Commonwealth to ban synthetic cannabis detected in workers; WorkSafe Victoria to target employers without workers' comp cover; and Western Australian employers fined for electricity and notice breaches.
Master Builders Australia has urged the Senate to reject any changes to the Commonwealth Work Health and Safety Bill, which was introduced to the House of Reps this morning. Also in this article, Master Builders has called for the Federal Safety Commissioner's accreditation scheme to be reviewed before harmonised laws take effect.
In this update, OHS Alert outlines all the important OHS and workers' compensation legislative changes made in the second quarter of 2011. We also recap the most significant court and tribunal rulings and other developments in each jurisdiction.
Employers fined for ignoring Codes of Practice; Safety reviews urged after three horror incidents in 24 hours; OHS prosecutions to be fast-tracked in Victorian blitz; and South Australia offers $412K in OHS research grants.
New discrimination laws have broadened the definition of s-xual harassment and could expose unwary employers to claims of harassment, breach of contract and misleading or deceptive conduct, a lawyer has warned.
An ACT employer, which claims it received incorrect advice on right-of-entry laws from an "industry body", has been fined for denying two union officials access to a worksite to investigate safety concerns.
In this article, OHS Alert reports on high-risk licences, fatality reports, safety alerts, contractor guidelines that will apply from 1 July, and other OHS news from across the country.
The NSW Minerals Council has welcomed the State Government's plan to ban synthetic cannabis, and says it will test workers for the drug in the coming weeks.
