A series of reports prepared by the Academy of the Social Sciences in Australia and the Australian Academy of Technological Sciences and Engineering for Safe Work Australia maps the national work health and safety (WHS) and workers’ compensation research landscape. The project used an innovative research methodology, combining a taxonomy based scoping review, case study led horizon scanning, and evidence mapping across the five initial focus areas in Safe Work Australia’s Research and Evaluation Strategy
Mapping more than 7,000 records, the project provides a comprehensive look at the Australian WHS and workers’ compensation research landscape, examining where the evidence is strong, where it is emerging and where there are opportunities for future research. It found that the evidence base is established and genuinely multidisciplinary, spanning health sciences, management, engineering and social sciences. Findings also point towards opportunities to strengthen the evidence base through research and collaboration, particularly in areas such as new and emerging technologies and evaluation of organisational and system‑level approaches.
Project findings are presented across nine reports, including a technical overview, methodology reports, and the five focus area reports. They are intended to support broad use across use across government, academia and industry.
The project was overseen by an Expert Working Group of Fellows and other leading scholars. The Academy thanks members of the Expert Working Group who contributed to this work:
- Professor Peng Bi FASSA, Professor of Public Health, Adelaide University
- Professor Alex Collie, Professor and Director of the Healthy Working Lives Research Group, Monash University
- Professor Maureen Dollard FASSA, Director, Psychosocial Safety Climate Observatory and Professor of Work and Organisational Psychology, Adelaide University
- Professor Andrew Neal FASSA, Professor of Business and Organisational Psychology, University of Queensland
- Professor Sharon Parker FASSA, Director, Centre for Transformative Work Design and John Curtin Distinguished Professor of Organisational Behaviour, Curtin University
- Professor Michelle Tuckey, Professor of Work and Organisational Psychology, Adelaide University
- Professor Mark Wooden FASSA, Emeritus Professor, Melbourne Institute of Applied Economic and Social Research, University of Melbourne