Health and Safety Strategy 2022–2025

Essential Energy’s Safety Strategy 2022–2025 focused on embedding a culture where safety is a shared value and personal responsibility. Moving beyond compliance, the strategy is anchored in the principle, ‘We keep ourselves and others safe, for what matters most’.

This principle underpins our organisational commitment to creating a safer, healthier and more resilient workplace.

During the year, we focused on strengthening three foundational pillars:

• safety mindset and leadership behaviours – empowering leaders and individuals to model and reinforce proactive safety behaviours at all levels
• serious injury prevention – prioritising high-impact risk controls and learning from high-potential incidents to prevent harm before it occurs
• health and wellbeing – promoting holistic wellbeing initiatives that support physical and psychological safety.

Focusing on these pillars resulted in measurable improvements in safety performance and engagement, reinforcing our collective commitment to protect what matters most. Significant strides were achieved in strengthening the organisational safety culture, embedding personal accountability and enhancing wellbeing across our operations. Through simplified systems, targeted programs and a sharpened focus on critical risks, we also delivered measurable improvements in public protection.

Key achievements during 2024–25 include:

• introducing the ‘Leading Safely Every Day’ program and ‘Making Safety Your Own’ video campaign to embed safety ownership at every level of the organisation
• Mental Health First Aid training to 509 leaders, addressing psychosocial hazards and refreshing the Hazardous Manual Tasks program to support injury prevention and wellbeing
• re-establishing the Towards Zero Road Safety Working Group, enhancing visibility of In-Vehicle Monitoring System (IVMS) reporting and upgrading vehicle specifications to reduce transport-related risks and improve driver safety
• introducing the Learning Team framework which focuses on collaborative operational safety learning outcomes
• improving visibility of critical control effectiveness and enhancing TotalSAFE system functionality to support proactive risk management
• strengthening safety-focused external stakeholder engagement, improving network visibility and collaborating on public safety campaigns to raise awareness and reduce harm
• identifying and implementing critical controls for all Network Fatal Risks (NFR), developing a risk profile for Essential Water, and launching targeted communications to reinforce NFR Critical Controls.

Significant strides were achieved in strengthening the organisational safety culture, embedding personal accountability, and enhancing wellbeing across our operations.

Managing psychological safety

Essential Energy has invested in initiatives to identify and manage psychosocial hazards, in line with the NSW SafeWork Code of Practice, to promote holistic health and wellbeing. Essential Energy’s approach includes identifying, assessing, controlling and reviewing measures to eliminate or minimise risks. Identification includes both proactive identification as well as assessing potential risks raised by workers.

Proactive steps include:

• conducting an annual psychosocial safety risk assessment survey
• implementing action planning workgroups for each unique group of survey respondents to address identified risks and embed appropriate responses, following consultation with workers
• completing a psychosocial hazards infrastructure review and implementing its recommendations
• engaging with our Health and Safety Representatives – a committee of peer elected employees – about our progress implementing the infrastructure review recommendations and survey action plans
• updating the internal TotalSAFE reporting system to identify psychosocial factors and manage report privacy and confidentiality
• ongoing psychosocial hazards education sessions for all employees, featuring external experts.

Safety performance

The safety of our people remained a core priority in 2024–25, with performance outcomes that reflect our commitment to continuous improvement and a proactive safety culture. No major lost time injuries were recorded during the year. Key safety metrics also improved significantly compared to 2023–24, with the high potential incident frequency rate decreasing by 17.1%, the total recordable injury frequency rate reducing by 11.4%, and the serious claims frequency rate dropping by 47.6%. The total number of notifiable incidents to SafeWork NSW under the Work Health and Safety Act 2011 (WHS Act) also decreased significantly, from 14 incidents in 2023–24 to eight in 2024–25. Consistent with last year, there were no prosecutions under the WHS Act in 2024–25.

These results reflect targeted actions across the business and the collective efforts of our people to embed safe behaviours and practices. Our injury prevention and recovery at work programs continue to evolve, supporting employee wellbeing and enabling early intervention. Leading indicators from assurance activities provide valuable insights into potential risks, allowing for proactive measures to prevent harm.

We remain focused on learning from incidents, with responses designed to identify root causes and drive continuous improvement. A newly established Injury Review Program is helping us better understand the contributing factors behind workplace injuries. The goal is to embed those learnings into our systems, processes and behaviours, to support a safer, more resilient workforce, reinforcing our commitment to safety leadership.

The safety of our people remained a core priority in 2024–25, with performance outcomes that reflect our commitment to continuous improvement and a proactive safety culture.

Contractor safety

We completed a comprehensive review of our contractor management practices during the year, which resulted in a two-stage improvement program to enhance safety systems and capability. These improvements are designed to streamline processes, clarify responsibilities and ensure alignment with evolving safety standards and legal obligations. Stage one is currently in the testing phase, with full implementation planned for September 2025.

To support this program, we delivered training sessions for key contractors that focused on managing safety more effectively and consistently. Several safe driving sessions were jointly delivered with contractors, sharing lessons from incidents and reinforcing key procedures. Employee training was also provided to Frontline Supervisor teams, with voluntary sessions for Major Projects teams and all other employees.

We’re committed to meeting our current and future resourcing needs through the early identification of future workforce requirements and being a first-choice employer for existing and potential employees. The Talent Acquisition Strategy defines how our employees are engaged and retained throughout their career with Essential Energy and focuses on four key areas: candidate attraction; recruitment; retention; and technology, data and governance.

We are building our employer brand to retain and attract employees with the existing and future skills identified in our workforce plan to support the energy transition and our corporate strategy. Enhancing the focus on inclusion and offering diverse assessment and selection approaches also strengthen the recruitment experience for candidates.

To retain and attract a skilled, engaged and committed workforce, Essential Energy offers competitive remuneration and benefits together with learning and career development opportunities, and strives for strong employee engagement. Our efforts are informed by increasingly data-driven insights and reporting that uses technology to streamline and improve the employee experience.

Inclusion and diversity

Essential Energy is actively building an inclusive and diverse workforce that reflects the communities we serve. Our 2024–27 Inclusion and Diversity Strategy sets three priorities for the coming years:

• High levels of inclusive leadership capability – by developing inclusive leadership capability and skill in leading diverse teams, at all levels of leadership
• An inclusive workplace culture – by fostering a workplace culture that is inclusive, collaborative and empowered, and celebrates the talent and diversity of our people
• A diverse workforce – by attracting, developing and retaining a diverse workforce that reflects and enhances the communities we serve.

Key outcomes during 2024–25 included:

• building inclusive leadership capability, with a masterclass for over 50 people leaders and resources about inclusive teams, neurodiversity and LGBTQIA+ inclusion for all employees
• maintaining our diversity-focused internal reference groups and introducing support communities focused on women’s health, neurodiversity and carers
• receiving two awards at the WORK180 Equitable Workplace Awards 2025
• achieving Bronze Tier Employer status in the 2025 Australian Workplace Equality Index, which recognises LGBTQIA+ workplace inclusion
• holding an internal Women from the Field Conference attended by more than 70 of our female employees in field-related roles, and sending a cohort of existing and future female leaders to an external Women in Leadership summit, with an internal alumni formed to continue their development
• commencing the Australian Disability Network Disability Confident Recruiter program, with our Talent Acquisition team working towards accreditation over a 12-month period
• accepting an invitation to participate in the National Employer Network for Refugee Inclusion, which aims to improve refugee economic participation in Australia by fostering collaboration to develop policies and inclusive practices that support refugees and asylum seekers into jobs
• participating in events such as NAIDOC Week, Wagga Wagga Mardi Gras, Broken Heel Festival, Harmony Day, Diwali, Walk for Autism, IDAHOBIT, Wear it Purple, International Day of People with Disability, Go Red for Dyslexia, Carers Week and International Women’s Day.

During the year, Essential Energy progressed its Diversity and Inclusion Action Plan (DIAP) by participating in the Disability Confident Recruiter program, delivered by the Australian Disability Network. Accreditation is expected by mid 2026, supporting our commitment to inclusive and accessible recruitment practices.

Scholarships

Our Inclusion and Diversity program supports university students studying across Essential Energy’s network area to expand their career opportunities, including offering paid work experience and potential employment after their studies are complete.

First Nations scholars receive financial support for the duration of their degree and are invited to participate in Essential Energy’s inclusion and diversity reference groups, meet the team most relevant to their studies, and participate in our Internship Program during semester breaks. During 2024–25, five First Nations students were supported, studying law, engineering and media/communications at Charles Sturt University and Southern Cross University.

A female engineering scholarship was also provided and an LGBTQIA+ scholarship, both through Southern Cross University.

During the year, the program was extended to provide new scholarships for:

• one female engineering student studying Civil Engineering
• one LGBTQIA+ student studying Information Technology, in partnership with the Pinnacle Foundation.

Employee engagement

Our annual engagement survey was conducted in June 2025, with 81% of employees sharing their perspectives on our work environment. The participation rate increased by 3% compared to the prior year, with 3,179 people having their say in 2025 (up from 2,964 in 2024).

The overall engagement score was 4.05 (out of five), an increase of 0.07 from 2024 and a steady year-on-year improvement since 2022 (3.75).

Actively engaged employees accounted for 48% of respondents, up from 45% in 2024. Actively disengaged employees decreased to 8%, 2% lower than 2024 – providing further encouragement that engagement is improving across our workforce.

Employees told us that Essential Energy is performing well as a great place to work, with its recognition and praise of employees, and with conversations about individual progress. Overall, the results are a positive reflection of the culture of Essential Energy.

Apprentices, trainees and graduates

Through our commitment to training and development, we are building a workforce that reflects the customers and communities we serve while establishing the organisational capability needed for the evolving energy industry.

Essential Energy welcomed 160 people into apprentice, trainee and graduate roles in the first half of 2025: 114 apprentices, 21 field‑based trainees, eight First Nations Identified business services trainees and 17 graduates.

As of 30 June 2025, the total number of people in such roles was 500: 424 apprentices, 21 field-based trainees, nine First Nations Identified business services trainees, 42 graduates and four schoolbased trainees.

Apprentices undertake a four-year program combining formal training with on-the-job experience and activities that build interpersonal skills and community connection. The 2025 cohort consists of 80 powerline workers, 15 cable jointers and 18 zone substation electricians and one boiler maker.

Trainees complete a 12-month training program, with 19 asset inspectors and two supply chain operations trainees commencing this year and eight non‑field‑based trainees.

Our graduate program continues to grow, attracting recruits from disciplines including engineering, infrastructure, cyber security, technology and data, human resources, communication, finance, procurement, legal, and risk and audit. The three-year program includes rotational placements in functional business areas and a two-year professional development course with Engineers Australia.

Essential Energy was included in the 2025 Top 100 Graduate Employers list. We were named the number one graduate employer for energy and utilities, and ranked 22nd overall. Essential Energy was named 2024 NSW Apprentice Employer of the Year and two of our current apprentices are finalists for the 2025 NSW Apprentice of the Year award. See ‘Case study: Growing careers through our apprenticeship program’.

Future skills training

We are continuing to introduce programs that build the capability we need to manage the impact of the energy transition on our network. This includes developing electricity supply industry (ESI) courses to evaluate and certify the specialist skills of our employees through nationally recognised qualifications.

The new Certificate IV in ESI – Network Systems qualification uplifts skills for high voltage live line powerline workers, field switching specialists and high voltage subtransmission cable jointers. The course was developed during the year, with courses starting in 2025–26.

A Certificate IV in ESI – Substations qualification is being developed to enhance the skills of new substation electrical technicians, with training also expected to begin next year. This qualification will be complemented by an assessable unit in substation construction. A zone substation training centre was established at our Orange Depot, providing a specialist learning environment in which employees can gain these skills.

We are continuing to provide SAPS and EV training for our employees. Three depots completed the SAPS Entry and Fault and Emergency Response course, gaining skills to confidently support customers with SAPS equipment.

In 2024–25, Essential Energy also advanced plans for a new Training Academy to help address critical skills shortages and support the energy transition across regional NSW. The Academy will offer nationally recognised qualifications and short programs, aiming to train up to 1,000 students annually from 2026. A flagship facility is planned for Tamworth, with operations expected to commence in July 2027.

The initiative is subject to regulatory approvals, including a ring-fencing waiver currently under review by the Australian Energy Regulator. Once established, the Academy will enhance workforce capability, strengthen regional economies and promote greater diversity within the energy sector.

Network training and assessment

Network training and assessment equips the people authorised to work on or near the network with the skills to do so safely. During 2024–25, we authorised or reauthorised 2055 Essential Energy employees, 2,565 external Accredited Service Providers (ASPs) and 1,059 Contract Service Providers (CSPs) – a critical step for ASP and CSP safety while working with us.

We also provided 296 new employees with role-specific inductions, 2,953 internal participants with refresher training on regulatory safety and switching skills, and 352 employees with live low voltage refresher training during the year.

Leadership development

We are continuing to build a sustainable pipeline of future leaders through our leadership development programs. More than 2,000 employees completed these programs during the year, across all levels of the organisation.

329 leaders completed a face to face training module as part of the Operations Leadership program. More than 1,700 employees attended the masterclass leadership series, which launched last year for frontline leaders and all employees.

36 leaders completed our new mid-level leader program, ‘Hello Monday’. The program provides customised coaching based on targeted leadership capabilities including inclusive leadership, building resilience and leading change.

Employee capability development

Our new Enterprise Capability Framework defines the skills we need now and want to build in our future workforce. Informed by stakeholder and industry engagement, it categorises capabilities into three domains: people partnerships, delivering value and future ready. Each capability is defined by five core skills that align with our values and target behaviours. Implementing this capability framework will enable us to provide targeted learning and development opportunities that build key skills and provide clear career pathways to retain talented people.

LinkedIn Learning provides all employees with customised learning pathways aligned to individual objectives. Forty-five per cent of employees have accessed the platform and completed 610 courses during the year. Employees attended 561 seats in the Learn and Grow virtual classroom workshops on professional development, leadership and digital skills.

Essential Energy provides financial support for employees to pursue formal study. We cover the full cost of courses for role-based progression and critical future skills including renewable energy, data and digital. Partial support is provided for other course topics that support career development.

69 employees completed supported study during 2024–25, in disciplines including work health and safety, project management, commerce, leadership and management, and electrical engineering.

As at 30 June 2025, 257 employees were completing a qualification, with 122 (47%) studying electrical or power engineering and 135 (53%) studying business, management or leadership – all core skills for our organisation.

Employee benefits

Our Total Reward Strategy aims to attract and retain key talent by providing benefit options that align with the needs and priorities of the different generations and individual circumstances within our workforce. Talent attraction and retention enables Essential Energy’s continued engagement with the energy transition.

During the year, we further enhanced our employee benefit options, providing a balanced and holistic approach that caters to varied preferences and priorities. We introduced an employee benefits platform with over 100 new retailer discounts, complementing existing offerings. We expanded our corporate partnerships program, continued our Boarding School Scholarships program to support critical frontline employees, and introduced a wellbeing subsidy to support physical and mental wellbeing.

Employee relations

The Essential Energy Enterprise Agreement 2024 became operational on 20 April 2025 after receiving the majority of employee votes and Fair Work Commission approval. The Agreement reflects Essential Energy’s commitment to providing both fair and sustainable wage increases for our employees, while ensuring that the organisation can continue to meet the needs of our customers and other stakeholders.

The Essential Energy Far West (Electricity) Enterprise Agreement 2024 became operational on 2 September 2025 after receiving the majority of employee votes and Fair Work Commission approval.

The Essential Water Enterprise Agreement 2022 has a nominal expiry date of 29 October 2025. Negotiations have commenced with the relevant unions and workplace delegates for a new Agreement.