Health Tracking Project -- The Development of a National Framework for Managing Occupational Illness and Disease in the Australian Minerals Industry

The Health Tracking project is one of five projects being undertaken as part of the Minerals Industry Cooperation Initiative (MICI) – a national initiative sponsored by the Minerals Council of Australia. The aim of the Health Tracking project is to assess the practicality of ways to demonstrate the monitoring of hazardous exposures and the occurrence of related occupational illness and disease and development of management systems and strategies at a national level. This second stage of the project will be completed in 2005 and will cover four areas: 1. pilot development of a comprehensive job exposure matrix (JEM) for the minerals industry; 2. development of both proactive and reactive occupational illness and disease metrics; 3. recommendations regarding appropriate health tracking models; and 4. provision of best practices guidelines for management of occupational health. The synergies between these areas will establish the path towards an effective national occupational health surveillance system and the development of effective prevention strategies and policies.