While there was a slight decrease from last year, the number and rate of new cases of occupational disease has remained relatively constant over the last five years. This reinforces the need for full implementation of the occupational health standards and Group targets have been set to drive improvements in this area. These include:

• Full implementation of occupational health standards by the end of 2004 with commencement of an effective verification process; and
• A 40 per cent reduction in the number (per 10,000 employees) of new cases of occupational disease between 2003 and 2008.