Qantas Ground Services Pty Ltd has been found guilty of engaging in unlawful discriminatory conduct against an elected health and safety representative during the emergence of COVID-19, with a judge ruling that consultation failings on the HSR's part did not invalidate his cease-work directions or help Qantas's defence.
An employer has been ordered to pay more than $268,000 in damages and compensation to a harassed and victimised worker, with a court rejecting its claim its director's overtures towards the worker, who developed a psychiatric injury, were not s-xual in nature.
A major employer could have identified and eliminated a "blind spot" in its WHS systems by proactively seeking to improve its processes, a judge has ruled in sentencing the company.
A PCBU that delegated its duty to enforce safety measures to a contractor, despited hearing that the circumstances at the relevant job site were a "nightmare", has been fined $300,000 over a worker's seven-metre fall.
A worker who was accused of tampering with CCTV footage at a host company's site has been awarded compensation for a psychological injury, after a commission found his employer failed to "advocate" for him when the host requested he be stood down.
An appeals commission has upheld the psychological injury claim from a worker who was ridiculed for pushing for better COVID-safe standards. It rejected his employer's argument that his case was defeated by the fact that an alleged assault never occurred.
Australia has taken a big leap towards banning engineered stone products, with the country's WHS ministers agreeing to release a "powerful and compelling" Safe Work Australia report that recommends the ban, and warns there is no evidence that alternative measures can curb the alarming rate of silicosis in engineered stone workers.
