WorkCover SA to be scrapped and replaced; Seven-step safety guide released; New Victorian dangerous goods Code commences; and Explosives and dozer alerts issued in Qld and WA.
WA death could have been prevented with $1000 investment; Inspectors focus on non-compliant sleeper cabs; Gardeners warned of Legionella risk; SA police to be protected by new blood-test laws; and Draft electrical safety guide released for comment.
In this update, OHS Alert recaps all the important OHS and workers' compensation legislative changes made in the third quarter of 2013. We also point subscribers to the most significant court and tribunal rulings and other developments in each jurisdiction.
The definition of "worker" in Western Australia will be changed - for workers' compensation purposes - to explicitly exclude independent contractors, under a plan to replace the State's 30-year-old workers' comp Act with a new statute.
Qld employers urged to check validity of safety summonses; Cancer compensation laws pass in Tas, trudge forward in SA; and Caution urged after concrete panel incidents and welding explosion.
WA employer fined $100k after worker injured in foreseeable explosion; NT, Qld and WA regulators issue alerts after death and other incidents; and SA inspectors to focus on high-risk work licences.
WA budget quiet on mirror WHS Act; DMP strengthened with additional safety inspectors; and New ACT Industrial Court will improve workplace safety, says Corbell.
OHS Alert website upgrades; WA safety inspectors targeting high-hazard sector; Workplace injury rate falling in Tasmania; and Safety alert issued after NSW gas well incident.
