Reports recommend focus on construction "safety in design" and safety culture; Employers urged to beware ethanol fireplaces and burners; and BHP Billiton wins emergency response competition.
In only the third case of its type, a Queensland employer has entered a $200,000 enforceable undertaking under the mirror WHS laws, after two workers were injured when a tyre exploded.
Proposed and actual major changes to the harmonised WHS Acts, as well as surprising developments in the non-harmonised states, dominated OHS Alert's pages in the second quarter of 2014. Check out this review of all the most important safety and workers' compensation news from the three months to 30 June.
A Western Australian employer that failed to ensure workers adhered to a modified elevated work platform's lifting capacity has been fined for OSH breaches, after the machine was overloaded and toppled over. Also in this article, two Queensland farm workers have been killed in vehicle incidents.
Stakeholders in the harmonised states and territories are being asked to comment on whether the model WHS laws should be amended to include stricter entry rules and less prescriptive regulations - but they've been given just days to do so.
A Queensland employer has entered into its second enforceable undertaking, in lieu of prosecution, in just over a year - this time after its workers were potentially exposed to asbestos fibres.
Safety-undertaking pool tops $24m in Qld; Vic and Tas flag mandatory jail time for assaults on police; and WA considering exemptions to successful sentencing regime.
Victoria's average workers' comp premium rate will be cut on 1 July, with early payers receiving further significant discounts. In Queensland, WorkCover has revealed that miners will be among those who benefit the most from its recent decision to slash the average premium rate to the lowest in the country.
