WHS Officer

Apiam Animal Health; Melbourne; On-site; AUD 65,000 - 85,000; Part time

Benefits offered by this job

Professional development and study

Retail, travel, health and lifestyle**

Job summary

Apiam Animal Health in Melbourne is seeking a WHS Officer for a hands-on, part-time role (0.6 FTE, 3 days a week) based in South Melbourne. You will lead return-to-work and injury management across clinics, conduct site reviews and risk assessments, and partner with insurers and providers to improve safety.

You'll visit clinics, manage workers' compensation claims from lodgement to closure, and coach clinic teams on WHS.

Qualifications

• Proven hands-on injury management and return-to-work experience across claims lifecycle.
• Experience developing return-to-work plans and suitable duties.
• Experience investigating incidents and conducting site inspections and risk assessments.

Responsibilities

• Lead return to work and injury management, managing workers' compensation claims from lodgement to closure with insurers, agents, treating providers and rehabilitation partners.
• Develop and monitor return-to-work plans and suitable duties to support recovery and reduce claim duration and costs.
• Investigate incidents, injuries and near misses, identify root causes and drive corrective actions to completion.
• Conduct site reviews, inspections and risk assessments across Apiam clinics and businesses.
• Be a confidential contact for injured or unwell employees, liaising with managers, medical practitioners and rehabilitation providers.
• Maintain claim, incident and WHS register records, and report on trends in claims, costs and incidents.
• Coach and advise practice managers and clinic teams on WHS.
• Support the WHS Manager with audits, policy updates and the WHS management system.

Skills

Injury management

Return-to-work

WHS knowledge

Incident investigations

Site inspections

Communication

Organisational skills

Travel flexibility

Drivers licence

Education

Certificate IV in WHS

Tools

Incident systems

Job description

WHS Officer

Part-time, 3 days per week (0.6 FTE) | South Melbourne

Regular travel to clinics

Keep our people safe, and help them get back to doing what they love.

As WHS Officer, you'll lead return to work and injury management across Apiam, investigate incidents and injuries, and review and assess our sites, in partnership with our insurers and external providers. Apiam Animal Health is a leading Australian veterinary group, with clinics and businesses spanning companion animal, mixed, equine and production animal practice. Looking after the safety and wellbeing of our people is central to our purpose of enriching the lives of animals, people and communities.

The opportunity

This is a hands-on, varied role. You'll manage workers' compensation claims from lodgement to closure, build return-to-work plans and suitable duties, and lead investigations that turn into corrective actions. You'll also visit our clinics to run site reviews and risk assessments across the hazards our teams face daily, including manual handling, animal handling, chemical and radiation.

You'll report to the WHS Manager and work closely with our HR team, Payroll, clinic leaders and insurers to reduce claim costs and premium impact.

You'll see the results in people recovering well, safer sites and confident managers.

Your remit

• Lead return to work and injury management, managing workers' compensation claims from lodgement to closure with insurers, agents, treating providers and rehabilitation partners
• Develop and monitor return-to-work plans and suitable duties, intervening early to support recovery and reduce claim duration, costs and premium impact
• Investigate incidents, injuries and near misses, find root causes and drive corrective actions to completion
• Conduct site reviews, inspections and risk assessments across our clinics and businesses
• Be a supportive, confidential contact for injured or unwell employees, liaising with managers, medical practitioners and rehabilitation providers
• Maintain claim, incident and WHS register records, and report on trends in claims, costs and incidents
• Coach and advise practice managers and clinic teams on WHS
• Support the WHS Manager with audits, policy updates and the WHS management system

What you’ll bring

• Essential: proven, hands-on injury management and return-to-work experience, including managing workers' compensation claims from lodgement to closure with insurers, agents and treating providers, ideally across multiple Australian states
• Experience developing return-to-work plans and suitable duties, and returning injured employees to work
• Experience investigating incidents and injuries, and conducting site inspections and risk assessments
• Working knowledge of WHS legislation and practice, with experience supporting a safety function
• Strong communication skills, with empathy, discretion and sound judgement in sensitive conversations
• Well organised, able to prioritise across multiple sites and deadlines, and confident using incident or claims systems
• Preferred: Certificate IV in WHS or higher, or a tertiary qualification in OHS, health or rehabilitation. Veterinary, healthcare, agriculture or multi-site experience is highly regarded
• A current Australian driver's licence and the ability to travel regularly to clinics

What’s on offer

• A part-time role of 3 days per week (0.6 FTE), with flexibility around which days
• Professional development and study support
• Retail, travel, health and lifestyle discounts

Why Apiam

Genuine influence over how a growing national network keeps its people safe and well. A values-led culture: we believe in each other, embrace opportunity and growth, celebrate our achievements and lead with integrity. You'll join a collaborative HR and WHS team with real scope to shape our safety and wellbeing approach as we grow.