplace, as employers are more intent on worrying about compliance issues rather than focussing on eliminating workplace injuries.

VACC believes that Workers Compensation should complement Occupational Health and Safety by ensuring that premiums reflect the health and safety standards achieved by employers.

Background
The Victorian Automobile Chamber Commerce (VACC) is an employer association representing over 4500 members in Victoria and Tasmania in the Automotive Repair, Services and Retail Industry.  VACC strongly advocates the establishment and maintenance of a healthy and safe workplace, in which health and safety principles and practices are established and maintained, in a consultative environment. 

VACC considers that a national framework would be of little benefit to VACC members and employers generally.  A number of improvements should be made to the existing State system rather than to continue the debate on a national framework for OHS and workers compensation.  It is VACC’s view, that resources would be better applied to improve and maintain more robust systems within each State. VACC believes that without appropriate legislative mechanisms, dismantling State and Territory systems is impractical.  As Taylor, Easter and Hegney state ‘…although there is a certain administrative appeal for the bureaucrats to deal with these matters collectively, the solutions required to redress the incidence of industrial injury and disease bear no relationship to the problems associated with the management of either compensation or rehabilitation…’ (Taylor, Easter & Hegney, 1998, p.62).  

VACC agrees that workplace injury, illness and fraudulent claims for workers compensation, impose significant social and economic costs on injured workers, their families, the community, and business.  VACC agrees there are concerns with the current Victorian Workers Compensation scheme that entitles injured workers to compensation from their employers for injuries sustained, regardless of any fault or breach of safety procedures by the employee.  This is one of the main areas that VACC believes resources would be better spent.  It is our strong recommendation that the current system should be improved to remove the onus of proof of the employer before looking to a national framework for workers compensation.

OHS NATIONAL FRAMEWORKS

Robens style legislation introduced by most Australian States and Territories during the 1980’s, advocated a new style of legislation that was not prescriptive but would provide for a tripartite approach to resolving health and safety issues, one that involves consultation between employers, employees and relevant unions.  However, some twenty years later, regulation and enforcement of Occupational Health and Safety throughout Australia is governed by a myriad of approaches, compliance and enforcement policies, Acts and Regulations.  VACC argues that OHS legislation is still too prescriptive and does not reflect Robens philosophy and ideology.  As Brook states ‘…it would seem that we have spent twenty years of undeniably increased concern with occupational health and safety matters only to find ourselves back where we started’. (Brooks, 1993, p.951).  Currently OHS legislation in Victoria provides little incentive for compliance by employers or employees, except the avoidance of penalties.

The Interim National Occupational Health and Safety Commission, proposed in 1984, that model legislation be adopted as a means of rectifying the problem of a myriad of approaches to health and safety regulation in Australia.  However, the regulatory environment continues to be complex, costly and confusing for employers, particularly small business.