An investigation report on a vehicle collision at a workplace, whose operator was recently charged over another collision that seriously injured a labour-hire worker, has called for employers to establish segregated roadways and apply engineering controls.
In light of the ongoing catastrophic bushfires in NSW and other parts of the country, a WHS regulator has urged employers to revise their emergency plans to ensure they comply with safety laws and protect workers. Meanwhile, a company director has been prosecuted after two workers were seriously injured within two hours on a non-commissioned machine.
An award-winning employer reduced its near miss rate from an average of 18 per month to two, by creating multiple lines of communication with every one of its 250 subcontractors and convincing them of the benefits of safety, its WHS manager says.
An organisation performing high-risk work "removed blame" from incident investigations and focused on learning from frontline workers, according to its people and risk general manager, who says 99 per cent of its employees perceive the workplace as safe.
An employer had a valid reason to sack a health and safety representative after a dispute over a new mobile phone policy, but the dismissal was harsh because he had attempted to avoid conflict, a commission has found.
In the period leading up to one of the worst industrial disasters in Australian history, workers on the project raised many safety concerns that were ignored by their employers, according to a labour historian.
A judge has upheld a $9,000 fine in a "somewhat curious" prosecution involving the WHS duty to "consult workers". He also disagreed with a landmark finding that Queensland's WHS fines should be consistent with those in the other harmonised jurisdictions.
New WHS and workers' comp standards have commenced or been postponed in three jurisdictions, while two jurisdictions have issued confined space alerts after three deaths and an electric shock.
