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The organisations and sectors that will be allowed an additional year to transition to the model WHS Regulations are yet to be determined, leaving employers with little choice but to prepare for a 1 January 2012 commencement date, according to OHS lawyer Michael Tooma.

WorkCover NSW should make it harder for injured workers to claim damages for permanent impairment, or risk the development of an unsustainable "lump sum culture", a PricewaterhouseCoopers report has recommended.

Victorian employer handed hefty safety fine for scaffolding breach; South Australian employer fined for confined-space confusion; and Comcare reports falling funds and increasing premiums.

Only one jurisdiction - South Australia - is on track to reach the target set by the 2002-2012 National OHS Strategy for reducing workplace injury rates, according to Safe Work Australia's latest comparative report.

WorkCover SA reports profit and static premium rate; CFMEU could appeal important drug-test ruling; and Quad bikes by far the biggest killer on farms.

Worker handed record safety fine over Aboriginal elder's death; NSW promises tougher laws after Orica spill deemed "not serious"; and Supervisor's unsafe act a lesson to high-risk industries.

"Fake" WorkSafe psychologist jailed for five years; Builders back Victoria's "odd" harmonisation demands; WA premiums to increase for the second time in three months; and Queensland mining sector announces falling injury rate, issues three safety alerts.

Safe Work Australia has released harmonisation guides on the interpretation and application of the terms PCBU and "reasonably practicable", and on the duties of officers. It has also found that nearly one in three employees in high-risk industries "get so involved" in their work they forget about safety.

Injured workers who have a return-to-work plan with staged goals developed for them - and are given help to follow it - are significantly more likely to return to and stay in their jobs, a new report has found.

A transport regulator chief has called for employers to provide safer environments, saying safety management systems are often ignored, and heavy vehicles are over-represented in rail-related accidents causing death.