Australia is a developed country, with a mature economy. It has consistent economic growth. GDP is 700 billion Australian dollars (or 4.2 trillion yuan). Our population is twenty million. The workforce is nearly ten million. In global terms, our OSH performance is relatively good, but we still have unacceptable rates of work-related deaths, non-fatal injuries, and occupational diseases. The financial cost to the community, employers, workers and governments is about four per cent of GDP.
Australia is a Federation. There is a national government and there are eight State and Territory Governments. The nine governments share responsibility for regulating OSH in their jurisdictions. Until recently, there was only limited coordination of efforts to improve OSH on a national basis.
OSH became a programme in the national agenda when governments and the social partners accepted its national importance and when there was tripartite agreement that national action would produce better results.

Until the 1980s, OSH was seen in Australia as the separate responsibility of each government and individual workplace. As more modern OSH laws were introduced, the significance of OSH for the national economy and for the welfare of workers was more obvious. Accordingly, the national government established a tripartite National Commission for OSH by law in 1985.
In 2000, after extensive tripartite discussions, the Commission recommended that OSH activities across the nation be aligned. Experience showed that there could be a more comprehensive national programme. Our National OSH Strategy was adopted in 2002, after several months of tripartite discussions, using research into Australia 's OSH performance. The Commission considered where and how to make the greatest improvements in that performance.
The key elements for the national programme under the Strategy are:
• accountability : all governments and the social partners committed themselves to achieving the aims of the programme;
• duration : it is not a short-term programme, because it is intended to produce lasting improvements, and it will operate for ten years, with regular reviews of progress;
• erformance targets : substantial improvements in the rate of work-related fatalities and injuries are specified as the initial targets (by 2012, there are to be reductions of at least twenty per cent in the incidence of work-related fatalities and of at least forty per cent in the incidence of work related injuries - targets for reducing occupational disease are being developed);
• five related priorities : they are a focus on the most serious risks to OSH, improving OSH skills at workplaces, preventing occupational disease, eliminating hazards at the design stage, and improving how governments deal with OSH;
• areas for action under the priorities : there is a mix of short-term and long-term interventions, including awareness raising, education and training, practical guidance, model laws and codes of practice, and securing compliance with OSH laws, supported by research and the improvement of OSH data.
Each of the nine governments now plans its OSH work using the Strategy. Resources are shared, nationally consistent approaches are adopted and duplication is avoided.
The information that influences Australia 's national employment policies also guides decisions about OSH . Those policies require continual analysis of trends in the economy, the nature and extent of employment in all industry sectors, demographic changes, and current and future demands for various skills. The policies are affected by changes in our industries, as patterns of demand alter and new technologies and methods of organising work emerge. Market forces drive the economy and the demand for labour, but governments seek to eliminate inefficiencies in the labour market, such as labour or skills shortages. Government funded employment agencies help the unemployed to enter the workforce. There is considerable vocational education and training, with tripartite involvement. Under our immigration program, business operators and workers who migrate to Australia must have appropriate skills.
Skills in OSH are included in vocational and professional education and training. Information about changes in industries and the composition of the workforce helps OSH regulators to meet needs for OSH information, inspection and enforcement, and to provide OSH advice in languages other than English.
Some important recent national initiatives under our National Strategy are:
• a concerted effort on improving OSH in the construction industry;
• a more strategic focus on OSH education and training, including for designers of buildings, plant and equipment, and on safety and risk training for school students;
• the identification of the worst work-related diseases and how to prevent them;
• the updating of laws regulating exposure to dangerous chemicals;
• the examination of new ways to help small enterprises to improve their OSH ;
• work to bring government agencies together to address OSH collectively.
The most significant lessons that we have learned are:
• the most senior levels of government and the social partners must support the programme and demonstrate leadership in improving OSH ;
• targets are essential and must be realistic and measurable;
• there should only be a small number of national priorities that reinforce one another and the focus must be on the areas where the greatest improvements in the overall national performance can be achieved;
• this type of national programme must be supported by carefully designed and well coordinated communications;
• patience and persistence are vital so that actions under the national programme are not abandoned or changed before they have produced results.