Safe Community programme outline, Application submitted, Site Visit completed, Designation 8th May 2010

Country: Australia
Number of inhabitants:1,000 people and is expected to have a total population of 3,500 people on completion in 2011.
Programme started year: 2006 
International Safe Communities Network Membership: 2010
Full application available: www.safecommunities.org.nz/sc/wdls

For further information contact:
Name: Carol Greer
Institution: Community Coordinator, Woodlands
Address: 2 Woodlands Boulevard, Waterford
City: Queensland 4133
Country: Australia
Phone  61 7 3380 1413 Fax: 61 7 3382 7005
E-mail: carol.greer@lendlease.com.au
Info address on www for community as a whole: http://www.woodlands.com.au/

The programme covers the following safety promotion activities:

For the age group: 

• Children 0-14 years:
  Woodlands ‘Billycart Cup’ aims to educate children on the safe construction of billy carts, road safety and the use of protective clothing.
  The Woodlands story book - ‘A Day of Adventure at Woodlands’ - aims to educate the community about the native animals found at Woodlands and
  its cultural heritage, and to ensure a safe and injury free living environment for all.  
   The ‘Pee Wees Project’ provides a day play program for children aged 0–8 years and respite for families at risk.
  The Communities for Children initiative works with children aged 0–5 years and their families providing support, information and advice on children’s safety issues.
• Youth 15-24 years:
  The Woodlands ‘School to Work’ Program provides on-site experience for Year 11 and 12 students interested in a career in construction focusing on overall workplace safety issues and training in the safe use of power tools.
  A ‘Public Art Strategy’ was conducted to educate students on safe construction of a public art piece and decrease the likelihood of graffiti and vandalism.
• Adults 25-64 years:
  Woodlands Community Inc. has developed a ‘Food Safety’ DVD and ‘Community BBQ trailer’ aimed at educating community members on safe food handling practices and reducing the likelihood of food poisoning and other injuries.
  Woodlands Neighbourhood Watch group promotes safety in the home and in public spaces through the establishment of resident networks, police liaison and regular information sharing.
• Older Adults 65+ years:
  Woodlands Adventure Links program aims to motivate people of all ages to develop an active and healthy lifestyle through provision of regular fitness sessions.
  Beenleigh Blue Care Nursing supports people, particularly the frail aged and those with a disability, to remain independent for as long as possible by providing nursing and health support.

For the following environments:

• Home:
  The Woodlands Neighbourhood Watch program promotes safety in the home and in public spaces through resident networks, police liaison and regular information sharing and assistance with property security and other crime prevention and community safety issues.
  Woodlands ‘Becoming a Bush Fire Prepared Community’ targets residents who live near environmental corridors and provides information through a multifaceted program including informative guest speakers at resident Welcome Nights, articles in the Community Update, letter box drops and information sessions held in parks for residents living near the environmental corridor.
• Traffic:
  Regular ‘road safety’ feature stories are included in the ‘Community Update’ including issues such as the safe use of zebra crossings and travelling on the roads during holiday periods.
  A bicycle safety course, aiming to educate children about road rules will be a key feature in the new District Park.
• Occupational:
  Regular ‘Builder Updates’ educate and encourage builders and contractors to conduct safe work practices.
  The Woodlands ‘School to Work’ Program provides on-site experience for Year 11 and 12 students interested in a career in construction focusing on overall workplace safety issues and training in the safe use of power tools.
  The annual ‘Safe Work Week’ community event promotes workplace safety and reduction of workplace related injury.
• School:
  Programs about safety in the school environment have predominantly been focused on occupational safety and the transition from school to work.
• Sports and Leisure:
  The Woodlands story book - A Day of Adventure at Woodlands - aims to educate the community about the native animals found at Woodlands and its cultural heritage, and to ensure a safe and injury free living environment for all.  
  Woodlands Becoming a Bush Fire Prepared Community targets residents who live near environmental corridors and provides information through a multifaceted program including informative guest speakers at resident Welcome Nights, articles in the Community Update, letter box drops and information sessions held in parks for residents living near the environmental corridor.

 Violence prevention (intentional injuries):

• The Woodlands Neighbourhood Watch program promotes safety in the home and in public spaces through resident networks, police liaison and regular information sharing and assistance with property security and other crime prevention and community safety issues.

Programmes aiming at “High risk-groups”:

• The Woodlands master planned community has links with key local services - Twin Rivers Care, Youth Housing and the Wesley Mission – that provide support for homeless people in the form of low cost food services, accommodation assistance and early intervention services to families who are at risk of becoming homeless.
• The Woodlands master planned community also has links with ‘Multi-Link’, a community based organisation that works across all three levels of government and the community to engage and support individuals, families and groups of diverse cultural and linguistic backgrounds.
• The Woodlands master planned community has also engaged with the Yugambeh people in order to preserve the indigenous heritage of Woodlands through the inclusion of its indigenous history in the Welcome Kit provided to new residents and interpretative signage in the parks.

Surveillance of injuries:   

The development and ongoing management of the Woodlands master planned community includes a commitment to monitoring and responding proactively to injuries within the community at all stages of community building. The community draws on available indicative data from its partner agencies to inform the development of injury prevention and community safety strategies.

• These datasets include:
  Workplace injuries recorded on the Safety Dashboard;
  Incidents reported by residents and recorded on the Saleforce database;
  Emergency Department data collected by the Queensland Injury Surveillance Unit on child injuries and road traffic incidents;
  Queensland Department of Main Roads and Transport data on road traffic incidents; and
  Queensland Injury Prevention data on falls by seniors.

• Child Injuries
  Queensland Injury Surveillance Unit data indicates that unintentional injuries (including drownings, falls, poisonings, scalds and slow driveway rollovers) are the leading cause of death in Queensland children up to four years of age. Due the high proportion of children within communities such as Woodlands, data related to child injury has informed many of the proactive strategies developed within these communities. Some of the major injury prevention issues highlighted by Queensland Injury Surveillance Unit data include:
  Drowning remains the single leading cause of death from all causes for Queensland toddlers aged 1-4 years and the leading cause of injury death nationally for children aged under 5 years;
  More than 1000 toddlers present to Queensland emergency departments annually following a medicinal poisoning (3 toddlers per day);
  Children and older people are most at risk of bathroom injury; over 40% of bathroom injuries occur to young children aged less than 5 years;
  In Queensland, burns account for 4% of all injury presentations for children under 5 years of age. More than 50% of these injuries were due
  to scalds; and
  Non-medicinal poisonings account for 62% of poisonings in children less than 5 years. A quarter of poisonings in this age group are due to common household cleaners.
• Road Traffic injuries
  In Queensland in 2003, the road fatality rate for 17-20 year olds was two-and-a-half times the fatality rate for the entire Queensland population.
  On average, 13 children die each year as passengers in motor vehicles on Queensland roads;
  There are approx 6,000 Emergency Department presentations and almost 10 deaths each year from bicycle related injury in Queensland. Nearly 75% of all bicycle related Emergency Department presentations were in children aged under 15 years;
  An Australia wide review found 40% of all cyclists killed were unhelmeted and 76% of 15 to 19 year olds killed were unhelmeted;
  Seven children are killed each year, on average, on Queensland roads. Children under the age of 5 years were most likely to be injured in a driveway or car park while children between 5 and 9 years were more likely to be injured on a roadway; and
  Queensland Department of Transport and Main Roads data indicated that of total fatalities during 2008, 43% were drivers, 23.8% were passengers, 22.0% were motorcyclists, 9.1% were pedestrians and 2.1%) were cyclists.
• Seniors injury - falls
  Recent research commissioned by the Queensland Injury Prevention Council found that while deaths from injury have declined, hospitalisation for many injuries has increased over the last decade, particularly falls-related injuries in older people; and
  Queensland Injury Surveillance Unit data indicates that for the period 1998 to 2003, 5,640 persons aged 65 years and over presented to an Emergency Department in Queensland as the result of a fall. This comprises almost 60% of all presentations at this age.
  While the Woodlands community has a lower than average population aged over 65 years, injury prevention strategies target those who will make up the older population in the next 20 years. A wide range of recreational options are provided within the community to encourage people in the 45 to 64 age group to keep or adopt an active lifestyle now.
• Improving data collection
  There is currently a good level of indicative data upon which the Woodlands community draws for the development of relevant injury prevention and community safety strategies. There is, however, a lack of data specific to the local community. 
  The Woodlands master planned community is currently working in collaboration with other master planned communities and the Queensland Injury Surveillance Unit to develop the capacity for local data collection.

 Publications: (Scientific)

•  Building Sustainable Social Capital in New Communities – Report to the Industry Partner, The University of Queensland and Delfin, 2007

 Produced information material, pamphlets:

Some examples of materials produced within the Woodlands community that have a significant injury prevention and community safety focus include:

• Residents’ Welcome Kit
• Community Updates featuring topics such as safe driving, first aid for children, safety with heaters, Neighbourhood Watch, bicycle security, children’s safety, home safety audit, road safety, storm safety and recognising fire and safety hazards in and around the home.
• Builders Updates
•  ‘A Day of Adventure at Woodlands’ story book
• ‘Food Safety’ DVD

International commitments:

The Woodlands master planned community benefits from the active participation of master planned community staff in Safe Community conferences and forums:

• 2008 International Safe Communities Conference, Christchurch
• 2008 Young people, crime and community safety: engagement and early intervention, Melbourne
• 2007 ‘The Essential Role of Industry in Promoting Safer Communities: Child-resistant packaging and preventing child poisoning’  forum facilitated by the Queensland Safe Communities Support Centre, Brisbane
• 2006 ‘Building Blocks’, Queensland Safe Communities Conference, Townsville
• 2005 Inaugural Queensland Safe Communities Conference, Brisbane
• 2004 Creating Child Friendly Cities Symposium, Brisbane

Staff  

Number: One
Position: Full-time marketing and community coordination position
Organization: Woodlands community
Specific intersectoral leadership groups: Woodlands Community Inc. comprising representatives of local residents, local government (Logan City),  State government agencies, local businesses, local community groups and services clubs.