An open letter about workplace suicides was published to support World Mental Health Day in 2024. The research work of some of the signatories has continued and appeared in a 2026 editorial in Volume 46 of “Crisis – The Journal of Crisis Intervention and Suicide Prevention“, calling for action.
[This article, unavoidably, discusses suicide]
You should have heard by now that Safe Work Australia (SWA) has come through with guidance on having work-related suicides included in each jurisdiction’s occupational health and safety (OHS) legislation as incidents that will require notification to the local OHS regulator. If you haven’t, get a new OHS or Human Resources (HR) adviser because the future will be a bumpy, uncomfortable and challenging ride.
Warning: this article discusses suicide.
The goal of occupational health and safety (OHS) is to prevent harm. The goal of most people is to not hurt others with their actions. However, some industry sectors don’t seem to apply these goals, or they rationalise the harm they cause for various reasons, including the greater good, or a corruption of the greater good.
These industries often include those based on military management processes, such as command and control. The emergency services and defence forces are obvious examples. Over many years, the various emergency service organisations throughout Australia have been investigated for bullying, sexual harassment and toxic workplace cultures.
A new report from the United Kingdom seems to illustrate the lack of progress in that country’s military services.
Sexual harassment in Australia’s fly-in, fly-out (FIFO) female mining workforce is well-established after several official inquiries. Sadly, it appears that some of the European holiday visa workers were not aware of the risks, according to a report in The Observer newspaper on November 14, 2025.
A recent edition of the Professional Safety Journal from the United States included a cover story about pre-work stretching. This common activity on some construction and manufacturing sites is promoted as a means of preventing injury or reducing the severity of, especially, musculoskeletal injuries, but I don’t think there ever was evidence to support either of these intentions, and there still isn’t.
British Standards Institute has just published BS30480, a standard called “Suicide and the workplace – Intervention, prevention and support for people affected by suicide – Guide”. It has come at the right time to show that the changes in psychological health at work in Australia are not in isolation.
Note: this article discusses workplace suicide factors.
Just over a week ago, RMIT University’s research funding program, SHINe, conducted its inaugural symposium. This symposium was both new and fascinating. It was overbooked with a considerable weight list, I think, because of the international safety research guests, but the fact that an event in Safe Work Month was free might have helped. The research by the Construction Safety Research Alliance (CSRA) for the United States was a highlight.
