Agenda of Audit and Risk Committee meeting - Tuesday, 27 September 2022

Audit and Risk Committee Agenda

27 September 2022

MINUTES OF Central Otago District Council
Audit and Risk Committee
HELD IN Ngā Hau e Whā, William Fraser Building, 1 Dunorling Street, Alexandra and live streamed on microsoft teams ON Friday, 3 June 2022 AT 9.32 am

PRESENT: Ms L Robertson (Chair), His Worship the Mayor T Cadogan, Cr S Jeffery

IN ATTENDANCE: S Jacobs (Chief Executive Officer), L Macdonald (Executive Manager - Corporate Services), Q Penniall (Infrastructure Manager), S Righarts (Chief Advisor), N McLeod (IS Manager), A Crosbie (Senior Policy Advisor), R Ennis (Health, Safety and Wellbeing Advisor) and W McEnteer (Governance Manager)

1 Apologies

Apology

Committee Resolution

Moved: Cadogan

Seconded: Jeffery

That the apologies received from Cr Gillespie and Cr McKinlay be accepted.

Carried

2 Public Forum

There was no public forum

3 Confirmation of Minutes

Committee Resolution

Moved: Jeffery

Seconded: Robertson

That the public minutes of the Audit and Risk Committee Meeting held on 25 February 2022 be confirmed as a true and correct record.

Carried

4 Declaration of Interest

Members were reminded of their obligations in respect of declaring any interests. There were no further declarations of interest.

5 Reports

22.2.2 Policy and Strategy Register

To consider the updated Policy and Strategy Register.

After discussion it was noted that the Procurement Policy and the Protected Disclosures (Whistleblower) Policy were scheduled to come to the next meeting or an update as to their progress.

Committee Resolution

Moved: Robertson

Seconded: Cadogan

That the report be received.

Carried

22.2.3 Audit NZ and Internal Audit Update

To consider an update on the status of the external and internal audit programme and any outstanding actions for completed internal and external audits.

It was noted that the Three Waters assets were being valued and that this should be updated at the next meeting.

Committee Resolution

Moved: Robertson

Seconded: Cadogan

That the report be received.

Carried

22.2.4 Financial Report for the Period ending 31 March 2022

To consider the financial performance for the period ending 31 March 2022.

Committee Resolution

Moved: Robertson

Seconded: Cadogan

That the report be received.

Carried

22.2.5 Cyber Security, Information and Records Management, and Privacy update

To consider an update on:

· Cyber Security Plan 2022-2025

· Information and Records Management Plan 2022-2025

· Privacy Plan

Committee Resolution

Moved: Robertson

Seconded: Cadogan

That the report be received.

Carried

22.2.6 Privacy and LGOIMA Requests Policies

To note the Privacy Policy and Local Government Official Information and Meetings Act Request Policy are now finalised following incorporation of the recommended changes.

It was noted that privacy policies were being updated across all council websites to ensure consistency.

Committee Resolution

Moved: Robertson

Seconded: Cadogan

That the report be received.

Carried

22.2.7 Health, Safety and Wellbeing Report

To provide an update on the health, safety and wellbeing performance at Central Otago District Council.

After discussion it was noted that elected members were not considered in the Risk Management Policy.

Committee Resolution

Moved: Robertson

Seconded: Cadogan

That the report be received.

Carried

6 Chair's Report

22.2.8 Chair's Report

The Chair had nothing to report.

7 Members' Reports

22.2.9 Members' Reports

The members had nothing to report.

8 Status Reports

22.2.10 June 2022 Governance Report

To report on items of general interest, consider the Audit and Risk Committee’s forward work programme and the current status report updates.

Committee Resolution

Moved: Cadogan

Seconded: Robertson

That the report be received.

Carried

9 Date of The Next Meeting

The date of the next scheduled meeting is 30 September 2022.

10 Resolution to Exclude the Public

Committee Resolution

Moved: Robertson

Seconded: Cadogan

That the public be excluded from the following parts of the proceedings of this meeting.

The general subject matter of each matter to be considered while the public is excluded, the reason for passing this resolution in relation to each matter, and the specific grounds under section 48 of the Local Government Official Information and Meetings Act 1987 for the passing of this resolution are as follows:

General subject of each matter to be considered	Reason for passing this resolution in relation to each matter	Ground(s) under section 48 for the passing of this resolution
Confidential Minutes of Ordinary Committee Meeting	s7(2)(b)(ii) - the withholding of the information is necessary to protect information where the making available of the information would be likely unreasonably to prejudice the commercial position of the person who supplied or who is the subject of the information s7(2)(c)(ii) - the withholding of the information is necessary to protect information which is subject to an obligation of confidence or which any person has been or could be compelled to provide under the authority of any enactment, where the making available of the information would be likely otherwise to damage the public interest s7(2)(d) - the withholding of the information is necessary to avoid prejudice to measures protecting the health or safety of members of the public s7(2)(g) - the withholding of the information is necessary to maintain legal professional privilege s7(2)(i) - the withholding of the information is necessary to enable Council to carry on, without prejudice or disadvantage, negotiations (including commercial and industrial negotiations)	s48(1)(a)(i) - the public conduct of the relevant part of the proceedings of the meeting would be likely to result in the disclosure of information for which good reason for withholding would exist under section 6 or section 7
22.2.11 - Water Services Update on Compliance Status	s7(2)(g) - the withholding of the information is necessary to maintain legal professional privilege	s48(1)(a)(i) - the public conduct of the relevant part of the proceedings of the meeting would be likely to result in the disclosure of information for which good reason for withholding would exist under section 6 or section 7
22.2.12 - Strategic Risk Register	s7(2)(i) - the withholding of the information is necessary to enable Council to carry on, without prejudice or disadvantage, negotiations (including commercial and industrial negotiations)	s48(1)(a)(i) - the public conduct of the relevant part of the proceedings of the meeting would be likely to result in the disclosure of information for which good reason for withholding would exist under section 6 or section 7
22.2.13 - Litigation Register	s7(2)(g) - the withholding of the information is necessary to maintain legal professional privilege	s48(1)(a)(i) - the public conduct of the relevant part of the proceedings of the meeting would be likely to result in the disclosure of information for which good reason for withholding would exist under section 6 or section 7
22.2.14 - June 2022 Confidential Governance Report	s7(2)(c)(ii) - the withholding of the information is necessary to protect information which is subject to an obligation of confidence or which any person has been or could be compelled to provide under the authority of any enactment, where the making available of the information would be likely otherwise to damage the public interest s7(2)(d) - the withholding of the information is necessary to avoid prejudice to measures protecting the health or safety of members of the public	s48(1)(a)(i) - the public conduct of the relevant part of the proceedings of the meeting would be likely to result in the disclosure of information for which good reason for withholding would exist under section 6 or section 7

Carried

The public were excluded at 10.47 am and the meeting closed at 11.28 am.

27 September 2022

5 Reports

22.3.2 Policy Register

Doc ID: 593835

1. Purpose

To consider the updated Policy and Strategy Register.

Recommendations

That the report be received.

2. Discussion

Changes to the Policy and Strategy Register

A review of the Policy and Strategy Register took place throughout the second and third quarter of 2022.

The new register aims to provide a greater level of transparency and oversight to the Audit and Risk Committee.

The register now includes a ‘snapshot’ of policy performance across the organisation, and by department. This will aid in identifying systemic issues or challenges in creating, maintaining, and renewing policies should they occur.

Further detail has been provided on each individual policy, including a brief explanation of the policy, any relevant legislative requirements, and whether it is published internally or externally.

The new register has retained all features of the previous register, with a new ‘status’ section including the colour coding when policies are out of date.

Further initiatives have been identified internally to improve support to the organisation across the policy space. These will continue to be developed and rolled out across the latter half of 2022 and early 2023, including a policy intranet, guidance documents, oversight of the legislative requirements and a new process for renewing policies.

The measurements within the policy register have been based on the current timeframes developed for Central Otago District Council policies. These timeframes and targets are under review and will be discussed with the Audit and Risk Committee in the new term.

The current target includes an organisational key performance indicator where 80% of policies should be current at all times. Organisational performance is audited externally annually against this figure.

The standard timeframes for review are:

· Bylaw – 5 years

· Policy – 3 years

· Plans – 5 years

· Strategies – 5 years

· Guidelines – 5 years

No set timeframes apply to community owned documents.

Longer timeframes may apply when a policy or document is drawn directly from legislation – in these instances, timeframes follow the relevant act.

Shorter timeframes are applied to policies with a higher degree of scrutiny, particularly those with strict legislative requirements (i.e. Protected Disclosures (Whistle-blowers) Policy).

Policy and Strategy Register Report

The following report was based on data as of 31 August 2022.

The organisational key performance indicator for policies is for 80% to be in date at any given time.

The organisation has exceeded the target, with 87.76% of policies in date, calculated on 31 August 2022.

Three of the five departments met or exceeded the target at 100%, 92.86%, and 84.21%.

People and Culture are within 2% of the target presently and expected to reach the target in September.

Planning and Environment are within 2% of the target. The policies within this portfolio are expected to reach the target in early 2023.

CEO Department

100% of policies in date.

An election protocol was introduced for staff during the election period and will remain in place until October.

Six Governance policies will roll over in October through the election process. The appropriate review processes are underway and on track.

Corporate Services

92.86% of policies are in date.

The two expired policies are the Procurement Policy and the Risk Management Policy. Reviews of both policies are on this meeting’s agenda and they will seek adoption by Council on 28 September 2022. The Information and Records Management Plan is also on the agenda for this meeting.

Corporate Services is expected to return to 100% of policies in date by the end of September.

The Protection of Information and Information Systems (Cybersecurity) Policy and Fraud, Bribery and Corruption Policy are both on track for the December Audit and Risk meeting.

Infrastructure

84.21% of policies are in date.

The Roading Policy was due in June 2022. It has been delayed as we are recruiting for several roading positions.

There are also two bylaws on hold due to the Three Waters process.

The Sewer Lateral Policy is due in December and is expected on schedule.

The Water Services Act will come into force from 14 November 2022, with a requirement to maintain Water Safety Plans. Existing plans are under review toward this deadline, with the addition of a new Pisa Village plan.

People and Culture

78.57% of policies are in date.

The Protected Disclosures (Whistle-blowers) Policy was due in June 2022. There are legislative requirements in the Protected Disclosures (Protection of Whistle-blowers) Act 2022 that relate to this policy. The policy fell out of date due to miscommunication during staff turnover. Additional measures have been put in place to prevent recurrences in the future. A full update on this policy will be provided in this meeting and the renewed policy will seek adoption by Council on 28 September 2022.

All library policies had expired. Four of these policies have been replaced by one new Library Policy that is in the final stages of sign off and expected by the end of September. One final Library policy is shared with Queenstown Lakes District Council and remains under review.

The Staff Interests Policy is due in December. It will be reviewed in the coming months and input sought from the December Audit and Risk Committee, before seeking readoption from the December Council meeting.

Two further pieces of work are due for updates in the next six months – the Health and Safety Policy Statement in September and the Trespass Procedure in January. Both are on track for renewal.

Planning and Environment

78.95% of policies are in date.

There are three policies out of date: the District Tree Policy, Public Toilet Policy, and Lighting Policy. Updates for all three have been programmed for 2023.

One further policy, the Molyneux Pool CCTV Policy, has been removed from the register as it will not be replaced. A new CCTV policy is in development that will cover the entire CCTV network. It will be presented to Council in the first quarter of 2023.

3. Attachments

Appendix 1 - Policy and Strategy Register ⇩

Report author:	Reviewed and authorised by:

Alix Crosbie	Louise van der Voort
Senior Strategy Advisor	Acting Chief Executive Officer
1/09/2022	20/09/2022

27 September 2022

22.3.3 Protected Disclosures (Whistelblowers) Policy Review

Doc ID: 593240

1. Purpose

To provide an update on the review of the Protected Disclosures (Whistleblowing) Policy.

Recommendations

That the report be received.

2. Discussion

The Protected Disclosures (Whistleblowers) Policy has been in place since 2020. It was last reviewed in May 2021. Our Central Otago District Council Protected Disclosures Policy is now due for review. It has had an annual review cycle to ensure it remains up to date with legislative changes.

The Protected Disclosures Act 2000 was replaced by the Protected Disclosures (Protection of Whistleblowers) Act 2022 on 1 July 2022. This Act’s purpose is to facilitate disclosure and investigations of wrongdoing and to provide protection for employees who report under this.

Review

Current Central Otago District Council policy was effective May 2021 with review June 2022. It is reviewed annually to ensure it remains consistent with changes to legislation and fit for organisational activities. Central Otago District Council People and Culture Team have reviewed the current policy in August 2022 against the new legislation

Legislation Changes

· Extending definition of serious wrongdoing to cover private sector use of public funds and authority and to cover behaviour that is a serious risk to the health and safety of any individual

· Allowing people to report serious wrongdoing directly to an appropriate authority at any time, while clarifying the ability of the appropriate authority to decline or refer the disclosure

· Strengthening protections for disclosers by specifying what a receiver of a disclosure should do

· Clarifying internal procedure requirements for public sector organisations and requiring them to state how they will provide support to disclosers

· Clarifying the potential forms of adverse conduct disclosers may face

Changes against CODC current policy

Extension of serious wrong doing definition	Mostly included in policy, but could increase scope to link to legislation	Add into definitions – Any other instances as specified in the Act
Allowing report at any time	No specified time frame detailed in current CODC policy	No change required
Clarifying ability of appropriate authority to decline or refer disclosure	This change relates to the action taken by the CEO as head of the organisation when dealing with a Protected Disclosure. Policy clarifies timeframes for the decision-making process, including reporting to the chair of Audit and Risk when required by the scale or scope of wrongdoing.	This legislative change is adequately captured in the existing process. It provides further detail for CEO understanding if required. Could update to detail out responses - Investigation - Addressing - Referring - No action Policy should have a description of the circumstances in which the disclosure may be referred
Strengthening protections for disclosers	CODC policy doesn’t mention receivers	Procedure that sets out a process to follow as the receiver of a disclosure added to the policy as an appendix
Clarifying internal procedure for support of disclosers (for example, by having a support person assess any risks to a discloser)	CODC policy has some mention of support under ‘Protections’ but does not provide enough detail to meet the new requirements	Further bullet points added to the ‘Protections’ section to further specify
Clarifying potential forms of adverse conduct for discloser	This is a further clarification of definitions within the Act.	Current policy provisions adequately cover this

Next Steps

This paper seeks the input of the Audit and Risk Committee on the policy. These recommendations will then be taken to Council with a request to readopt the updated policy.

3. Attachments

Appendix 1 - Protected Disclosures (Whistle Blowing) Policy 2022.docx ⇩

Report author:	Reviewed and authorised by:

Kirsten Adams	Louise Fleck
People and Culture Advisor	Executive Manager - People and Culture
26/08/2022	15/09/2022

27 September 2022

22.3.5 Audit NZ and Internal Audit Update

Doc ID: 584113

1. Purpose

To consider an update on the status of the external and internal audit programme and any outstanding actions for completed internal and external audits.

Recommendations

That the report be received.

2. Discussion

Council has a legislative requirement to complete external audits of annual reports and the long-term plan through Audit New Zealand. Audit New Zealand complete a governance report on their findings and any recommendations for improvements. A schedule of actions is then created and allocated to staff to manage the completion of these recommendations.

The 2020-21 Audit New Zealand Management Report has been presented to the Audit and Risk Committee at an earlier meeting. There were six new recommendations, of which five are either completed, or pending Audit NZ to sign them off. In addition, Audit NZ identified four outstanding recommendations, of which three have been completed or closed, and one is in progress.

In addition to external audits, council carries out several internal audits annually to provide assurance over compliance and to mitigate business risks. For the 2021-22 financial year three audits have been carried out – information and records management and cyber security, along with a procurement audit. All three draft audits have been received and draft reports submitted to the September meeting.

Appendix 1 lists the outstanding tasks and any progress with the Audit NZ recommendations. Once the Committee have viewed the completed tasks these are removed from the schedule.

In addition, the internal audit programme is reviewed every three years to provide assurance over compliance and to mitigate business risks. In August 2020, Deloitte’s recommended a four-year internal audit programme based on factors such as budgetary constraints, recently completed engagements and the current view of the risk landscape in the local government sector. This was then prioritised, and the Committee approved the programme of work as detailed below for the next four years (2021 – 2024) ending June 2024.

This programme will be reviewed at the December 2022 Audit and Risk Committee meeting, post the Council elections. This is to ensure this programme reflects the appropriate priorities, and to consider whether the remaining items in red should be included in the next three-year programme.

Internal Audit Review Programme	FY 20-21	FY 21-22	FY 22-23	FY 23-24
Information and Records Management	x	ü
Procurement		ü
Cyber Security		ü
Contract Management				ü
Capital Expenditure Planning and Monitoring			ü
Health & Safety			ü
Recruitment Review				ü
Environmental Management (including Sustainability)
Business Continuity / Disaster Recovery
Asset Management
Benefits Realisation
Legislative Compliance

Red – denotes suggested alternative audit review options

3. Attachments

Appendix 1 - Audit New Zealand - Audit Action Register ⇩

Appendix 2 - Draft Procurement Report - Deloitte ⇩

Report author:	Reviewed and authorised by:

Ann McDowall	Saskia Righarts
Finance Manager	Group Manager – Business Support
12/09/2022	13/09/2022

27 September 2022

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22.3.6 Health, Safety & Wellbeing Report

Doc ID: 592915

1. Purpose

To provide an update on health, safety and wellbeing performance at Central Otago District Council.

Recommendations

That the report be received.

2. Discussion

2.1 Reporting period

This report covers the period 1 April 2022- 31 July 2022.

2.2 Health, Safety and Wellbeing Advisor Summary

COVID-19 management has become less operationally significant. Council offices have returned to full capacity. Although there has been some operational pressure due to sickness absence, this leave has been managed through the business-as-usual leave management process.

Chemical and hazardous substances management have become a focal point during this reporting period. Health and Safety is working with activity managers to improve our oversight in this area. This is further explained in section 2.3.

There was a notifiable injury reported to WorkSafe during this reporting period. A worker cut a tendon in their hand while cutting hose pipe. The worker returned to work after two days’ absence. This injury is summarised in section 2.4.4.

Council is seeking proposals from audit and assurance providers for a Health and Safety Management System audit planned for early 2023.

This report includes accessible descriptions of graphs.

2.3 Critical risk

This section sets out the steps taken to manage the risks that could cause serious harm or death during the reporting period.

Critical risk

Existing controls

New or upcoming controls

Driving and vehicles

· Vehicle user policy

· E-roads in fleet vehicles

· 5-star ANCAP rated vehicles

· Driver licencing and approval

· Fleet inductions

· Safe driver recognition

· Winter driving training held for new-to-district workers

· Role-specific risk assessments in progress

Remote or isolated working

· Working from Home Policy

· Panic buttons and duress procedures

· Work plans

· Mobile phones

· Buddy/pair working procedures

· Lone worker app procurement in progress

· Lone, remote and isolated working policy in progress

· Role-specific risk assessments in progress

Psychosocial hazards

· Employee Assistance Programme (EAP)

· Wellbeing programme

· Regular 1:1s and performance management guidance

· Training and development

· Equal Employment Opportunities (EEO), Discrimination, Harassment and Bullying Policy

· Performance management Policy

· Return to work/fit for work programme

· De-escalation training

· My Everyday Wellbeing – wellbeing platform and programme

· Role-specific risk assessments in progress

Biological hazards

· High-risk vaccination programme

· Physical barriers and work environment planning

· Personal Protective Equipment (PPE)

· Voluntary vaccinations

· Health monitoring and occupational vaccination policy in research and draft phase

· Role-specific risk assessments in progress

Hazardous substances

· Safety Data Sheets (SDS)

· Third-party reports for Aquatics plant room

· On-site storage is kept at minimum

· Pre-qualification checks for contractors

· Records of training are maintained

· Fire schemes updated with FENZ (chemical register)

· Reviewing onsite storage of hazardous substances by external consultant

· Condensed SDS development with peer review by external chemical consultant

· Suitable chemical training has been identified and scheduled

· Review of chemical registers across all worksites (exc. evacuation scheme worksites where a register is already provided to FENZ)

· Site-specific safety plans are being completed by Water and Solid Waste teams

· Scoping to update our Health and Safety Information System to allow centralised substance record keeping

Table 1. Critical risks register with new and current controls.

There were 45 incident reports submitted during the reporting period. 26 reports (58%) related to one or more areas of critical risk. Graph 1, below, illustrates how the reports are distributed across critical risk areas.

There was a marked increase in the number of reported incidents relating to driving or vehicles (+7 reports). These reports were made by contractors and employees.

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Graph 1. Incident reports relating to critical risk areas comparing the last reporting period to this period. Last period (Jan-Mar 22): total reports (n=24): driving and vehicles (8), remote or isolated working (1), psychosocial hazards (9), biological hazards (12), hazardous substances (1). This period (Apr-Jul 22): total reports (n=26): driving and vehicles (8), remote or isolated working (1), psychosocial hazards (9), biological hazards (7), hazardous substances (2).

An incident report may be included in more than one critical risk area. Affected persons include employees, contractors and the public.

2.4 Occupational health

Flu vaccination

15% of staff (32) took up flu vaccination through council vaccination clinics between April and Jun 2022.

Early intervention

Council made two early-intervention referrals to occupational health providers during the reporting period. Early-intervention allows employees to address work-related pain or discomfort before it becomes and injury.

2.4 Incidents and injuries

There were 45 incident reports (-6) submitted during the reporting period.

There was one notifiable event during the reporting period. This laceration injury is outlined in section 2.4.4.

Severity rating	Business as Usual	Category 1	Category 2	Category 3
Risk consequence rating	Negligible or minor	Moderate	Major	Extreme
No. of incident reports	41	2	2	0

Table 2. Severity rating for all incident reports Apr-Jul 22.

2.4.1 Employee incidents

69% (31) of incident reports affected employees. Graph 2 shows the areas of concern employees are reporting.

Working environment had an increase in reports (+7 from last period). This category includes a series of reports of speeding in the Kelvin Street carpark by public. The Property and Roading teams are working together on a solution for this concern.

Graph 2. Employee incident reports by area of concern. Total reports (n=31). Behaviour – anti-social (5), biohazards (pools) (6), breach of trespass (1), Covid-19 (1), cuts and lacerations (1), exposure to hazardous substances (2), illness (1), musculoskeletal injuries or discomfort (1), property damage (1), threatening or abusive communication (3), trips, slips and falls (1), working environment (8).

Recordable injuries

Recordable injuries include all fatalities, lost time injuries (LTI), medical treatment injuries (MTI), restricted duties, first aid injuries (FAI) and non-treatment injuries.

There were four recordable injuries affecting employees during the reporting period.

Reporting period	Non-treatment injury	FAI	MTI	Restricted duties	LTI	Fatality	Total recordable injuries
July-Sept 21	2	1	0	0	0	0	3
Oct-Dec 21	5	1	2	0	0	0	8
Jan-Mar 22	1	0	0	0	0	0	1
Apr-Jul 22	1	0	0	1	2	0	4

Table 3. Recordable injuries (employees). Note: the reporting period Apr-Jul 22 is one month longer than previous reports.

Lost time injury frequency rate

Lost time injury frequency rate only includes lost time injuries.

During the reporting period, Council’s LTIR increased from 2.18 to 2.68. This is above the target of 1.95.

A severe lost time injury is an injury where more than 3 days absence from work is required. There were no severe lost time injuries during the reporting period. +

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Graph 3. Lost time injury trends (rolling YTD). Target (1.95): Aug (1.19), Sep (1.04), Oct (1.85), Nov (2.50), Dec (2.27), Jan (2.26), Feb (2.22), Mar (2.18), Apr (2.07), May (2.05), Jun (2.02), Jul (2.68). There was 1 injury per month in Oct, Nov, Jun and Jul.

2.4.2 Public incidents

These incidents involve a Central Otago District Council workplace.

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Graph 4. Public incidents by business activity. Year to date: pools (58), roads (2), service centres (1), libraries (4), parks and recreational facilities (2).

Public injuries

During the reporting period there were five injuries to members of the public. Graph 5 shows the types of injuries that are occurring.

Reporting period	Non-treatment injury	FAI	MTI	Fatality	Total recordable injuries
July-Sept 21	2	7	0	0	9
Oct-Dec 21	0	11	0	0	11
Jan-Mar 22	2	17	0	0	19
Apr-Jul 22	1	4	0	0	5

Table 4. Recordable injuries (public). The period Apr-Jul 22 is one month longer than previous reporting periods.

Graph 5. Public incidents by injury type. Total (n=5): vehicle sliding on ice (1), cuts and laceration (3), impact with object (1).

2.4.3 Contractor incidents

Contractors reported four incidents to Council during the reporting period. Two injuries, a near miss and one case of property damage.

2.4.4 Significant incidents summary

· Incident

· Findings and actions

· Notifiable incident/Lost time injury

· Worker was cutting hosing with scissors resulting in a puncture wound and cut tendon, required emergency surgery

· This incident was notifiable under “Serious lacerations that require immediate treatment”

· First aid provided

· Attended local medical centre and then to Dunedin for surgery

· Worker has made four trips to hospital including day of injury

· Worker off duty for two days (excluding day of injury)

· Worker is currently undergoing physiotherapy

· Failure to use PPE or suitable cutting equipment

· Reviewed and provided equipment to that department

· Reviewed our injury management procedures to make workers more aware of the support available to them

· Lost time injury

· Worker became unwell while at work

· First aid provided

· Worker was taken to medical centre

· Worker off duty for 1 day (excluding day they fell ill at work)

· Restricted duties injury

· Worker slipped on gravel while trying to assist a private vehicle rolling backwards resulting in ligament tear in knee

· Lone worker was assisted by members of the public

· Worker raised the alarm independently using mobile phone

· Emergency services attended and worker was taken to hospital by ambulance

· Health, Safety and Wellbeing Advisor attended to secure the workplace as there were no nearer team members

· Worker returned on restricted duties with no lost time

Table 5. Summary of significant incidents

2.4.5 Status of corrective actions

There are four corrective actions open during this reporting period.

Graph 6. Status of corrective actions. Jan 100% (18), Feb 100% (18), Mar 100% (15), Apr 85% (11 complete, 2 in progress), May 100% (6), Jun 100% (13), Jul 85% (11 complete, 2 in progress).

2.5 Contractor management

Contractor pre-qualification

All contractors undertaking council work must provide evidence of health and safety systems pre-qualification before they can begin work.

SiteWise is council’s preferred pre-qualification provider, however contractors tendering for work may provide other pre-qualification certification as evidence of having health and safety systems in place.

Council uses the Tōtika cross-recognition platform to verify pre-qualification from other pre-qualification providers. Tōtika is working to create a common standard for health and safety pre-qualification assessment in New Zealand.

Breakdown of health and safety plans received by council

This section shows the types of health and safety plans being submitted to council. These plans are required for work or facilities bookings (in the case of events) in addition to contractor prequalification.

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Graph 7. Health and safety plans received April-July 2022. Total safety plans received (n=46). Event management plans submitted for public events at council spaces or facilities (26). Safety plans submitted by contractors for contracted works (e.g. site-specific safety plans, job-safety analysis) (8). Safety plans completed by council staff for council work or events (non-contracted) (6). Tenders or procurement plans submitted as part of the tendering process (2).

Site observations and inspections

Part of council’s assurance that contracted work is being carried out as agreed during procurement includes undertaking site observations and inspections. Graph 8 illustrates the site inspections/observations performed for major capital projects.

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Graph 8. Number of site inspections or observations completed per month (Apr-Jul 2022). Apr (3), May (10), Jun (2), Jul (3).

2.6 Training and competency

This section sets out training completed during the reporting period and summarises the training and competency focus for the next quarter.

Regular training	April-July 2022
New staff inductions	13
First aid certificates (new and refresher)	16
Child protection and safeguarding	25
ConstructSafe / SiteSafe	16
De-escalation workshops	2
Health and safety representative training	9
Winter driving	6

Table 6. Training register excerpt

· Hazardous substances training has been identified as a development area for employees in council Aquatics facilities. Although these facilities have experienced handlers working directly with pool chemicals, training is valuable to all employees in workplaces where we store chemicals. The identified training ranges from Chemical Awareness in the Workplace e-learning modules to practical storage and handling courses (30 employees).

· De-escalation and situational safety (5 employees)

· Due diligence and safety governance training: local government elections and an executive restructure presents an opportunity to review health and safety governance training at officer level. Elected members induction is scheduled for October 2022. Training has been identified for executive team members.

· Critical event response desk-top exercises are scheduled for October 2022 for executive team members.

· Fire warden training scheduled for September and November 2022 (20 employees).

2.7 Wellbeing

Wellbeing Key Performance Indicator development

Council wants to take a strategic approach to managing wellbeing. The People and Culture team has opened a project proposal to develop a three-year wellbeing strategy. Identifying and selecting appropriate key performance indicators will form part of this process.

Council currently has two wellbeing indicators.

Indicator 1: No. employee sessions with EAP

During the period Apr-Jun 2022, 48 EAP sessions were held. Council does not receive the number of employees accessing the service. The key themes and concerns are illustrated at Graphs 9 and 10.

Graph 9. Key work-related themes from EAP. Physical environment, health and/or safety (24), job satisfaction or career (22), work pressure or stress (20), organisational culture (6), managing change (12), communication/relationships (19), other (6).

Graph 10. Key personal themes from EAP. relationships/family (5), health physical/emotional (17), personal development (11), other (14)

Where a theme occurs fewer than 5 times, it is grouped under other.

The Health and Safety Committee has selected the recurring theme of stress and work pressure management to focus their activities during the next quarter.

Indicator 2: Employee attendance at wellbeing events and activities and feedback from post activity surveys.

All-staff event

Council held an event for all employees on 10 August. This event was well received by employees. 76 employees responded to a post event survey. The overall approval rating for the event was 80%. 85% of respondents enjoyed keynote speaker Dr Tom Mulholland who spoke to employees about the importance of monitoring their health.

Financial wellbeing seminars

Council partners with BNZ to deliver financial wellbeing seminars to employees. Three seminars were held during the reporting period. 25 employees attended. The attendance rate is lower than 2021 seminars. This is attributed to changing employee event communications from all-staff emails to an intranet-based calendar.

Additional leave day for wellbeing

All workers were offered an additional day of leave to take between 1 April and 31 May 2022. Staff were encouraged to use the day to promote their health and wellbeing. The take up and response to this initiative was extremely positive.

My Everyday Wellbeing

On 10 August 2022, Council launched My Everyday Wellbeing. My Everyday Wellbeing is a self-service platform to enable staff to access evidence-based resources to support their health and wellbeing.

60% of council workers and elected members activated their accounts within seven days of launching the platform. My Everyday Wellbeing is paired with a programme of wellbeing activities that council staff can participate in over the next 12 months.

3. Attachments

Nil

Report author:	Reviewed and authorised by:

Rachel Ennis	Louise Fleck
Health, Safety and Wellbeing Officer	Executive Manager - People and Culture
20/09/2022	20/09/2022


AGENDA Audit and Risk Committee Meeting Tuesday, 27 September 2022
Date:	Tuesday, 27 September 2022
Time:	9.30 am
Location:	Ngā Hau e Whā, William Fraser Building, 1 Dunorling Street, Alexandra (A link to the live stream will be available on the Central Otago District Council's website.)
Sanchia Jacobs Chief Executive Officer

Report author:	Reviewed and authorised by:

Wayne McEnteer	Saskia Righarts
Governance Manager	Group Manager - Business Support
14/09/2022	15/09/2022