Food delivery workers are at risk of physical and psychological harm at work. Safe Work Australia has today launched the Deliver yourself home safely campaign to increase their awareness and knowledge of work health and safety. 

Safe Work Australia data shows there have tragically been 10 fatalities of food delivery workers since 2019. This is a devastating outcome for these workers, their families, friends and co-workers, as well as the broader community. 

The Deliver yourself home safely campaign provides food delivery workers with practical information and key contact details to help influence positive work health and safety attitudes and behaviours. 

Given the high proportion of food delivery workers who have English as a second language, the campaign will communicate in Mandarin, Punjabi, Nepali, Vietnamese, Hindi and Urdu. All materials will also be available in English.

 The campaign website has information on work health and safety risks and hazards, rights and duties, what food delivery workers can do to keep safe, dealing with abuse and extreme weather conditions, work health and safety consultation, and workers’ compensation. 

The Deliver yourself home safely campaign kit has posters, checklists, social media tiles, infographics, and fact sheets.

This campaign complements national work health and safety guidance for the food delivery industry published by Safe Work Australia in 2021 to help food delivery riders, platforms and food outlets understand and comply with their duties under work health and safety legislation, identify and manage the relevant risks and hazards and understand how workers’ compensation applies to the gig economy.

For more information visit www.swa.gov.au/deliversafely.

Quotes attributable to Michelle Baxter, Chief Executive Officer, Safe Work Australia

“All workers, regardless of the work they do or how they are engaged have a right to a healthy and safe working environment. This includes food delivery workers who encounter a range of hazards in their jobs that pose risks to both physical and psychological safety.

“It’s important food delivery workers understand what they can do to be safe at work, as well as who they can talk to about work health and safety, so they can get home safely. 

“They are, after all, the most valuable package.”

Background 

Safe Work Australia is a national policy body with Members representing the Commonwealth, states and territories, as well as workers and employers. Our Members are supported by our small Commonwealth agency. We work to achieve healthier, safer and more productive workplaces through improvements to WHS and workers’ compensation arrangements. As a national policy body, we are not a regulator and do not enforce WHS or have a role in relation to compliance. Commonwealth, states and territories regulate and enforce WHS laws and administer workers’ compensation schemes in their jurisdictions.

Media contact: media@swa.gov.au