The NSW Court of Appeal has ordered a workers' compensation case be reheard after it found a trial judge misapplied the burden of proof, failed to explain her reasons for assessment and awarded excessive damages to an injured worker.
The death of a construction worker last week has prompted WA Employment Protection Minister John Kobelke to call for an examination of ways to improve OHS in the tilt-up construction sector.
The SA Workers Compensation Tribunal has found an employer that stopped paying workers' compensation to a partially incapacitated worker "misconstrued" the Act's meaning of the term "returned to work".
The NSW government is considering moves to improve compliance and reduce workers' compensation and payroll tariffs by streamlining the definition of "worker" for the purposes of both systems.
Drug testing is only one of many tools available to employers to improve OHS and employers should remain focussed on unsafe behaviour, rather than drug use, according to BHP Steel OHS and Risk manager, Dr Chris Darling.
Workplace drug and alcohol policies tend to work better when developed in consultation with employees, according to Australian Industry Group senior adviser Stuart Gordon.
A recent case involving a gravedigger who was seriously injured when a grave collapsed highlights the need for employers to ensure below-ground work is properly shored.
Construction industry unions that boycotted the Cole Royal Commission's OHS conference last week have put forward their own list of recommendations for improving OHS in the industry.
