The Landmark Study is a research and evaluation project on mental health, sexual harassment, emerging mine safety issues as well as workplace initiatives to improve mental health, wellbeing, culture and respect in the Western Australia (WA) mining industry. This project is funded by the State Government’s Mental Awareness, Respect and Safety (MARS) Program, undertaken by Centre for Transformative Work Design (CTWD) at Curtin University.
Following the preliminary reports from 2022 and 2023, the Landmark Study Report: Insights from the worker survey and interviews was released this year. This reported on the perceptions and lived experiences of 2,550 mine workers, and 60 further workers were interviewed one-on-one.
Key findings from the Landmark Study Report include:
- safety remains a strength of the industry – most WA mine workers reported high levels of safety behaviours such as safety compliance and safety participation
- under-reporting of notifiable safety incidents and near misses, while low, continues to exist in the industry
- experiencing positive aspects of mental health at work was reported by 4 in 10 workers
- nearly 4 in 10 workers reported feeling burnt out at work
- levels of bullying are high – while preliminary indicators suggest that rates of bullying have decreased since 2018, 16% of workers reported experiencing bullying at least 2–3 times per month in the last six months
- covert forms of sexual harassment (e.g. sexism, misogyny, sexual remarks) are far more prevalent in the mining industry compared to overt forms of sexual harassment.
Preliminary Report 3 and Final Report 4 are due for release in 2026.
Further information
Further informationFull reports can be downloaded via: MARS Program – Understanding the situation
Vanessa Chang (Curtin University), Ivor Roberts (WorkSafe), Leigh Slomp (AusIMM; Arcadium Lithium), Davina Pellicano (IGO Ltd), Sharon Parker (Curtin University – CTWD), Hon Sue Ellery MLC (Minister for Women’s Interests; Finance; Commerce), Owen Whittle (Unions WA), Cheryl Yam (Curtin University – CTWD) and Peter Klinger (Purple)
Landmark Launch Breakfast
On 27 June, CTWD hosted the Landmark Launch Breakfast where Professor Sharon Parker unpacked the report findings with over 300 members from the WA mining industry.
The audience also heard from the Minister for Women’s Interests, Hon Sue Ellery MLC and gained firsthand insights into improving the mental health and wellbeing of workers from panellists Davina Pellicano (IGO Ltd), Owen Whittle (UnionsWA) and Leigh Slomp (AusIMM; Arcadium Lithium).
