Two employers that were fined for OHS breaches after a worker's leg was amputated have now been ordered to pay the man more than $2.2 million in damages.
Introducing or changing drug and alcohol policies that include testing regimes create both opportunities and challenges for employers, which must consider consultation, privacy and a host of other matters throughout the process, an international law firm says.
National Mental Health Commission chair Professor Allan Fels has called for employers to prioritise reducing the "huge impact" of mental ill health on productivity, and released a major report outlining six strategies for creating mentally healthy workplaces.
Workers who are exposed to the most adverse working conditions know less than those in lower-risk roles about safety, European researchers have found. They have also identified a link between active regulators and "favourable" safety climates.
A major mining company that introduced 12 "life-saving choices" under its fatality-prevention program has reduced its total recordable injury frequency rate by 21 per cent, but two of its contractors were killed in 2013-14.
An employer has been ordered to pay nearly $700,000 in damages to a contract driver who injured his back while unloading jammed pallets from a truck, after a judge found the man was unlikely to complain about poorly packed loads for fear of losing work.
A major infrastructure project has set a new OHS benchmark for project work by adopting safety as a core value from the inception stage, and requiring potential contractors to identify risk control measures during the tender process, according to specialist safety advisor Kevin Jones.
Thiess Pty Ltd has entered into its third enforceable undertaking - and escaped prosecution - relating to the incident-ridden construction of Brisbane's Airport Link, this time after a worker was killed.
