A company and its director have been fined nearly $160,000 after two young workers, including a work experience student, were injured in an explosion after being directed to mix hazardous chemicals in a home-made contraption.
An engineer and his company have been fined a total of $230,000 for breaching WHS laws in providing untested advice to a high-risk project, which led to an incident that could have killed two workers.
With the release of the national "roadmap" out of coronavirus restrictions, a senior WHS lawyer has urged employers to consult with workers and HSRs, identify COVID-19 risk factors unique to their business, and implement "pandemic plans" for positive diagnoses and transitioning workers back to remote work if the situation deteriorates.
The worker convicted and a fined over the Sydney hospital gas incidents that killed one newborn baby, and severely injured another, could have averted the tragedies by conducting the simple tests he was qualified and paid to perform, the sentencing remarks show.
An appeals court has upheld and then increased a worker's $2 million damages award, in finding an employer should have tagged out or stored away defective equipment, which was so loud when it was accidentally activated that it seriously injured the startled worker.
The ACTU has demanded that the states and territories amend their WHS laws to mandate workplace social distancing rules and other controls before COVID-19 restrictions are eased. Meanwhile, employers and unions have agreed to amend a modern award with safety provisions to help businesses survive the pandemic, and the Federal Government has released draft laws to codify privacy protections around its COVIDSafe app.
A PCBU has been found guilty of WHS breaches after a structure it erected fatally crushed a worker, with a court rejecting its claim it wasn't responsible for any post-erection safety control measures.
