Employers will no longer be required to obtain AS/NZS 4801:2001 certification before tendering for Commonwealth construction projects, under a plan to free up the Federal Safety Commissioner to target unsafe companies.
In this update, OHS Alert examines the most important workplace safety and workers' comp news from the third quarter of 2014, including Safe Work Australia's controversial decision to dump draft Codes of Practice in favour of guidance packages, and other legislative developments.
Employers are being reminded, on World Mental Health Day today, that they will receive an average return of $2.30 for every dollar they invest in workplace mental health initiatives, while those that do nothing are likely to have higher absence and claims rates.
A new Safe Work Australia report has found that regulators conducted 135,000 workplace visits and handed out nearly 47,000 notices in 2012-13, but the number of reactive visits is decreasing in some jurisdictions.
A full Federal Court has found that an injured worker should be paid the equivalent of just 12 hours of pay per week in compensation, in overturning an earlier decision to base her "normal weekly earnings" on the hours she worked before a 2008 car accident.
