A PCBU that "dismissed" warnings concerning the proximity of powerlines at a worksite has been fined $600,000, and ordered to fund a safety education video, after becoming the second entity to be convicted over a labourer's electric-shock death.
A union and three of its officers have been fined a total of nearly $500,000 for unlawful industrial action at a site, which included persisting with a stop-work meeting after safety concerns, to do with lighting on a stairway, were dismissed by a safety regulator.
Worksites will be required to remove offensive materials like sexist graffiti, and provide proper amenities for female workers, under a trial of an Australian-first "Culture Standard" in an industry notorious for high mental illness rates and physical injuries.
With the introduction of industrial manslaughter provisions in multiple states and territories, a WHS lawyer has examined the relationship between the laws and contractor management duties.
Two PCBUs with shared WHS duties at a major mine have entered enforceable undertakings to avoid prosecution, in relation to an unintentional-blasting incident that forced mine personnel into refuge chambers.
A coroner has recommended mandating the use of "secondary guarding technology" on all elevated work platforms (EWPs), following an inquiry into the death of a worker who was crushed between an EWP's guardrail and a roof truss.
A worker previously fined $100,000 for WHS breaches that resulted in a newborn baby dying, and another suffering severe permanent injuries, has been charged with manslaughter by criminal negligence.
A coronial inquiry has a found worker sustained fatal injuries after he inadvertently touched high-voltage powerlines with a tape measure from within a "no go zone", and examined engineering controls for preventing such incidents.
A Fair Work Commission full bench has quashed a ruling that a gig economy worker was an employee protected by unfair dismissal laws, rejecting the man's claim that the WHS rules imposed on him by Deliveroo were inconsistent with an independent contracting arrangement.
A PCBU has been prosecuted and fined for failing to ensure forklift loads were properly secured when raised onto high racking, while a company and one of its workers have been fined for breaching safety laws and the "Wiring Rules".
