Employers should embrace rather than oppose safety-related union entry rights, because officials usually enforce the safety standards mandated by company policies, a union leader has said in response to Queensland's new WHS changes.
Queensland's WHS Amendment Bill has passed through Parliament, with the Bill's architect - the Attorney-General - repeating his seemingly incongruous boast that work injury rates are falling under the current laws. Meanwhile, Safe Work Australia is keeping tight-lipped on its position on the Queensland changes.
A Parliamentary Committee recommends passing Queensland's WHS Amendment Bill, which aims to make regulators the "first port of call" for workers with safety concerns by reducing the powers of HSRs and unions, but it says employers will have to pay for additional inspectors.
An employer has been found guilty of breaching Queensland's mirror WHS Act in a case, according to a leading safety lawyer, that demonstrates how important it is for companies to challenge questionable prohibition or improvement notices.
Queensland health and safety reps will be forbidden from halting unsafe work, unions will be hobbled by tighter entry rules, and maximum fines for electrical safety breaches will be 650 per cent higher, under a Bill introduced to the Queensland Parliament yesterday.
New Queensland electrical safety laws and South Australian WHS Regulations take effect in the coming weeks, while Safe Work Australia has released two more draft model Codes of Practice.
Many workers will be reluctant to speak up about safety issues for fear of reprisal if Safe Work Australia accepts Queensland's proposed changes to right-of-entry laws, according to the ACTU.
Queensland has confirmed that a host of transitional arrangements for its mirror WHS Regulation will be extended by 12 months, while two model Codes of Practice will take effect in less than two weeks.
