The final quarter of 2023 was marked by wholesale WHS changes affecting all duty holders. This report examines the amendments, as well as changes to other laws and all the need-to-know caselaw from the period.
A worker has failed to overturn a decision that events in her personal life overshadowed the links between alleged workplace bullying and harassment and her aggravated psychological condition.
A worker who suffered permanent injuries in a road rage incident remained in the course of his employment when the fight occurred because he was attempting to get on with his work, a commission has ruled.
A major employer's failure to consult workers on a controversial WHS mandate created a "paradigm of opposition" in the workforce and led to a large number of workers being unfairly dismissed, a commission has ruled in a 529-paragraph judgment.
Employers that operate heavy vehicles have been "challenged" to review and overhaul their fatigue management systems, after a company's national operations manager was sentenced to three years' jail for recklessness that led to the deaths of four police officers.
An employer has been cleared of liability for a psychological injury a worker developed after a heated public social media exchange with current and former colleagues. A commission rejected the worker's reliance on the "but for" test for causation.
A worker has successfully argued that a multi-functioned cooking appliance meets the definition of "curative apparatus" under workers' comp laws, providing therapeutic properties to help her manage her work injury.
A court has slated a national employer's inadequate inspections for wear, tear and corrosion, after a worker's legs dropped into and became trapped in moving machinery.
A company director and three PCBUs, including an importer, have been handed pre-discount WHS fines totalling $1.25 million, after a worker suffered finger amputations on a machine previously shut down by a regulator.