A machine operator was crushed to death while cleaning an industrial blender more than 12 months after an audit identified a lack of guarding on the plant as a "high priority" issue, the NSW Industrial Court has heard.
Senior lawyer calls for laws to "stop bullying in its tracks"; Safety trainer fined $121K after explosion injures six people; Victorian employers to pay $110K over missing handrail; and WA employer fined for interlock and training failures after amputation.
Western Australian employer fined for isolation failure after 15-year-old permanently injured; and Western Australia and the Northern Territory step up synthetic cannabis bans.
Near-maximum safety fines handed to a South Australian employer and a director following the 2006 Gladstone factory explosion - which killed three workers - are likely to be reduced, after the Industrial Relations Court found the cause of the explosion was not as clear cut as a magistrate found it to be.
A coronial investigation into the death of a Tasmanian worker has highlighted the importance of regularly assessing the competency of staff, no matter how extensive their experience. It has also demonstrated the limited utility of personal protective equipment.
Employers fined for ignoring Codes of Practice; Safety reviews urged after three horror incidents in 24 hours; OHS prosecutions to be fast-tracked in Victorian blitz; and South Australia offers $412K in OHS research grants.
The manufacturer of a piece of equipment has been ordered to pay half of an injured Tasmanian worker's $400,000 damages bill, after the Supreme Court found it had been obliged, during the design process, to consider the safety of inattentive users.
Two NSW employers that allowed standing on a moving conveyor to become a "routine process" have been fined a total of $200,000, after a worker suffered shocking leg injuries.