http://www.ohsalert.com.au/index.php Fast independent news and analysis for OHS professionals. en-au Copyright OHS Alert 2010 hourly 1 1970-01-01T00:00+00:00 http://www.ohsalert.com.au/RDF/ohsalert_logo.gif http://www.ohsalert.com.au/ Fast independent news and analysis for OHS professionals. http://www.ohsalert.com.au/nl06_news_selected.php?act=2&selkey=48841 The Queensland Government has hinted, ahead of roundtable discussion with industry groups, that it will trust businesses to "do the right thing" on OHS under a less prescriptive WHS Act. It has also "streamlined" health and safety laws for the mining sector. OHS Alert 2012-08-30T09:31:45+10:00 http://www.ohsalert.com.au/nl06_news_selected.php?act=2&selkey=48836 The model WHS Act should be extended to the offshore petroleum industry to ensure HSRs in the sector are properly trained, unions have claimed, after the deaths of two workers on the Stena Clyde gas drilling rig in Bass Strait on Monday morning. OHS Alert 2012-08-29T15:26:17+10:00 http://www.ohsalert.com.au/nl06_news_selected.php?act=2&selkey=48827 Company officers are obligated - under the model WHS Act - to monitor such "future trends" as the health risks associated with excessive mobile phone use, two OHS law experts say in an analysis of the Act's due diligence requirements. OHS Alert 2012-08-28T15:28:37+10:00 http://www.ohsalert.com.au/nl06_news_selected.php?act=2&selkey=48806 Your workplace could be louder than you think; and New ACT Codes of Practice commence. OHS Alert 2012-08-24T12:14:06+10:00 http://www.ohsalert.com.au/nl06_news_selected.php?act=2&selkey=48774 SWA outlines nine new hazardous-chemical pictograms; and Western Australian employer fined $50k after workers lost in the desert. OHS Alert 2012-08-20T15:55:41+10:00 http://www.ohsalert.com.au/nl06_news_selected.php?act=2&selkey=48763 Western Australia is one step closer to adopting the harmonised work health and safety laws, with the Barnett Government today calling for comments on an issues paper that examines the "likely impact" of the model WHS Regulations and Codes on organisations and workers. OHS Alert 2012-08-17T15:17:58+10:00 http://www.ohsalert.com.au/nl06_news_selected.php?act=2&selkey=48745 HR managers and others considered "officers" under the model WHS Act should be licensed, and undergo a yearly review or retraining, OHS law experts Professor Richard Johnstone and Michael Tooma say in a new book. OHS Alert 2012-08-15T15:57:30+10:00 http://www.ohsalert.com.au/nl06_news_selected.php?act=2&selkey=48730 Labour-law expert Professor Ron McCallum has given the OHS harmonisation process the "thumbs up", but expressed dismay at Victoria's reluctance to adopt the new laws. Also in this article, manufacturing employers and others have been warned they could be captured by the model Act's broad definition of "construction work". OHS Alert 2012-08-14T12:56:42+10:00 http://www.ohsalert.com.au/nl06_news_selected.php?act=2&selkey=48674 In what is believed to be the first judicial decision involving the model WHS Act, the NSW IRC has upheld an employer's application to have an improvement notice stayed, but rejected its claim that it was not a PCBU when a contractor received an electric shock. OHS Alert 2012-08-06T15:42:03+10:00 http://www.ohsalert.com.au/nl06_news_selected.php?act=2&selkey=48670 Safe Work Australia has released a Q&A to address another harmonisation "misconception", this time relating to how strata title bodies corporate are affected by the model WHS laws. OHS Alert 2012-08-06T11:57:34+10:00 http://www.ohsalert.com.au/nl06_news_selected.php?act=2&selkey=48643 A new resources kit has been released to "address any lingering confusion" over the impact of harmonised work health and safety laws on the volunteer sector. OHS Alert 2012-08-01T14:26:02+10:00 http://www.ohsalert.com.au/nl06_news_selected.php?act=2&selkey=48611 Designers of structures are obligated, under the harmonised WHS Act, to provide safety information to "any person who carries out activities in relation to the structure" if requested, Workplace Health and Safety Queensland says in a Q&A for the construction sector. OHS Alert 2012-07-27T14:58:13+10:00 http://www.ohsalert.com.au/nl06_news_selected.php?act=2&selkey=48595 Eight of the 12 second-stage model Codes of Practice have taken effect, including those addressing first aid, electrical risks and the safe design of structures. OHS Alert 2012-07-26T11:36:47+10:00 http://www.ohsalert.com.au/nl06_news_selected.php?act=2&selkey=48568 Safe Work Australia has outlined the new competency requirements for working with asbestos, while a South Australian employer has been fined for failing to keep on top of the State's asbestos-removal laws. OHS Alert 2012-07-23T15:39:44+10:00 http://www.ohsalert.com.au/nl06_news_selected.php?act=2&selkey=48506 Safe Work Australia could include - in its special stevedoring Code of Practice - a requirement to have safety observers in place for high-risk tasks. Also in this article, a community-based network has been established to tackle the high quad-bike-related fatality rate. OHS Alert 2012-07-13T15:54:24+10:00 http://www.ohsalert.com.au/nl06_news_selected.php?act=2&selkey=48465 Lawyer not convinced by South Australian "control" clause; NTC pushes to align Dangerous Goods Code with UN regulations; and COAG to consider ratifying ILO safety conventions for mines and dock work. OHS Alert 2012-07-10T12:50:57+10:00 http://www.ohsalert.com.au/nl06_news_selected.php?act=2&selkey=48430 The Tasmanian Government will consider strengthening its mirror WHS Act, or developing stand-alone legislation, to improve the health and safety of workers under the age of 19, according to a review of the State's child-labour laws. OHS Alert 2012-07-04T15:02:00+10:00 http://www.ohsalert.com.au/nl06_news_selected.php?act=2&selkey=48355 Higher order controls might be required under model falls Code; and Essential safety news from WA, SA, Qld, Vic and Comcare. OHS Alert 2012-06-25T15:52:58+10:00 http://www.ohsalert.com.au/nl06_news_selected.php?act=2&selkey=48266 Safe Work Australia has released two draft guides and six more draft Codes of Practice - on such topics as forklifts and cranes - for a two-month public-comment period. OHS Alert 2012-06-13T10:57:58+10:00 http://www.ohsalert.com.au/nl06_news_selected.php?act=2&selkey=48259 South Australia's mirror WHS Bill looks increasingly likely to pass through Parliament, after the State Government agreed to insert an explanatory clause on "direct control". OHS Alert 2012-06-12T14:58:06+10:00 http://www.ohsalert.com.au/nl06_news_selected.php?act=2&selkey=48252 Harmonisation sparks demand for OHS experts; and Employer fined $200k for isolation failure after electrocution. OHS Alert 2012-06-12T12:43:43+10:00 http://www.ohsalert.com.au/nl06_news_selected.php?act=2&selkey=48243 Queensland has warned it will not adopt model WHS laws for its mining sector "for the sake of administrative harmonisation", and is pushing, instead, to augment its current legislation with provisions of the National Mine Safety Framework. OHS Alert 2012-06-08T13:14:10+10:00 http://www.ohsalert.com.au/nl06_news_selected.php?act=2&selkey=48237 PCBUs must immediately report most eye injuries and injuries that result in "loss of bodily function" to the relevant safety regulator, and preserve the incident site until an inspector arrives, according to a new Safe Work Australia fact sheet. OHS Alert 2012-06-07T15:08:06+10:00 http://www.ohsalert.com.au/nl06_news_selected.php?act=2&selkey=48176 Consultation required before tweaking SWMSs; ABCC-abolition, maritime-safety and compensation laws progress; and NSW safety awards extended. OHS Alert 2012-05-31T15:47:28+10:00 http://www.ohsalert.com.au/nl06_news_selected.php?act=2&selkey=48160 A Senate Estimates committee has been told the transition to the WHS Act has been "relatively smooth", and that the "floodgates would open" if a federal employee's s-x injury is deemed compensable by a full Federal Court. OHS Alert 2012-05-30T13:04:47+10:00 http://www.ohsalert.com.au/nl06_news_selected.php?act=2&selkey=48099 The "best available" assessments of the model WHS Act show the new laws could save businesses $370 million a year, and that employers are not more likely to be prosecuted over incidents they could not have controlled, the Productivity Commission has found. OHS Alert 2012-05-22T15:49:33+10:00 http://www.ohsalert.com.au/nl06_news_selected.php?act=2&selkey=48081 Western Australia commits to OHS harmonisation in State budget; NSW shift caps retained under national rail safety laws; New harmonisation guide released for Tasmanian miners; and Northern Territory high-risk licences about to expire. OHS Alert 2012-05-18T15:31:21+10:00 http://www.ohsalert.com.au/nl06_news_selected.php?act=2&selkey=47984 "Consultation plans" vital under harmonised laws; Comment period for 10-year OHS strategy closing soon; SWA releases laser-safety guide; and Employers urged to consider injured applicants under $26k scheme. OHS Alert 2012-05-08T13:17:12+10:00 http://www.ohsalert.com.au/nl06_news_selected.php?act=2&selkey=47923 Guide on transitioning to new chemical-safety system released; Rail industry body denies link between long shifts and fatigue; Safe driving guide for mining sector published; and Fatality prompts warning about working alone. OHS Alert 2012-04-30T13:57:12+10:00 http://www.ohsalert.com.au/nl06_news_selected.php?act=2&selkey=47860 Harmonisation "architect" Barry Sherriff has dismissed - as "noise" - claims from some groups that PCBUs will be prosecuted under the new laws over incidents they could not have controlled. OHS Alert 2012-04-19T12:55:37+10:00