A court has examined the scope of a principal contractor's safety duties to the employees of subcontractors, in rejecting an injured worker's claim that the principal should have prevented his employer from requiring him to work in cramped spaces.
A worker has been awarded more than $1.1 million in damages, after her employer's instructions against lifting heavy stock were not relayed to staff, causing her to suffer incapacitating back injuries.
Gig economy companies are often accused of circumventing health and safety duties through their contracting structures, but draft guidance from a special taskforce shows these companies, their workers and businesses that utilise their services have obligations under existing WHS laws.
An employer failed to take reasonable care of a worker in allowing unqualified personnel to operate mobile machinery, but was not responsible for the injuries the worker sustained after he threw a heavy object at an inexperienced operator, a court has found.
An analysis of 459 workplace cleaning and disinfection products has identified dozens of respiratory irritants and sensitisers that weren't labelled as such on the provided safety data sheets, showing employers need to look beyond these documents to protect staff from potentially irreversible health problems.
A PCBU has unsuccessfully contended its fatality-related WHS charges should be dismissed for being "ambiguous" and "prolix". A superior court found the particulars of the charges clearly accused the PCBU of failing to ensure workers complied with safety rules for confined spaces, and creating the risk of almost certain death to any worker who fell because of that failure.
In an important study for Australian WHS duty holders, US researchers have demonstrated that workers' bodies can quickly heat up during hot days, countering the common belief among employers that workers are safe from heat risks in the morning.
With the release of plans for rolling out Australia's COVID-19 vaccination program, and the launch of Safe Work Australia's vaccination guidance, employers are being urged to maintain proven pandemic controls and to play a key role in driving the take-up of vaccines.
A major company has been ordered to pay more than $1.2 million in damages to a worker, after he sustained disabling injuries falling into a hidden ditch because of the company's failure to mark or cordon off the hole, or remove the need to access the area.
