Health and Safety Trust

Research and development continues to play an integral role in keeping workers safe and healthy as the industry adapts to ever-changing technology, work practices, health trends and environmental concerns.

The Coal Services Health & Safety Trust supports the Australian coal mining industry by funding projects and research that will have a positive effect on the health and safety of coal mine workers, operators and the wider mining community.

Focus of the Trust

The Trust has links with major research bodies in the coal industry. In order to minimise duplication the Trust has taken into account areas where research already exists and as such, identified the need to shift the strategic focus.

Priority areas for the Trust are:

Health:

• Obesity
• Occupational hazard exposure (dust, whole body vibration, noise, quartz and diesel particles with real time monitoring and welding fumes)
• Fatigue
• Prevention of musculoskeletal injury
• Drugs and alcohol – detection and prevalence research
• High pressure oil injection injuries
• Mental health
• COVID-19 related health matters

Safety:

• Critical risk management
• The use of technology to mitigate risk
• Risk-taking behaviours/personal profiling for individual risk management
• Human and organisational factors
• Improving the effectiveness of safety communications methods
• Equipment improvement underground
• Technology and human interface

Injury Prevention and Management:

• The value of recovery at work
• Managing pain without opioids
• The value of surgical interventions on recovery and return to work
• Industrial deafness and its treatment in workers compensation systems
• Coal industry workforce demographics, incorporating a targeted analysis of the aging workforce

The Health and Safety Trust is more committed than ever to assisting the coal and associated industries improve their occupational health and safety. The Trust’s primary focus is to fund research which provides tangible outcomes with proven occupational impact.

Trustees

As outlined within the Trust Deed, the Trust must have a minimum of three Trustees and a maximum of six Trustees. The chair of the Health and Safety Trust rotates every two years concurrent with the appointed term of the Coal Services Chairman.

The current Trustees are:

• Stephen Galilee (Chairperson/NSW Minerals Council)
• Shane Thompson (CFMEU – Mining & Energy Division)
• Andrew Davey (CFMEU – Mining & Energy Division)
• Kylie Ah Wong (NSW Minerals Council)
• Lucy Flemming (Managing Director/CEO, Coal Services)

The background and experience of the individual Trustees ensure that research that the Trust funds, projects and initiatives in which it becomes involved are relevant to the Australian Coal Industry. The Trust subcontracts the management of its projects to Coal Services.

Research Projects

Please select one of the options below for a list of Research Projects: