'The Miles Government is proud of our strong record to protect the health and safety of Queensland workers, but we always want to do more'
The Queensland government is investing almost $600,000 to research on improving return-to-work processes for workers who have been diagnosed with early-stage dust lung diseases.
The investment will be going to the University of Queensland (UQ), which will carry out the three-year research project, according to the state government.
Nikky LaBranche, UQ Sustainable Minerals Institute Research Fellow, said they are planning 120 interviews to gather insights on how the current system is operating, and how it can be improved.
"An important piece of this work will be talking with workers, return-to-work coordinators, occupational physicians, regulators, and others to find out what is working and not working from their perspective," LaBranche said in a statement.
According to the fellow, return-to-work options for those diagnosed with occupational dust lung diseases may vary depending on their industry.
"In a mining context, there are ways for workers to stay at the mine and continue on in more administrative positions – but there are ways of doing this well and not so well," she said. "For the engineered stone industry, where the businesses are much smaller, it is much harder as there are often no jobs out of the dust that people can move into."
The research is also tapping Kirsten Way from the UQ School of Psychology to help on the "psychological component" of the study, as getting diagnosed with a "potentially life-changing disease" can have significant psychological effects.
"UQ is grateful for the funding to continue investigating ways to support people with lung disease and will be considering when a worker can safety return to workplace and what roles they may be able to facilitate," LaBranche said.
Queensland's major investment
Meanwhile, Industrial Minister Grace Grace said funding the research is just one measure for the government to protect employees from occupational lung disease and support those who have been diagnosed.
The $600,000 is part of the government's bigger $5-million investment for medical research to improve the health and wellbeing from occupational dust lung diseases, such as silicosis and coal workers' pneumoconiosis.
The UQ is the latest organisation to receive the grant under the state government's major investment.
The first round of funding was granted in 2022 to Queensland researchers, including interstate and international research partners. According to the state government, the projects are "progressing on earlier detection of disease."
They are also making progress on the "effectiveness of screening methods and understanding of the progression of diseases including pneumoconiosis and silicosis.'"
"The Miles Government is proud of our strong record to protect the health and safety of Queensland workers, but we always want to do more," Grace said.
The research comes ahead of Australia's upcoming ban on engineered stone products from July 1.
