NSW's workers' comp overhaul Bills have passed Parliament, with amendments that ensure emergency workers receive the benefits of the changes and the Dust Diseases Board continues to fund research into disease prevention and treatment.
A NSW employer and its director have been ordered to pay more than $110,000 in fines and costs for illegally dumping asbestos and other waste, while another employer has been ordered to pay nearly $90,000 for exposing workers in a neighbouring industrial estate to harmful fumes. In Western Australia, an employer has been fined for allowing work to be performed with unsafe tools.
The binding UK authority on personal injury claims shows that an asbestos-related cause of action accrues when the damage becomes "more than negligible", regardless of whether it is detectable at the time, the High Court of Australia has been told.
The ACTU is calling for tougher laws to prevent employers and others from sourcing asbestos-containing products from the internet, while Master Builders Australia has applauded the Asbestos Safety and Eradication Agency's revised asbestos-removal plan.
The High Court will determine whether a mesothelioma-related cause of action arises at the time asbestos is inhaled or when the symptoms of the disease become apparent, after an employer was granted special leave to appeal against a $425,000 damages award.
