Better sleep health for essential workers

31 January 2022

The ASA and the Sleep Health Foundation have joined forces once again to prepare a Pre-Budget Submission focussing on shift workers.

Responding to recommendations 2 and 3 from the Parliamentary Inquiry Into Sleep Health Awareness in Australia, the submission proposes a targeted program to improve the sleep health of Australia’s most at-risk workers. Shift workers have higher rates of motor vehicle accidents and increased risk of chronic physical and mental health conditions including depression, cardiovascular disease, diabetes and some cancers compared to those working regular daytime hours.

“With no formal government response to the Parliamentary Inquiry’s recommendations, we felt it was time to suggest a way to take action,” said the ASA CEO, Marcia Balzer.

“The program we’ve proposed will rely on the expertise of the Australian Safety and Alertness Consortium – now part of the Sleep Health Foundation – to prepare evidence-based guidelines on optimal shift work structures for the six main industries that employ shift workers.

“These new guidelines will then inform research and a campaign to educate and change behaviour among shift workers and their families. Part of this will be helping industries understand the guidelines, and giving individual shift workers the tools to better manage their sleep health,” Ms Balzer said.

Read the full submission