When it comes to tackling fatigue, OHS professionals tend to focus on shift workers, but new Australian research shows that thousands of parents who work standard hours are frequently exhausted and vulnerable to injury.
NSW might have been one of the first jurisdictions to pass and enact a mirror Work Health and Safety Act, but the COAG Reform Council has accused it of joining Victoria and Western Australia in "undoing" the harmonisation process. Also in this article, Safe Work Australia has launched new WHS resources for volunteers and HSRs.
SWA urged to keep non-core drug testing rules out of mining Regulations; Reports on reducing risks of laser printer emissions released; and SafeWork SA investigating manufacturing death.
SWA releases harmonisation Q&A on volunteers; NT employers fined over Canadian worker's death; Queensland Govt warns against mine-safety-levy cut, is accused of rushing harmonised WHS laws; Western Australia's new workers' comp dispute system gets underway; and WorkSafe WA releases FIFO fatigue alert.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
SafeWork SA is likely to prosecute more employers more swiftly for OHS breaches, after the South Australian Government promised to implement every recommendation contained in a Robin Stewart-Crompton report.
