Our Approach to Work

QCoal Group Vision

To be a leading independent Australian diversified mining company with sustainable operations and strong engagement with local and regional communities.

QCoal Group Values

Safety

We create a safe workplace where our people are encouraged to lead others, be accountable and act responsibly. We strive to keep our operations injury and fatality free by monitoring plant, equipment and processes.
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Employee choice

We believe allowing our people to choose to live locally or commute to work is an important factor in their decision to work for us, and to keep working for us.
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Integrity

Delivering on our commitments and holding ourselves to account earns the respect of our internal and external stakeholders.
Girl smiling in front of car

Innovation

An entrepreneurial approach is key to finding better ways to create value, in good times and bad.
Two men talking in front of a shipping container

Trust

We work with capable, self-motivated people who enjoy the opportunity and freedom to do their job. The latitude we give our team makes for challenging and exciting work.
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Pragmatism

We don’t hide behind hierarchy, processes or systems that hinder rather than help.
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People and Culture

Our people are critical to the ongoing success of our operations. We are committed to encouraging local employment across our projects in the regions where we operate.

Our Workforce

Supporting local communities with local jobs is an integral part of our approach to work. And over 50% of our workforce lives within the local region.

To make sure we’re achieving the goal of supporting local jobs we closely monitor the proportion of our workforce who live locally on all QCoal Group projects. Where our projects are operated by contractors, they provide workforce data to us as well. This means we can track our workforce demographics across all parts of our business.

We also believe that a diverse workforce is a strong workforce. Approximately 8% of our workforce identifies as Indigenous, which is 4% higher than the average in the industry. And approximately 15% of our total workforce and 50% of our head office workforce are female.

Accommodation

The mining industry often requires a workforce that operates in remote and regional environments. However, we know that lifestyle and personal wellbeing is important for each and every employee.

So, we provide our personnel with a choice of where they live. And we continue to develop strategies to ensure there is sufficient accommodation to cater to our worker’s needs.

Fatigue Management

‘Stop, revive, survive’ isn’t just the mantra for road fatigue. It matters in the mining industry as well.

To manage fatigue and limit the amount of driving, we encourage workers living more than a 45-minute drive from their work site to stay in local accommodation during their shift.

We also put fatigue management plans into place at all of our operations. And we actively discourage the use of private vehicles to travel to and from each mine site. Instead, personnel are transported by bus from key locations wherever practical. This helps us reduce the number of cars on the road, reduce road fatigue and improve overall workforce safety.

Health & Safety

Safety Culture

Safety is not just a set of rules. It’s a mindset. And it’s one that is embraced by our employees and contractors alike. In fact, we’ve established a strong safety culture ingrained in all aspects of our organisation.

We put safety at the forefront of each and every decision that we make. So, we empower our workforce to take ownership of safety and to be accountable for a safe working environment. This means every individual is aware and cares about their own safety and the safety of their colleagues.

First Aid and Emergency Response Management

We undertake risk assessments across our projects and provide first aid and safety management protocols in accordance with the risks as approved by the senior site executive.

Our mine sites are equipped with cutting-edge first aid facilities. We appoint and maintain a trained emergency response team in line with the legislated requirements. And we ensure the local emergency services officers are familiar with our sites and protocols so if the need arises they can get to our workers quickly and easily.

It’s our goal to keep our workers safe and ensure maximum responsiveness by emergency responders whenever it’s necessary.

General Health and Wellbeing

We know that happier workers are better workers, and we care about the health and wellbeing of our employees. So, we’re committed to providing our workforce and their families with access to a range of support services that promote workforce health and wellbeing.

Our contractors engage the workforce through effective and thorough induction processes and regular toolbox talks for a range of practices. These include work operations, road safety, fatigue management, health, wellbeing and personal conduct. We also provide private health insurance packages which offer a range of health and wellbeing services.

Each of these is designed to help our workers and their families maintain mental and physical health and wellbeing.

Training and Education

We invest in comprehensive safety training to equip our workforce with hazard identification and emergency response skills. This commitment to training ensures our workforce remains proactive and ready to handle any situation that might arise.

Hazard Identification and Management

Mine sites are naturally hazardous – but that doesn’t mean they need to be dangerous. We conduct risk assessments to identify potential hazards in our mining operations. And then we take proactive measures to mitigate these risks and create a safe working environment.

Reporting and Incident Management

The more we know, the safer our employees. We emphasise transparent reporting of safety concerns, near-misses and incidents by all employees. Whenever a report is given, we investigate the incident thoroughly and use all our findings to implement corrective actions to enhance overall safety.

Performance Monitoring

We believe in continuous improvement in everything we do. So, we regularly monitor safety performance metrics to assess progress and identify areas where we can improve. This also allows us to adapt flexibly and proactively to changing circumstances and continue to elevate our safety standards.