The Queensland Coroner has, in an inquest into a worker's death, called for employers to treat workers as casualties as soon as they're affected by heat, criticised "buddy" systems, and said he was "startled" to discover that there was no construction-industry standard relating to high temperatures.
An employer has reduced its high rate of sprains and strains and improved return-to-work outcomes through an early-intervention program specifically targeting older workers.
Regulators should "join the criminal law dots" to ensure accommodation workplaces don't get away with WHS breaches, while legislators should develop guidance for these workplaces and amend the definition of "notifiable incident", according to a former WorkSafe Victoria prosecuting solicitor.
Australian researchers have developed a five-week workplace intervention program that they say increases worker resilience and improves safety during organisational change.
A review prompted by the re-emergence of the incurable work disease, black lung, has found that miners who show signs of respiratory illness aren't advised to avoid exposure to dust, and company doctors aren't required to have a comprehensive knowledge of work environments.
Employers have been urged to ensure job rotation includes tasks that aren't physically taxing, after researchers found blue-collar workers who perform multiple physically demanding tasks are at significant risk of long-term sick leave.
Workers in the health sector are at significant risk of being bullied and harassed because employers are failing to tackle the issue through risk management frameworks or hold senior staff accountable for inappropriate behaviour, the Victorian Auditor-General has found.
An intervention that enforced the proper use of safety gloves significantly reduced workers' exposure to hazardous chemicals and the risk of developing occupational skin disease, Belgian researchers say.
