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Workplace Safety

Workplace health and safety resources including mental health at work, toolbox talks, and safe work practices.

Workplace Safety Articles

The Frontline of Change: Our Partnership with Fire Rescue Victoria
Community & Partnerships

The Frontline of Change: Our Partnership with Fire Rescue Victoria

Between May and December 2025, ADA Australia hit the road to meet the crews of Fire Rescue Victoria (FRV)...

Ella Mano3 min read
Cocaine… it’s alright isn’t it?  - ADA Australia
Drugs & Alcohol

Cocaine… it’s alright isn’t it?

A night out with mates, getting drunk and buying “a bag” may seem socially acceptable to some, the associated risks are often not considered. Why would it be? It’s just a little fun right?

Ella Mano4 min read
Mental Health First Aid Training: Why You Should Consider It For Your Workplace - ADA Australia
Workplace Safety

Mental Health First Aid Training: Why You Should Consider It For Your Workplace

ADA Australia has recently conducted the accredited 12-hour Standard Mental Health First Aid (MHFA) training course out of The Centre for U, an initiative of the Electrical Trades Union Victoria...

Matthew Simons2 min read
Patrick Terminals – “Getting Conversations Going” Around AOD Risk - ADA Australia
Drugs & Alcohol

Patrick Terminals – “Getting Conversations Going” Around AOD Risk

‍Since the beginning of May, ADA Australia has rolled out a number of drug and alcohol awareness training sessions for around 80 Patrick Terminals employees, with more sessions to be completed...

Matthew Simons2 min read
Getting The Mental Health Conversation Going - Star Group - ADA Australia
Drugs & Alcohol

Getting The Mental Health Conversation Going - Star Group

Workplaces are recognising the risks – and their obligations – around ‘mental injury’ (psychosocial risk) at work. The Star Group takes this very seriously...

Matthew Simons3 min read
UGL – Safety Conversations For A Positive Work Culture - ADA Australia
Drugs & Alcohol

UGL – Safety Conversations For A Positive Work Culture

‍The ADA Australia team recently ran toolbox talks to some UGL sites in Victoria and Queensland - talking about workplace risk and health challenges around substance use, and misuse.

Matthew Simons2 min read
Work Stress, Don't Let It Fester - ADA Australia
Workplace Safety

Work Stress, Don't Let It Fester

Every job to a greater, or lesser degree, comes with demands... but our work should not ‘bust our brains’; you are entitled to a safe work environment, a safe workplace, a mentally healthy workplace.

Matthew Simons3 min read
STAR Group “Walking the Talk” on Mental Health First Aid - ADA Australia
Workplace Safety

STAR Group “Walking the Talk” on Mental Health First Aid

Recently, ADA Australia facilitated the third batch of STAR Group workers through the accredited 12-hour Standard Mental Health First Aid (MFHA)...

Matthew Simons2 min read
World Plumbing Day: Who knew? - ADA Australia
Workplace Safety

World Plumbing Day: Who knew?

Every year on the 11th of March we recognise World Plumbing Day. At ADA Australia, we take this day to recognise all members from the Plumbing and Pipe Trades Employees Union (PPTEU)...

Matthew Simons3 min read
Opal: Building A Positive Culture Around A Compliant Drugs And Alcohol Policy - ADA Australia
Drugs & Alcohol

Opal: Building A Positive Culture Around A Compliant Drugs And Alcohol Policy

‍The ADA Australia facilitation team recently completed a series of Drug and Alcohol Awareness Training sessions for people leaders at Opal, one of Australasia’s leading packaging companies...

Matthew Simons2 min read
Training ‘People Leaders’ In The North East Link Project - ADA Australia
Drugs & Alcohol

Training ‘People Leaders’ In The North East Link Project

The ADA Australia facilitation team recently visited the North East Link Project to conduct our drug and alcohol awareness program.

Matthew Simons2 min read
Drug And Alcohol Awareness Training: Why It Matters   - ADA Australia
Drugs & Alcohol

Drug And Alcohol Awareness Training: Why It Matters

The ADA Australia facilitation team recently visited Patrick Terminals to conduct our flagship Drug and Alcohol awareness training program...

Matthew Simons2 min read
AEN Field Officers And ADA Australia’s 'BEST LIFE, BEST WORK' Apprentice Training - ADA Australia
Drugs & Alcohol

AEN Field Officers And ADA Australia’s 'BEST LIFE, BEST WORK' Apprentice Training

ADA Australia delivered our BEST LIFE: BEST WORK apprentice training to Field Officers with the Apprenticeship Employment Network (AEN), Victoria’s largest apprentice and trainee employer network...

Matthew Simons2 min read
Walking The Talk On Workplace Wellbeing - Orora Group - ADA Australia
Drugs & Alcohol

Walking The Talk On Workplace Wellbeing - Orora Group

ADA Australia has been providing training to Orora people leaders to promote better understanding of drugs and alcohol on both physical and mental wellbeing and on the workplace...

Matthew Simons2 min read
World Mental Health Day 2023 - ADA Australia
Workplace Safety

World Mental Health Day 2023

World Mental Health Day brings into focus, on a global level, the barriers to a more mentally healthy world such as social stigma and the protection of the rights of people suffering mental ill-heath

Matthew Simons3 min read
ADA Australia – Partnering with Prahran Psychology Clinic - ADA Australia
Workplace Safety

ADA Australia – Partnering with Prahran Psychology Clinic

ADA Australia is pleased to announce a partnership with the Prahran Psychology Clinic...

Matthew Simons3 min read
ADA Australia’s ‘Well Connect’ App: 24/7 Support (In Your Pocket) - ADA Australia
Drugs & Alcohol

ADA Australia’s ‘Well Connect’ App: 24/7 Support (In Your Pocket)

ADA Australia is proud to announce that its new ‘Well Connect’ app is launched, and now available to all ADA Australia clients...

Matthew Simons2 min read
ADA Now Offering Accredited Mental Health First Aid Training - ADA Australia
Drugs & Alcohol

ADA Now Offering Accredited Mental Health First Aid Training

ADA Australia is pleased to announce that we will now be offering accredited 12-hour Standard Mental Health First Aid (MFHA) training, alongside our current range of courses...

Matthew Simons2 min read
ADA AUSTRALIA Working With Electrogroup Apprentices - ADA Australia
Drugs & Alcohol

ADA AUSTRALIA Working With Electrogroup Apprentices

The ADA facilitation team recently travelled to Queensland to deliver the first of many BEST LIFE: BEST WORK Apprenticeship Development Programs for Electrogroup.

Matthew Simons2 min read
Team Leader Masterclass in Workplace Mental Health – Get It Right ‘At The Top’ - ADA Australia
Workplace Safety

Team Leader Masterclass in Workplace Mental Health – Get It Right ‘At The Top’

Workplace culture is always defined from the top. This is why a business committed to mental health will work to establish a culture of respect that reaches right through the business...

Matthew Simons3 min read
ADA Australia and ETU National – Taking Mental Health and AOD Training Across Australia - ADA Australia
Workplace Safety

ADA Australia and ETU National – Taking Mental Health and AOD Training Across Australia

It is a privilege to work with the ETU on a national level and to be part of their consistent efforts to support the health and wellbeing of their membership base: their members always come first.

Matthew Simons2 min read
'It’s in our control to end coercive control’ - ADA Australia
Drugs & Alcohol

'It’s in our control to end coercive control’

Domestic and Family Violence Prevention Month is held to raise community awareness around domestic and family violence, and its broader impact on people, on families and on communities.

Matthew Simons3 min read
International Firefighters Day (IFFD) – recognising risks to ‘first responders’ - ADA Australia
Drugs & Alcohol

International Firefighters Day (IFFD) – recognising risks to ‘first responders’

Today, we recognise International Firefighters Day (IFFD) and the brave firefighters all over the world who dedicate their careers and lives to protecting the community...

Matthew Simons3 min read
World Day For Safety And Health At Work – Doing Something Positive - ADA Australia
Drugs & Alcohol

World Day For Safety And Health At Work – Doing Something Positive

Today, on World Day for Safety and Health at Work (and Worker’s Memorial Day) we are provided with an opportunity to recognise the importance of safe and healthy working environments...

Matthew Simons3 min read
Apprenticeship Development Training at The Plumbing Industry Climate Action Centre - ADA Australia
Drugs & Alcohol

Apprenticeship Development Training at The Plumbing Industry Climate Action Centre

We are pleased to announce that we will be delivering our BEST LIFE: BEST WORK Apprenticeship Development program over the course of the year ahead to plumbing industry apprentices...

Matthew Simons3 min read
Looking towards 2023: Making mental wellbeing priority #1 - ADA Australia
Workplace Safety

Looking towards 2023: Making mental wellbeing priority #1

Most of us give our best selves to our work – we all want to do ‘a good job’. So, it’s reasonable that we might expect our workplace to be also at its best...

Matthew Simons3 min read
The simple benefits in a ‘mental health’ toolbox talk - ADA Australia
Drugs & Alcohol

The simple benefits in a ‘mental health’ toolbox talk

Let’s face it, our work worries should not follow us home and into our lives after work. Work should not ‘bust our brains’.

Matthew Simons3 min read
ADA Australia working with VACC - ADA Australia
Workplace Safety

ADA Australia working with VACC

ADA Australia has recently completed a project working with VACC, the Fine Tuning Automotive Mental Health (FTAMH) Program, funded through Worksafe Victoria’s Workwell initiative...

Matthew Simons3 min read
Starting that life-saving conversation - ADA Australia
Workplace Safety

Starting that life-saving conversation

‍Ever walked away from someone thinking to yourself “they seem a little off”?‍

Ella Mano3 min read
Toyota Material Handling Apprenticeship Development Day roll-out - ADA Australia
Drugs & Alcohol

Toyota Material Handling Apprenticeship Development Day roll-out

Over the past few weeks, we have been in Sydney and Brisbane (and in Adelaide next week) for the Toyota Material Handling National Apprenticeship Development Day roll-out...

Matthew Simons2 min read
Is it the ‘winter blues’ or something more troubling? - ADA Australia
Workplace Safety

Is it the ‘winter blues’ or something more troubling?

‍From time to time, all of us will have our bad days... And, when caught in the lingering cold of a wet August, the winter blues can exacerbate these feelings.

Matthew Simons3 min read
Will you go Dry this July? - ADA Australia
Drugs & Alcohol

Will you go Dry this July?

Going alcohol-free in this month (or any month), brings a whole lot of health benefits. A whole month ‘breather’ for the liver...

Matthew Simons2 min read
New additions to the ADA Worker Wellbeing Hub - ADA Australia
Drugs & Alcohol

New additions to the ADA Worker Wellbeing Hub

ADA Australia is pleased to announce a brand new range of five-minute videos which are now appearing on the ADA Worker Wellbeing Hub. 

Matthew Simons2 min read
‘The Human Values’ - A Mentally Healthy Workplace  - ADA Australia
Workplace Safety

‘The Human Values’ - A Mentally Healthy Workplace

It may surprise you, or it might not, that 48 per cent (or one-in-two) of Australian workers believe their workplace is mentally unhealthy.

Tim Obrien4 min read
ADA Australia's Apprenticeship Development Day - ADA Australia
Drugs & Alcohol

ADA Australia's Apprenticeship Development Day

ADA Australia’s Apprenticeship Development Days for 2022, being conducted at ETU Victoria’s Centre For U, are now well underway.

Matthew Simons2 min read
Kevin Sheedy joins the ADA Australia family - ADA Australia
Workplace Safety

Kevin Sheedy joins the ADA Australia family

Former AFL champion and legendary coach Kevin Sheedy has joined the ADA Australia team as brand ambassador.

Matthew Simons2 min read
Planning a Christmas break-up? - ADA Australia
Drugs & Alcohol

Planning a Christmas break-up?

Here’s a thought: why not make ‘the festive season’ a time to think about your drug and alcohol policy and the culture around drinking and respect in your workplace? 

Tim Obrien3 min read
‘Back to work’ and those COVID-19 drinking habits: Time for a reset and rethink?  - ADA Australia
Drugs & Alcohol

‘Back to work’ and those COVID-19 drinking habits: Time for a reset and rethink?

Among the unwelcome ‘by-products’ of extended lockdowns and the pandemic has been the alarming spike in alcohol and drug use among Australians, young Australians in particular. 

Matthew Simons2 min read
Tradies’ National Health Month: Let’s Talk About Tradie Health And Wellbeing - ADA Australia
Workplace Safety

Tradies’ National Health Month: Let’s Talk About Tradie Health And Wellbeing

August marks Tradies’ National Health Month, a great opportunity to check in on the physical and mental wellbeing of the workers in your crew.

Matthew Simons2 min read
Ok, Chill… Well, For One Day At Least: Introducing ‘Stress Down Day 2021’  - ADA Australia
Workplace Safety

Ok, Chill… Well, For One Day At Least: Introducing ‘Stress Down Day 2021’

More than just ‘a good cause’, Stress Down Day is an initiative to promote happiness, reduce stress and to encourage help-seeking behaviours

Matthew Simons2 min read
Dry July: Doing your bit to help - ADA Australia
Drugs & Alcohol

Dry July: Doing your bit to help

Although many believe that having a few drinks is a part of the Australian culture, we need to remember the simple facts. Alcohol in large doses is toxic...

Matthew Simons3 min read
'Day of the Seafarer' - For a fairer future - ADA Australia
Workplace Safety

'Day of the Seafarer' - For a fairer future

Since its foundation in 2011, every year on the 25th of June we celebrate the “Day of the Seafarer” which recognises the contribution of seafarers to international trade and the world economy.

Matthew Simons3 min read
Darren: Everyone has a story and this is mine - ADA Australia
Drugs & Alcohol

Darren: Everyone has a story and this is mine

It’s a story of a struggle with mental health disorder and addiction and of its impact on my life.

Darren Harland13 min read
Mental Health and Stigma - ADA Australia
Workplace Safety

Mental Health and Stigma

There is a clear stigma in this country about mental health and vulnerability.

Matthew Simons3 min read
ADA Australia working with the ETU - ADA Australia
Drugs & Alcohol

ADA Australia working with the ETU

ADA Australia’s alcohol and drug awareness training programs, with a range of associated services, is now being delivered to ETU members and their families; some hundreds have now gone through...

Tim Obrien3 min read
Dealing with drug or alcohol impaired customers or visitors - ADA Australia
Drugs & Alcohol

Dealing with drug or alcohol impaired customers or visitors

For people working in customer service, in front counter or sales roles, the likelihood is high that they will encounter or be engaged in interactions with drug or alcohol-impaired customers...

Tim Obrien4 min read
The Little Blue Book of Workplace Mental Health - ADA Australia
Workplace Safety

The Little Blue Book of Workplace Mental Health

There is a quiet crisis in Australian workplaces that, for many workers, can too easily pass unrecognised… until too late...

Tim Obrien3 min read
Hunky Dory: “Business has a part to play in tackling drugs and alcohol" - ADA Australia
Drugs & Alcohol

Hunky Dory: “Business has a part to play in tackling drugs and alcohol"

The Flinders University report recognised that workplaces were “largely overlooked” as places to influence behaviours and to effect cultural change around the misuse of alcohol (and drugs)...

Tim Obrien3 min read
ADA Australia: A Handbook of Alcohol, Drugs and Workplace Risk - Now Available - ADA Australia
Drugs & Alcohol

ADA Australia: A Handbook of Alcohol, Drugs and Workplace Risk - Now Available

ADA Australia has released its new training guide – A HANDBOOK OF ALCOHOL, DRUGS AND WORKPLACE RISK...

Tim Obrien3 min read