Big changes to safety legislation and the FWC's first anti-bullying decisions rank among OHS Alert's most popular and important stories from the first quarter of 2014. Check this recap to make sure you didn't miss any news affecting your workplace.

The update also looks at recent changes to workers' compensation laws and other news from every jurisdiction in the first three months of the year.

Each brief summary contains a link to the original article (which might be contained within a larger set of news briefs), and below the round-up we've included a list of some of our most-read stories from the January to March period.

You can access any of our quarterly updates (going back to 2004) directly from our WHS Links page at any time. Add it to your favourites list now for easy reference later.

• Commonwealth/National
• Australian Capital Territory
• New South Wales
• Northern Territory
• Queensland
• South Australia
• Tasmania
• Victoria
• Western Australia
• Popular articles

Commonwealth/National

The Fair Work Commission ordered a workplace bully to refrain from commenting on his victim's appearance, as well as imposing a condition on the victim, in its first substantive anti-bullying order. OHS Alert revealed that workers could be bound by stop-bullying orders indefinitely, with the FWC not being required to apply expiry dates.

In a "test case", the FWC found it could consider incidents that occurred before its anti-bullying jurisdiction took effect (on 1 January 2014) when determining anti-bullying applications. However, the application at the centre of the test case was later dismissed, after the Commission found the applicant worker's employer wasn't a constitutionally-covered business.

The Federal Government introduced an SRC Amendment Bill to make it easier for multi-state employers to join the Comcare scheme, and to remove compensation for off-site recess injuries and deaths or serious injuries arising from wilful misconduct.

The model WHS Regulations were updated to incorporate 63 technical amendments, while Safe Work Australia added 10 new chemicals to its Hazardous Substances Information System. Meanwhile, the Employment Minister axed the grants that allowed employer groups and unions to represent their members on SWA's tripartite body.

Employers were advised to assess whether they were part of the road transport chain of responsibility (CoR), with the Heavy Vehicle National Law taking effect on 10 February. The NTC later flagged plans to expand the CoR provisions to capture all managers and workers who "exert influence on on-road activities".

The Federal Safety Commissioner proposed dumping the requirement for builders to obtain AS/NZS 4801:2001 certification before tendering for Commonwealth contracts, while the Productivity Commission called for submissions on a plan to amend the FSC scheme to make it easier for safe overseas construction companies to bid for Australian projects.

The Fair Work Commission rejected an employer's renewed push to replace its workplace saliva tests for drugs and alcohol with urine tests, despite a national association's decision to suspend accreditation for saliva testing.

The FWC found a worker with depression was lawfully sacked after repeatedly abusing a manager, but it slammed his employer's "inhumane" response to his requests for a health-related transfer.

The Federal Circuit Court ordered the Republic of Lebanon to pay more than $500,000 to a former employee of its Sydney consulate, after she was bullied, harassed, underpaid and sacked while on stress leave.

In a long-running dispute, a full Federal Court rejected an injured worker's claim that Comcare should buy him a modified motor vehicle. A different Federal Court full bench dismissed Comcare's claim that it could reduce an injured worker's benefits based on the superannuation he was entitled to but hadn't received.

A Safe Work Australia fatality report confirmed that work deaths increased in the lead-up to Christmas, while a second report showed that the number of infringement notices issued by OHS regulators was falling.

A survey found that OHS managers' salaries were likely to stagnate or fall this year.

Australian Capital Territory

An employer was ordered to pay $1.4 million in damages to a worker who sustained a manual handling injury, after the Supreme Court found its director didn't instruct older workers to safely lift heavy objects because he was worried he wouldn't be "well liked".

An employer that allowed workers to manually unload and carry 48kg scaffolding transoms without assistance was ordered to pay an injured worker $752,000 in damages. Meanwhile, a worker whose foot was crushed by a telehandler was awarded $701,000, after a Court rejected his employer's claim that the worker should have devised a safer system for moving materials.

The maximum fine for construction companies and developers that failed to comply with building defect rectification orders was increased 10-fold, from $140,000 to $1.4 million.

WorkSafe warned that employers that failed to maintain their compulsory workers' comp policies could be ordered to pay up to double the premium they otherwise owed. (It subsequently revealed that it regularly imposed the maximum penalty.)

New South Wales

An employer successfully defended a fatality-related OHS charge, after the District Court found its failure to document a risk assessment, or supervise the highly experienced worker (who died) at all times, didn't constitute breaches.

A labour-hire company whose employee was killed while performing an amended task was acquitted of safety breaches, after the IRC found it couldn't have known about the risks associated with the amendments because they weren't considered until shortly before the incident occurred.

The NSW Police Force was fined $350,000 for its ninth OHS conviction since 2002, after three officers were directed to work in a fumy drug vault without PPE. Meanwhile, the State roads authority was fined $175,000 for failing to ensure a supervisor and appropriate signage were in place for maintenance work on a freeway, after a worker was fatally struck by a vehicle.

The State Government announced that all trucks that carried dangerous goods would have to be fitted with electronic stability controls by January 2019, while a major road transport company was charged with more than 300 safety and registration breaches.

The mine safety regulator revealed that its investigation into a trainee worker's death was examining whether vehicle collision-prevention controls used at mines relied too heavily on "human behaviour". Meanwhile, Mine Safety urged employers to look beyond "soft" controls to prevent the interaction of light vehicles and heavy machinery, after a ute was crushed by a 100-tonne dozer.

The Minerals Council urged employers to train supervisors to identify mental ill health, and resist "macho" cultures, in a new "blueprint" for mental health and wellbeing.

An employer that told a worker to "stop wearing a skirt" when he complained about his arduous manual handling tasks was found liable for the man's serious back injury. Meanwhile, an employer that ignored an injured worker's concerns about repetitively manoeuvring heavy objects, while lying on his stomach in a confined space, was ordered to pay him damages.

The NSW Dust Diseases Tribunal awarded a mesothelioma sufferer $350,000 in general damages, effectively increasing the maximum level of such damages by more than 20 per cent.

The WCC identified the type of claim that would be accepted under NSW's new restricted journey provisions, in awarding workers' compensation to a service station employee who was injured while travelling home in the dark, after being required to work late.

Northern Territory

An employer that could have "easily and inexpensively" prevented a van explosion - which killed a worker - unsuccessfully argued in the Supreme Court that its $120,000 OHS fine was manifestly excessive.

A Darwin employer failed to convince the Federal Court that four union officials couldn't sue it for allegedly breaching the entry provisions of the Fair Work Act, because they had sought to enter its site to investigate suspected breaches of the Territory's mirror WHS Act.

The Territory Government announced that 121 people had been subjected to harsh penalties, including jail time, since special laws were introduced to protect workers from violence in May last year.

WorkSafe advised that many high-risk work licences issued in the early 2000s were due to expire at the end of the financial year, while licences issued in the five years to 2010 would expire in June 2015.

Queensland

The State Government introduced a WHS Amendment Bill in February to require unions to give 24 hours' notice before entering workplaces, to prevent HSRs from halting unsafe work, and to increase electrical safety fines by 650 per cent. (The Bill passed through Parliament in April.)

Workplace Health and Safety Queensland advised employers that they were now required by the State's mirror WHS Act to provide isolated workers with "a system of work that includes effective communication". The regulator also warned PCBUs that they were obligated to assess the risk of work at all heights, including less than two metres.

An employer was found guilty of breaching the State's mirror WHS Act in a case which, according to a lawyer, included a "very strict application of the duty of care", and highlighted the importance of disputing questionable improvement notices.

The owner of a research facility was placed on a $10,000 good behaviour bond, after pleading guilty to breaching the WHS Act in potentially exposing workers and members of the public to the deadly bat lyssavirus.

The Coroner found a worker was killed as a result of her employer directing her to use a faulty cherry picker for "a purpose contrary to its design". Meanwhile, the Coroner called for policy makers to do more to improve safety cultures in small businesses, after a marketing manager was dragged into and killed by an unguarded ball mill.

The Mine Safety and Health Commissioner issued a special alert to warn against using multiple OHS management systems at mines, after eight workers, including five contractors, were killed at Australian mine sites in six months.

A young mine worker was awarded $1.4 million in damages after she injured her back in a dump truck incident, and then aggravated her injuries in another truck incident during her second day in alternative duties.

A worker who was injured during a 10-minute interruption to his journey between work and home was awarded workers' compensation, after the IRC found his employer gave "implied consent" to the deviation.

A nurse was awarded workers' compensation after the IRC found her depression and PTSD were aggravated by her manager's swearing and shouting. Meanwhile, a mine worker who claimed he couldn't work on Saturdays because he had "re-engaged" with his religious faith was denied compensation for stress, after the Commission found his employer acted reasonably in offering him a weekday roster with considerably less pay.

South Australia

The State Government released its plan for overhauling the "buggered" WorkCover scheme, which included introducing common law access and capping benefits for "less seriously" injured workers. (The Government later promised to introduce a Bill to replace the current workers' comp Act by July.)

WorkCover announced that the State's high workers' comp premium rates wouldn't be reduced without legislative reform. It later confirmed that the average rate would remain at 2.75 per cent of payroll for 2014-15.

In a state-of-connection dispute, a judge found that a worker who lived in Queensland and was injured while working in Western Australia for a South Australian employer should be compensated by WorkCover SA.

The wife of a worker who had a heart attack at home before dying at work three days later was awarded compensation in the WCT.

An employer was acquitted of an OHS charge after a judge found it never "endorsed, encouraged, promoted or even suggested" that workers or a supervisor should perform an unsafe manual task.

An employer that made "some serious attempts" to comply with its safety obligations, but relied on "weak" controls, was fined $75,000 after a teenage overseas worker was dragged into a machine. Meanwhile, two employers and a director were fined a total of more than $110,000 for height and interlock breaches, after two workers suffered serious hand and arm injuries.

A major employer that believed its goods lift was safe - despite maintenance reports suggesting the contrary - was fined nearly $60,000 after a worker fell 16 metres down the lift shaft.

Employers were urged to ask visiting work health and safety inspectors for identification, after two people pretending to be inspectors threatened to fine companies and workers for WHS breaches. SafeWork warned that people impersonating inspectors could be fined up to $10,000.

John Rau retained his positions of Attorney-General and Industrial Relations Minister - overseeing SafeWork and WorkCover - after Labor won the State election.

Tasmania

A Commissioner found an employer's decision to dispute a workers' comp claim was inappropriate and "obviously motivated" by its insurer's reluctance to indemnify those it insured.

The WRCT found surveillance footage showing an injured worker "functioning in a normal manner" didn't undermine her workers' comp claim.

An employer won the first stage of a compensation dispute involving a worker whose nasal cancer arose from being exposed to timber dust for 48 years before joining the company.

Employers were reminded that they now needed to seek information on OHS, workers' compensation, workplace wellbeing and long-service leave from WorkSafe Tasmania, following last year's amalgamation of WorkCover and Workplace Standards.

Victoria

Three employers were fined a total of $950,000 for separate OHS breaches, after one worker drowned in a sewerage channel, another was fatally crushed by a steel panel inside a shipping container, and a third sustained fatal head injuries when he fell from an extension ladder.

Two employers were ordered to pay a total of more than $100,000 in fines and costs for guarding breaches, after a worker's arm was amputated, while a repeat OHS offender was fined $70,000, after an employee was directed to work in a dark area and fell into an open pit.

The State Government announced plans to amend the construction industry's Code of Practice to require employers to test their workers for drugs and alcohol to be eligible for Government contracts.

A court found the Victorian Office of Public Prosecutions took adverse action against a solicitor - because of his physical or mental disability - when it sacked him for misconduct after his bouts of depression affected his performance, attendance and conduct.

The Supreme Court found a WorkCover medical panel acted unreasonably in failing to let an injured worker explain the inconsistencies between her medical history and surveillance footage that showed her "moving freely", and then deciding her condition was no longer serious.

In a long-running case, a court found a worker's parents were 80 per cent liable for a back injury he sustained while working on their tobacco farm.

In another ongoing damages dispute, the Court of Appeal rejected an employer's claim that a young injured worker - who could neither sit nor stand "for any significant length of time" - was capable of performing light duties such as traffic controlling.

A Supreme Court judge found WorkCover was entitled to recover almost all of the damages obtained by a seriously injured worker under Commonwealth law, and expressed regret that his decision would disadvantage the worker.

An injured worker's wife, who invoiced WorkSafe for $16,000 worth of home help and gardening services that never occurred, was ordered to repay the money and placed on a two-year adjourned undertaking.

Western Australia

The Western Australian DMP announced that harmonised WHS laws for the State resources sector were likely to take effect in early 2015. (It later revealed the Government would probably introduce mirror WHS Bills for both the resources sector and general industry by September this year.)

The number of workers' comp offences attracting on-the-spot fines was expanded to 35, with employers now facing penalties of up to $400 per employee for failing to maintain an insurance policy.

A Perth employer and its director were fined $41,500 for pressuring a worker to resign and then sacking him - to avoid paying his sick leave entitlements - after he was diagnosed with cancer.

An employer lost its indemnity claim against a vehicle manufacturer, and was ordered to pay an injured worker $800,000 in damages, after a judge found the broken service door on a leased truck was its responsibility.

The Court of Appeal found employers weren't required to conduct weekly inspections of non-slip strips on stairs, in rejecting a worker's damages claim. Meanwhile, a tribunal found that a worker who was injured while working in Western Australia for a South Australian employer should be compensated by WorkCover SA.

An employer was fined $80,000 for OSH breaches, after a poorly trained Chinese worker, who was supervised by an inexperienced worker with limited English, was fatally crushed while oxy-cutting an excavator bucket.

The Supreme Court found that a trial judge, in acquitting a major employer of OSH charges, failed to consider whether additional signage at a mine could have prevented the death of an apprentice in a vehicle collision, and ordered a retrial.

A DMP audit found mining workers often entered confined spaces without reviewing risk assessments or notifying emergency-response personnel. A DMP report also showed the majority of incidents involving dangerous goods were caused by human error, while the Western Australian Institute for Medical Research found two in five workers were exposed to carcinogens.

A survey found the average annual salaries of project or state-level OSH and HSE managers in Western Australia had dropped by nearly $50,000 since 2012-13.

And make sure you didn't miss...

Some of OHS Alert's most-viewed articles during the January to March quarter include:

• Is your workplace safety culture toxic?
• Bullied worker wins $500k; and Qld WHS prosecution
• Conditions imposed on bully and victim in first FWC order
• Menopausal women have special OHS needs
• Safety salaries plummet in some states, creep up in others
• Officers must collect "positive" safety indicators
• Two workers, two health conditions, two fair dismissals
• Employers found not guilty after death and amputation
• Notice reviews recommended in wake of WHS verdict
• Sixty-three amendments made to WHS Regulations
• Do your managers swear at work?
• Cherry picker used as crane substitute, employee killed
• Heart attack at home led to work-related death
• TRIFR plummets under new life-saving rules
• Legislation and cases update - Q4 2013

Did we miss anything? Send your comments or feedback on this article to the editor, Brad Hamilton, at brad@ohsalert.com.au.

Remember, all of our quarterly updates, dating back to December 2004, are available on our WHS Links page.