National Safe Work Month
October is National Safe Work Month, an opportunity for workplaces across Australia to put work health and safety front of mind and look at the practical steps that help keep people safe every day.
The 2026 theme is Safe work is for life, recognising that workplace safety is about more than preventing an incident today. It is about protecting people’s lives, health and future, both at work and outside it.
For Baker Refrigeration, safety is particularly relevant because refrigeration work can take our teams into a wide variety of environments. Our technicians, installers, project teams and contractors may be working in supermarkets, plant rooms, cool rooms, freezer rooms, rooftops, construction sites, workshops and operating stores.
The work can involve refrigeration systems, electrical equipment, pressurised systems, refrigerants, lifting and handling equipment, working at heights, confined or restricted spaces and interaction with other trades and members of the public.
Good safety therefore relies on much more than simply wearing the correct PPE.
It starts with planning the job properly, understanding the equipment and site conditions, identifying hazards before work begins and making sure the right controls are in place.
Safety around modern refrigeration systems
Commercial refrigeration continues to evolve, and the way we manage safety must evolve with it.
Increasing use of natural refrigerants such as CO₂ (R744) and R290 propane brings significant environmental and efficiency benefits, but these systems also require technicians to understand their particular operating characteristics and associated risks.
CO₂ refrigeration systems can operate at substantially higher pressures than many traditional refrigeration systems. R290 is an efficient low-GWP refrigerant and requires equipment, procedures and servicing practices designed for its safe use.
That makes training, correct procedures, appropriate tools and an understanding of the system being worked on essential.
The same applies across every part of a refrigeration installation, from electrical isolation and pressure management through to lifting equipment, working at heights, hot works and safely moving equipment into position.
Looking beyond the immediate job
One of the important messages behind this year’s National Safe Work Month theme is the long-term impact workplace injuries and illnesses can have.
Safe Work Australia reports that 188 Australian workers were fatally injured at work during 2024, while 146,700 serious workers’ compensation claims were recorded in 2023–24 – more than 400 serious claims every day.
Repeated manual handling, awkward working positions, noise exposure, fatigue and other physical or psychological hazards can have effects that develop over time.
For an industry such as ours, looking after people means considering both the immediate risks of a job and the conditions in which our teams will work throughout their careers.
Safety is everyone’s responsibility
National Safe Work Month also reinforces the importance of consultation and participation.
Technicians working directly with equipment often have valuable insight into how a job can be completed more safely. Project managers, supervisors, engineers, apprentices, contractors and customers all have a role to play in identifying hazards and improving the way work is carried out.
Speaking up when something does not look right, stopping to reassess a task or suggesting a safer way of completing a job should always be encouraged.
Safe work is for life
Across October, Safe Work Australia will explore four areas: For life, For health, For the future and For all. Together, they reinforce a simple principle: workplace safety protects far more than the hours someone spends at work.
At AJ Baker, that means continuing to build safety into how we plan, install, maintain and service refrigeration systems across Australia.
Because at the end of every installation, service call or working day, the most important outcome is that everyone goes home safely.
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