Workplace Drug and Alcohol Testing with a Difference
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ONE INCIDENT COULD RUIN YOUR BUSINESS FOREVER!

Drug and Alcohol Testing at the Workplace

An employees’ drug taking choices could be jeopardising your business and compromising the safety of those who work in it.

Employers are legally bound to provide a safe workplace.

WHS legislation states that employers are to “secure the health and safety of workers and workplaces through the elimination or minimisation of risks” and “workers and others are to be given the highest level of protection from hazards and risks”.

Failure to do so compromises the safety of your workers and leaves company owners and directors exposed to the risk of litigation and losing
everything they have worked hard for.

As Australia’s Drug Epidemic worsens the chances of a drug or alcohol related incident occurring at your work site are increasing.

Facts About Alcohol and Other Drugs in the Community

As a company at the forefront of alcohol and other drug (AOD) solutions in the workplace, Drug-Safe Australia has always sought to create better understanding of the issues around substance abuse within our unique and treasured Australian society. Some of the more startling statistics we’ve discovered include…

1

facts-1Almost 70% of Australian illegal drug users are employed.

2

facts-2 Lost productivity due to alcohol and other drug abuse has been estimated to cost employers in Australia $16 billion annually.

3

facts-3 Alcohol is the second greatest cause of drug-related hospitalisations in Australia.

4

facts-4About six million Australians aged 14 years and over have used an illegal drug.

5

facts-5 The most commonly used drugs, in descending order are: cannabis, ecstasy, methamphetamine/amphetamine, and painkillers/analgesics. However, the use of “ICE” or methamphetamine is increasing dramatically with the result of destroying families and young lives. It is a catalyst for violence and extremely difficult to end addiction.

6

facts-6 Methadone is a synthetic heroin. Methadone users are not cured heroin users but maintaining a highly dependent addiction through a controlled programme.

7

facts-7 80% of heroin users who wish to end their addiction and go through a detox programme will relapse. Successful heroin detox is approximately 20%.

8

facts-8 According to Workcover statistics, in serious workplace accidents where alcohol or other drugs are present, 80% of the injured are non-users.

9

facts-9 26% of Australian psychiatric patients have a dependency on marijuana.

10

facts-1080% of the crime committed in Australia is drug related.

11

fact-11 Mixing marijuana with alcohol increases the risk of having an accident from 3 to 48 times.

12

fact-12Two out of three drug users will find it difficult to abstain for a whole day and will ‘top-up’ at work.

All It Takes Is One Alcohol Or Drug-Related Incident At Work To Experience…

Drug Accident

  • Injuries to workers, contractors, customers or the public
  • SafeWork & Work Cover investigations and penalties
  • Damaged vehicles, equipment and machinery
  • A drop in staff morale
  • Valued employees leaving the business
  • Reduced productivity and profitability
  • Customers losing trust in you
  • Your hard earned reputation being destroyed

Can You Afford The Risk?!

Why Drug-Safe And
Not Drug-Free?

The reality of 21st Century society is that it is an impossible dream to focus upon a Drug-Free Community. So, trying to create a 100% drug-free workplace is a pointless goal when many people require medication or prescribed drugs to lead a normal, productive and pain-free life.

The drugs in the Australian Standards for testing, and alcohol, are ones that are known to effect a person’s behaviour and fitness for duty. Through education and training programmes we are able to demonstrate why taking these drugs is not acceptable either at work, in sport, at school or generally within the social fabric of the Community.

Our Complete Drug-Safe Solution has been proven over and over…

Our innovative approach gives your workplace, sports facility of Community a comprehensive solution and includes

  • policy development,
  • educational workshops,
  • certified training course,
  • products for testing,
  • on site screening in house or in our mobile clinics
  • Comprehensive testing and results analysis.

We pride ourselves on having the experience and knowledge to manage the launch period and subsequent testing stage so that objections are professionally handled with minimal problems or objections.

Latest Articles

Illegal Drugs in Australia are Booming

The Reserve Bank of Australia is worrying about the sluggish economy and slowing levels of consumption of Australian citizens.

But there is one thing that Australians are spending a lot on…and that’s illegal drugs.

Banknote spending on illegal drugs in Australia

An RBA investigation into the use of Australia’s banknotes shed light on the illicit drugs purchasing habits of Australians.

The illicit drugs market has been running well. Citizens spent $13.5 billion on illegal drugs in Australia over a 12 month period ending August 2017.

An estimated two percent of the country’s banknotes actually go into spending for illicit drugs.

Methamphetamine and cannabis account for over 70 percent of purchases of illegal drugs in Australia. 

Moreover, researchers calculated that the stock of actual notes used in drug purchases was a little over $1 billion. Taking into account how the same note tends to change hands.

Furthermore, the study reveals Australian drug users’ preference for 50 dollar notes and face-to-face transactions.

Wastewater analysis

As per the latest findings of the National Wastewater Drug Monitoring Program, here are the illegal drugs in Australia according to popularity:

  1. Methamphetamine ( meth or ice )
  2. Cannabis
  3. Cocaine
  4. MDMA (ecstasy)
  5. Heroin

The report traced the presence of a dozen illegal and legal drugs in 45 sites across Australia, which covers 50 percent of the population or approximately 12.8 million Australians.

The study tracks usage in October of last year and again in December.

The goal of the Australian Criminal Intelligence Commission is to determine the extent of the demand and the location of illegal drugs in Australia.

Regional and metropolitan drug preference

According to the Federal Minister for Law Enforcement and Cybersecurity Angus Taylor, “We now know about 8.4 tonnes of ice, of methamphetamine, is consumed in Australia this year. This continues to be a significant problem because it was minimal only a few short years ago.”

Cocaine continues to be a bigger problem in cities. In the same way that methamphetamine is in regional areas.

Wastewater analysis results show that methamphetamine or ice is popular in Adelaide, Perth, and Queensland, while cocaine is the preference of people from Sydney and New South Wales. 

Protect your business and employees from illicit drugs in Australia

With recent studies pointing to the worsening drug epidemic in Australia, the chances of a drug-related incident occurring in your workplace are increasing. 

There has never been a better time to implement a drug and alcohol workplace policy. And the best policies include employee drug testing. 

As an employer, you are legally bound to provide a safe workplace for your employees.

If you need help with building a workplace drug and alcohol policy, feel free to reach out to us. Our Drug-Safe team will help you maintain a drug-safe workplace.

More Drivers Test Positive for Drugs than Alcohol in Australia

We’ve all been hearing a lot about drug deaths at music festivals lately.

You probably expect me to say that drug use is not exclusive to music festivals and young adults — which is true.

But there is something even more starting. Find out what the related news and statistics reveal about overall illicit drug use in Australia.

 Read More

When Can You Drug Or Alcohol Test Your Employees?

Are you unsure about when you can drug or alcohol test your employees?

In Australia, drug testing is generally seen as an intrusion of privacy, with certain exceptions.

If your company is contemplating introducing drug testing to your workplace, you have two things to consider.

 Read More

Drugs are more dangerous than you think

The “just say no” campaign of the Australian government against drugs has clearly failed.

With the recent deaths of a 21-year-old and 23-year-old partygoer in Melbourne, hundreds took to social media to bemoan the government’s lack of an effective drug strategy.

In a report by Shireen Khalil of News.com., Australians are clamoring for a new actionable solution.

The Premier himself has considered banning the festivals. However, the first pill testing trial at a festival last year showed promising results.

 Read More

Risk Management and Its Implications for Drugs and Alcohol at Work

The recent changes to Chain of Responsibility (CoR) rules have Australian businesses rethinking their responsibility in the wake of any breaches in safety.

The adoption and regular tweaking of risk management systems should be imperative for any business. The proactive approach to safety and minimising of risk are hallmarks of a great company.

And when you consider the alarming new figures of drug deaths in Australia, never has the adoption of a risk management system been more important.

Drug and alcohol abuse is one of the biggest hazards in the workplace.

With a risk management system, you can effectively manage the risks of drug and alcohol at work.

 Read More

Drug Safe Workplace

Create a Drug Safe Workplace

Together we can minimise risks, increase safety and establish a positive and productive workplace.

With almost two decades of industry experience, Drug-Safe Workplaces is proud of having the professionalism, outstanding quality and client confidentiality to give you real peace of mind.

Interested in something more than a job?

Make an intelligent business decision by joining "Team Drug-Safe" as an independent business owner and make a real difference within your own community. Find out more