WorkSafe ACT Finds Nurses Face Life-Threatening Risks During Home Visits

Introduction
Nurses and allied health workers in the Australian Capital Territory (ACT) are facing life-threatening conditions while conducting home visits, according to a recent investigation by WorkSafe ACT. The probe followed four serious assaults on healthcare workers in March 2025, some involving weapons such as machetes, knives, axes, and firearms. These incidents have prompted urgent calls for improved safety measures, with unions criticizing Canberra Health Services (CHS) for failing to address longstanding concerns.

While CHS has since implemented necessary safety protocols, union representatives argue that action should have been taken years earlier, without the need for regulatory intervention.

Details of the Assaults
The assaults occurred during home visits conducted under two key programs run by CHS: Hospital in the Home and Belconnen Recovery Service . In one incident, a patient or family member answered the door wielding a machete, while other cases involved threats with firearms, bows and arrows, and other dangerous weapons.

According to WorkSafe ACT’s findings:

• The situations resulted in both physical and psychological harm to workers.
• There was “serious potential” for these incidents to result in fatalities.

CHS CEO Dave Peffer acknowledged the severity of the assaults, stating they were “serious enough to require medical assessment.” Affected staff were offered occupational violence leave and have since returned to work. However, the psychological toll remains significant.

Regulatory Actions and Findings
As part of its investigation, WorkSafe ACT issued six improvement notices and one prohibition notice to CHS in March 2025. These notices highlighted critical failures in safety protocols, including:

• Ineffective risk assessments for home visits.
• Unsafe alarm systems and emergency procedures.
• Lack of mandatory training for staff before conducting home visits.

WorkSafe ACT required CHS to implement several changes under the Work Health and Safety Act , such as:

• Strengthening the risk assessment tool to better evaluate potential dangers.
• Mandatory training for all staff prior to home visits.
• Providing duress devices to ensure staff can call for help in emergencies.
• Ensuring managers always know the real-time location of field personnel.

These actions led to the lifting of the safety notices after CHS demonstrated compliance.

Years of Unaddressed Safety Concerns
Community and Public Sector Union (CPSU) ACT Regional Secretary Maddy Northam expressed frustration, saying she was not surprised by the assaults given the union’s repeated warnings over the past two years.

She described situations where members faced terrifying scenarios, such as patients or their family members answering the door armed with weapons. Despite reporting these incidents, Ms. Northam said no meaningful changes were made until the unprecedented prohibition notice from WorkSafe ACT forced CHS to act.

Similarly, Australian Nursing and Midwifery Federation (ANMF) ACT Branch Secretary Carlyn Fidow criticized CHS for delaying action. “It shouldn’t take a WorkSafe notice to get some action,” she said, emphasizing that nurses and midwives want proactive solutions rather than apologies after the fact.

Broader Context and Statistics
The issue extends beyond the four March 2025 assaults. In 2024 alone, there were six assaults on nurses and allied health workers in CHS-run home care programs. More broadly, there were 43 instances of occupational violence across all CHS services last year.

In a regular update to staff, Mr. Peffer admitted the organization had failed its team members, writing: “Team, that’s 43 too many. As an organisation we’ve let our team members down—and for that I am deeply sorry.”

Despite acknowledging ongoing efforts to combat occupational violence, Mr. Peffer noted that some assault scenarios were “almost impossible to foresee.” Union representatives, however, argue that systemic issues persist and must be addressed through cultural and procedural reforms.