Introduction

The ACTU, formed in 1927, is the peak body for Australian unions and is the only national union confederation in Australia. For more than 90 years, the ACTU has played the leading role in advocating for the rights and conditions of working people and their families. The ACTU is made up of 39 affiliated unions and trades and labour councils, and we represent almost 2 million working people across all industries. The ACTU and Australian Unions are proud of our history of standing up for workers’ safety and ensuring that every Australian worker can do their work safely and return home at the end of each day. We are therefore grateful for the opportunity to comment on the Productivity Commission’s (the Commission) Mental Health Draft Report (the Draft Report).

This response to the Draft Report will include a short general feedback section and will then provide some specific feedback relating to various recommendations made by the Commission. As the ACTU submission to this inquiry focussed primarily on mental health as a workplace safety (WHS) issue, the majority of the feedback provided is in response to Chapter 19 of the Commission’s Draft Report – Mentally Healthy Workplaces.

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