Community Safety

The Community Safety definition is:Safe Communities Team

“The right of all individuals living, working or visiting Mackay to go about their daily life without fear or risk of harm or injury; and the shared responsibility of government agencies and all other people in the community to ensure this is possible”.

In all of Mackay Regional Council’s surveys and consultations, safety has been noted as a priority concern for our residents. 

Safety means different things to different people. It is not just about the level of crime in our community, it is about developing and implementing programs that can also prevent unintentional injury.  It is about how people feel in our community and there are many factors that affect this.

To improve community safety all sections of the community need to work together to create a safer environment in which to work, live and play.

Mackay Regional Council is proud to be involved in partnerships between Government and non-Government agencies, community organisations and individuals that are developing Community Safety programs using innovative approaches.

Safe Communities are ones where all individuals make daily economic and social choices without the fear of becoming a victim of crime or unintentional injury.

Mackay and Whitsundays

In August 2004 the local government areas of Mackay and Whitsunday became Queensland's first InternationDesignatin presented to Mackay Mayoral Safe Communities designated by the World Health Organisation (WHO) Collaborating Centre on Community Safety Promotion.

The Mackay Whitsunday Safe Communities Project was established in 2000 as a response to above average injury rates in the region.  The International Safe Communities framework has proven to be an effective means of reducing injury throughout the world.  This framework has a number of criteria and processes and these have guided the activities of Working Groups which have developed to address specific issues in our community.  Through ongoing activities which meet these criteria the Mackay Whitsunday Safe Communities plan to continue their work on local injury reduction.

These criteria are:

  • an infrastructure based on partnership, governed by a cross-sectoral group that is responsible for safety promotion in their community
  • programs covering all ages, environments, and situations
  • programs that target high-risk groups and environments, and programs that promote safety for vulnerable groups
  • programs that document the frequency and causes of injuries
  • evaluation measures to assess programs
  • ongoing participation in national and international Safe Communities networks

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Operating Structure of the Mackay/Whitsunday Safe Communitites ProjectCommunity Safety Presentation

The Mackay Whitsunday Safe Communities approach consists of a Network Support Group and a number of Project Working Groups.

The Network Support Group includes representatives from the Mackay community, Mackay Regional Council, Whitsunday Shire Council, Queensland Transport, Queensland Police Service, Queensland Health, James Cook University, Department of Emergency Services and Education Queensland. 

There are several project working groups currently involved in the Mackay Whitsunday Safe Communities Project including:

  • Occupational Health and Safety
  • Senior Safety
  • Road Safety
  • Child Safety

Occupational Health and Safety

Community Safety TeamThe Occupational Health and Safety working group seeks to work collaboratively with local industry to minimise harm from injury in the workplace.

Senior Safety

The Senior Safety working group seeks to increase awareness of safer behaviours and environments for older Australians.

Road Safety

This working group has identified the following areas for action: driver fatigue, data collaboration and coordination, driver education, train crossings, target groups (especially young males), cyclists, alcohol, footpaths/ bicycle paths and drug driving.

Child Safety

The purpose of the Child Safety working group is to increase community awareness of child injury as a preventable health issue.

Linked Projects

As the focus of Mackay Whitsunday Safe Communities is unintentional injury, links have been made to other projects and strategies in the region to better network all injury strategies.

  • Building Safer Community Action Teams
  • Healthy Island Resorts Project
  • Whitsunday Schoolies Week

Building Safer Community Action Teams

This is a whole of government crime prevention strategy involving collaboration with the community to address local crime issues.

Healthy Island Resorts Project

This project is a public health risk management approach aimed at isolated resorts, in particular island resorts.

Whitsunday Schoolies Week

This project is managed in the Whitsundays to deliver safer celebrations to Year 12 school-leavers.

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Publication links

More links

Safe Community Sites

Injury Prevention and Research

Injury Surveillance and Statistics

Best Practice in Health Promotion and Injury Prevention

Mackay Whitsunday Safe Communities Progress Reports