The Mental Awareness, Respect and Safety Program (MARS Program) was established in 2022 to address serious mental health, workplace culture and safety issues in the mining sector.
The MARS Program is being developed and delivered by the Department in partnership with the Mental Health Commission, the Equal Opportunity Commission and the Department of Communities and is based on three focus areas:
- creating mentally healthy workplaces by managing psychosocial hazards and promoting practices at work that support positive mental health and wellbeing
- building a culture of safety and respect with safe, gender-equitable, respectful and inclusive workplaces
- preparing for workplace safety in future mining by ensuring all workers are educated and trained in safety; addressing emerging risks and fostering safety innovation in new technologies.
The MARS Program has funded a package of initiatives to:
- collect and analyse baseline data on workers’ experiences in the industry through a landmark research and evaluation study being conducted by the Centre for Transformative Work Design at Curtin University
- improve WorkSafe’s regulatory capability in responding to incidents of sexual harassment and sexual assault on mine sites with an independent review by PwC Australia
- upskill industry through training and organisational capability development in partnership with organisations such as the Future of Work Institute at Curtin University, This Working Life and FIFO Focus
- provide resources and support to workers and affected people in partnership with organisations such as MATES in Mining, Resourceful Mind, the Sexual Assault Resource Centre and Circle Green Community Legal.
- drive awareness and support the Western Australian Government’s commitments to the Community Development and Justice Standing Committee Report ‘Enough is Enough’ Sexual harassment against women in the FIFO mining industry.
The MARS Program aims to connect to all workers in the WA mining industry through collaboration with partner government agencies, academic institutions and specialist support services.
Listening to the voices and views of people who have personal experience helps shape the direction of the MARS Program. Every person’s story and every experience shared helps to develop an understanding of the systems that are required to best meet the needs of current and future workers on Western Australian mine sites.
Further information
Further informationThe MARS Program webpage provides further detail on the Program, related initiatives and other useful links. Subscribe to the newsletter for updates on the latest news, work in progress and upcoming events relevant to the MARS program.
