Harmonised WHS Acts have commenced in South Australia and Tasmania, while in other jurisdictions new Codes of Practice have taken effect, and some transitional arrangements have expired or been extended.
Many supervisors have a poor understanding of how to identify, assess and mitigate OHS risks, according to the ACT construction-industry inquiry, which urges employers to "move beyond the usual reactive focus on human error" when it comes to safety.
An ACT employer has been ordered to pay more than $185,000 in damages to a worker who was placed in a high-risk role on the day she returned to work after being absent with a psychological injury.
In this update, OHS Alert outlines all the important OHS and workers' compensation legislative changes made in the third quarter of 2012. We also recap the most significant court and tribunal rulings and other developments in each jurisdiction.
Workplaces around Australia were subjected to 79,290 "proactive" visits from OHS inspectors in 2010/11 - more than 217 visits a day, according to a new Safe Work Australia report.
Safe Work Week events underway; SWA releases fatality report, serious-claim fact sheets and nanomaterial documents; and NSW employers given three months to improve their RTW programs.
An employer that allowed debris to be left in a poorly lit area is one of four companies that have been ordered to pay more than $870,000 in damages to an ACT worker who was injured in two incidents.
Another employer fined over inadequately guarded machine; Killed workers remembered and reported in four jurisdictions; and Closing date extended for safety ambassador of the year nominations.
