What was RADARS?

In late 2009, the department established the Reform and Development at Resources Safety (RADARS) program.  This program has concluded and been replaced by the Department's Towards 2020 strategy.

RADARS was developed in response to independent reviews and inquiries following a series of mining incidents and fatalities. The government and industry recognised that an improved approach to safety was needed.

Refer to Statutory and other reviews and reports for information on the reviews and inquiries.

The RADARS strategy consisted of a number of projects to improve capacity, competency and legislation for the safety legislation administered by Department.

The RADARS program has enhanced the regulator’s capacity and competency to support and monitor the risk management process. This includes recruitment and training programs, organisational restructures, and changes to inspectorate employment conditions.

The legislation component of RADARS will be addressed through the department’s Work Health and Safety legislation reform program.

Achievements made possible because of RADARS initiatives included:

• improved stakeholder consultation through advisory panels, working groups and workshops
• major recruitment campaign to replenish and increase the number of inspectors
• competitive salaries and flexible performance-based employment conditions to attract and retain inspectors
• inspector training and development programs (meeting national standards) to boost technical competency and consistency
• organisational restructure to improve the delivery of regulatory services.
• improved online systems – development and implementation of the Safety Regulation System (SRS)
• establishment of an independent and dedicated Investigation Services Branch
• cost recovery programs introduced to ensure safety regulatory services are maintained and improved
• improved transparency, including expenditure reports and stakeholder surveys to measure progress.