MANDURAH is the subject of a new study on the health impacts of fly-in fly-out work on employees, their families and the wider community.
Curtin University professors Dr Fiona Haslan McKenzie and Dr Aileen Hoath received funding from Regional Development Australia to undertake the research report, entitled Socioeconomic Impacts of Long Distance Commuting (LDC) on Source Communities.
The report was conducted in Mandurah and Busselton and investigates the health and socioeconomic effects of the FIFO lifestyle, with results expected to be relayed to the City of Mandurah in November.
The study focuses on fly-in fly-out, drive-in drive-out and bus-in bus-out workers.
Dr Hoath said Mandurah and Busselton were chosen for their high volume of FIFO workers and because both areas had submitted reports on the issue to a Federal Commission.
Dr Hoath said some findings of the Mandurah/Busselton report showed that young families were facing ongoing stress as a result of the FIFO lifestyle.
She also said that support services for workers were not targeted as efficiently as they could be.
“A lot of the support services in place are not necessarily adapted to the particular demands of FIFO, people can’t always access them.
“They have to be flexible, it’s a timing and communication issue.”
City of Mandurah committee member Lesley Wilkinson said the reports’ findings could influence the way the Council interacts with the FIFO community.
“We know [this lifestyle] brings a good economic return for families but we don’t understand the impact on family and community.
“Following the [results of this] report it’s our intention to run some kind of workshop.”
Ms Wilkinson previously expressed concern about the impacts of the FIFO lifestyle in 2011, joining with multiple councils in a submission entitled‘Cancer of the Bush or Salvation of our Cities?’ to the Federal House of Representatives Committee.
The report read that children of FIFO families were more likely to suffer from depression or anxiety and often missed out on schooling to spend time with a returning parent or guardian.
Australian Medical Association executive Dr Richard Choong called on the Government to provide $15million in research funds, a request he said was denied.
According to the Australian Bureau of Statistics, as of May 2012, the mining industry employed about 269,300 people, with a predominantly male, full-time workforce.