Excessive prescription of opioid medication is doubling the risk of long-term disability among injured workers, and highlights the need for workers' compensation schemes to take urgent action, says a leading occupational health researcher.
A line manager unreasonably contributed to a worker's psychiatric injury by describing a complaint against him as a "serious" allegation of "harassment" in the first minutes of the very first meeting on the issue, an appeals commission has confirmed.
The injuries sustained by a worker when he fell at a public pool, after receiving medical advice to swim to relieve a work-related back condition, did not arise in the course of his employment, a court has ruled in a novel case.
> Manslaughter offence without limitation periods introduced; > WHS Code released and new exposure threshold flagged in Qld; and > SWA releases guide for hazardous prefabricated concrete sector.
A workplace "exclusion zone" was established in a way that "invited" rather than deterred access to the area, and contributed to a work experience student's life-changing injuries, a court has found in convicting and fining a PCBU.
A short, weekly mindfulness program successfully reduced stressed among emergency despatchers with demanding schedules, suggesting such initiatives can be applied successfully to other challenging workplaces.
The Fair Work Commission has commended an employer's injury-management efforts, in the lead up to the dismissal of a worker with physical and mental injuries, who claimed she was "written off" due to her mental illness.
A WHS inspector impermissibly issued a prohibition notice with the aim of focusing a PCBU's attention on a risk instead of addressing a particular "activity", a commission has ruled in quashing the notice.
A PCBU that failed to investigate a complaint from a principal contractor's safety officer has been found guilty of WHS breaches, after a worker was seriously injured falling through a void. Another PCBU and its director were previously fined $225,000 over the incident.
BHP is educating its leaders on "chronic unease" to boost its safety culture, according to its latest sustainability report, which also details its new leading indicators and plans to improve contractor safety.
