Employers are being urged to prepare for the new version of the Australian Dangerous Goods Code, while the Federal Government has announced that researchers will conduct alertness tests on heavy vehicle drivers, under an $828,000 fatigue-reduction project.
Australian employers have been granted permission to supply or accept chemicals that don't comply with the new global labelling system after 1 January, while NSW has granted a number of exemptions from the system. Meanwhile, Safe Work Australia has explained how Australian Standards interact with WHS laws.
Fines for failing to comply with OHS record-keeping obligations could be increased, under legislative amendments flagged in the Victorian Government's response to the Fiskville inquiry.
Unions have called for reckless managers to be jailed for worker fatalities, and for offshore safety laws to be strengthened, after a major employer was handed a "paltry" fatality fine, and an investigation into an offshore death found the workplace wasn't covered by Australian OHS laws.
A second employer has entered an enforceable undertaking relating to the accidental release of 157,205 litres of petrol from a storage tank, committing $400,000 to supervisor upskilling, a competency management smartcard system and other initiatives.
Another major study - this time from Australia - has found a significant association between legal levels of workplace diesel exhaust and lung cancer, prompting calls for more stringent occupational exposure limits.
