The Mental Awareness, Respect and Safety (MARS) Program is a government-led initiative that brings together a wide range of partners, working collaboratively to drive systemic change in mining workplace culture and safety.
The MARS Program has three critical focus areas:
- Creating mentally healthy workplaces – by managing psychosocial hazards and promoting positive practices at work that support mental health and wellbeing.
- Building a culture of safety and respect – with safe, gender-equitable, respectful and inclusive workplaces.
- Preparing for workplace safety in future mining – training the future mining workforce on work health and safety, including psychosocial hazards and controls, and by addressing emerging risks and fostering innovation and research in mining health and safety.
Our mission is to foster environments where mental health, wellbeing, safety and respect are not just prioritised, but actively promoted across the industry.
Sector engagement
The MARS Program engages and works with the mining industry to help develop positive cultural change across the three identified focus areas by encouraging initiatives that will:
- support affected people
- support the whole workforce
- strengthen organisational capability
- provide workforce training
- increase awareness of issues and research.
In addition, the MARS Program complements other work the State Government is undertaking to eliminate sexual violence by implementing the Respect@Work report recommendations and developing the Sexual Violence Prevention and Response Strategy.
Learn more about the MARS Program, focus areas and initiatives