Risk management strategy is now at the forefront of the overhaul list, according to a survey conducted at the Queensland Safety Show, held in Brisbane last month.

ComOps, a company dealing in the IT industry, conducted the survey which revealed more than half of all companies who participated plan to review their occupational health and safety (OHS) policies in the wake of this year's natural disasters.

The survey involved 65 senior business managers and was conducted at the Queensland Safety show held recently in Brisbane.

The results show that 78% of organisations found gaps in their safety policies following the disasters and this has resulted in risk management strategies becoming a greater priority.

Late last year there were already survey indications that proactive risk management would be one of the most important issues for OHS managers in 2011. And it seems that the Queensland disasters have heightened the perceived need for improved safety procedures, with 34% of managers now believing their organisations are under greater pressure to improve their safety outlook.

The recent survey also indicated some key barriers facing OHS and risk managers:

- 32% said a legally compliant OHS strategy is not a high enough priority within their organisation

- 29% said they cannot afford further investments in safety at this time

- 14% don't believe they are given adequate time to dedicate to the overall safety issue

Moshe Woods, manager of safety, risk and claims management solutions at ComOps says, "The Queensland floods have been a wakeup call for a comprehensive review of OHS strategies. At the same time, the data would suggest that while the will is there to dedicate more resources to OHS, managers are still hindered by slack budget allocation and the perception that other business requirements have a greater priority".

New OHS harmonisation laws, set to come into effect on 1 January 2012, were introduced to Federal Parliament recently. Employers are urged to ensure they remain compliant with their OHS obligations. For tips on how to prepare click here