Industry occupational health and safety interim standards for preventing and managing occupational violence and aggression in Victoria's mental health services

Industry occupational health and safety interim standards for preventing and managing occupational violence and aggression in Victoria's mental health services 2004 - September 2004 (PDF file 301KB)

Occupational violence and aggression in mental health services is a growing problem that has long-term ramifications for mental health workers and for employers. These interim standards encourage and support the industry to take a proactive approach to occupational violence through the use of appropriate systems that emphasise hazard identification, risk assessment and control.

The challenge of ensuring the safety and welfare of employees, consumers and the community requires an integrated care and risk management approach. Critical to an integrated system is the provision of environments and systems that aim to avoid or mitigate risk and provide mental health practitioners with the appropriate knowledge, attitudes and skills to prevent and manage occupational violence and aggression.