The facts. One in five New Zealanders experience a mental health problem each year, with depression and anxiety the most common.

New Zealand has one of the highest rates of suicide in the world, with over 500 deaths on average per year. Māori and Pacific Island communities experience higher rates of mental health issues than other ethnic groups. Psychosocial risks need to be identified and managed in the same way as risks to physical wellbeing.

Mentally safe workplaces have greater levels of engagement, productivity, and less staff turnover.

Between September 2010 and the end of 2011, 4 major earthquakes and more than 11,200 aftershocks shook Christchurch and the surrounding towns.  This earthquake sequence caused the deaths of 185 people.  For a sense of scale, the total economic losses were estimated to be more than $38 billion.  Over the last 10-years the centre of Christchurch has been rebuilt, thousands of uninhabitable houses demolished and replaced, and infrastructure restored.

In 2013, the Canterbury Safety Charter was born as a commitment to make sure everyone who worked on the demolition and rebuild went home safe and healthy every night.  Modelling post-earthquakes suggested that, given the scope of the projected works, several workers lives would be lost along with $80 million of ACC related claims and 600,00 working days lost to illness and/or injury. The Safety Charter was a collective initiative between industry, MBIE, WorkSafe NZ, NZCTU and ACC.

The Safety Charter agreement between more than 370 organisations helped New Zealand construction raise its standards of health and safety, and has had a positive impact across the country, and beyond the building sector.  The Safety Charter was an industry and worker led movement, with organisations large and small committing to making tangible improvements to New Zealand’s then poor construction safety record.  The result has been that no workers lost their lives during the demolition and rebuild, a remarkable achievement.

The Safety Charter continues to provide a forum for connection between all stakeholders in the industry, focussed on health, safety and wellbeing. The aim of the Safety Charter was to raise the expectations of what can be achieved individually and collectively, with a twin focus on leadership and engagement, evolving from a safety emphasis to a broader approach that addresses worker health, safety and wellbeing in all its aspects, including mental health.

To celebrate our 10^th anniversary the Safety Charter is hosting a 1-day conference and Celebration Dinner.  Following  the Canterbury earthquakes, health and safety will have an increasing focus on mentally safe work.

Mentally Safe Work presents many challenges for employers, directors, employees, health and safety managers, advisors, health and safety representatives and health and safety committees.

The Mentally Safe Work conference aims to provide a framework for understanding the challenges of psychosocial safety, and what practical steps organisations can take to improve both their procedures and outcomes.

The Safety Charter's Anniversary committee has developed a comprehensive series of presentations to motivate and inspire you.

Refreshments are included in the registration fee. You will have opportunities to meet the experts and to network with your colleagues.