Vero and GIO Workers Compensation celebrated outstanding risk management initiatives in Australian business with the 16th annual RM Advancer Awards, held Thursday at Sydney’s Queen Victoria Building.
This year’s awards recognised Bega Cheese Limited and Costa Group for their proactive approaches to managing risk, in the commercial and workers’ compensation and liability categories, respectively.
Established by Vero and GIO, the RM Advancer Awards spotlight the achievements of businesses and brokers in promoting effective risk management practices.
Michael Miller, chief executive of commercial and personal injury at Suncorp, reflected on the awards theme of resilience over time.
“This year’s theme was all about risk management standing the ‘test of time,’ and both our winners exemplify the importance of keeping risk management front of mind in safeguarding their businesses,” he said.
Bega was acknowledged in the commercial category, having successfully completed over 200 risk reduction initiatives within the last three years, including ongoing capital works funding to manage risk.
Costa earned recognition in the workers’ compensation and public liability category for strategies addressing issues such as heat stress and manual handling injuries. The company also designated contact officers to provide employees with workplace support as needed.
It additionally received an honourable mention in the property category for its innovative glasshouse testing designed to withstand severe hail damage, a process that now contributes data to global greenhouse glazing standards.
Vero and GIO honoured Australian businesses for risk management as workplace risks persist in Australia.
Safe Work Australia’s newly released 2024 Key Work Health and Safety Statistics report outlined continuing challenges in workplace safety, with an increase in workplace fatalities and steady rates of illness and injury across sectors.
The report recorded 200 worker fatalities in 2023, up from 195 the prior year. High-risk sectors, including agriculture, construction, healthcare, and transportation, accounted for 61% of all serious workers’ compensation claims in the same period.
Safe Work Australia CEO Marie Boland said that every worker has the right to a safe workplace, and any fatality is unacceptable.
She highlighted the need for strong safety measures, particularly within high-risk sectors, where incidents such as transport-related accidents constituted 42% of workplace deaths.
Additionally, fatalities resulting from falls from heights rose sharply by 71% from 2022, increasing from 17 to 29 deaths.
