National AusAlert Test Prompts Psychosocial Risk Considerations for Employers
A nationwide test of Australia's AusAlert emergency warning system has prompted discussions on managing psychosocial risks for workers, according to NSCA.
The following is an abridgement of an article originally published by National Safety Online.
AusAlert Nationwide Test
Australia’s new national emergency warning system, AusAlert, underwent its first nationwide test on 27 July, sending an alert to an estimated 23 million compatible mobile phones, according to National Safety Online. National coordination agencies reported that approximately 94 per cent of mobile towers successfully broadcast the alert.
Psychosocial Risk Management
The publication noted that government guidance issued ahead of the test acknowledged the alert could affect wellbeing, advising those concerned to switch devices to aeroplane mode or power them off.
According to National Safety Online, sudden and loud alerts can distress workers with anxiety, trauma histories, or high psychosocial loads, particularly those in frontline, health, aged care, education, and emergency services roles.
The publication stated that under model work health and safety laws, employers must manage psychosocial risks so far as reasonably practicable. It suggested employers address alert-response distress by flagging upcoming tests in internal communications, allowing staff to mute devices, and incorporating these events into existing psychosocial risk registers.
