Injury prevention hinges on worker input; SWA releases new guides on airborne contaminants and cyanide; and Entries for Queensland and Victorian OHS awards due soon.
An employer that inspected a ladder and found it was safe and secure - immediately before it broke and injured a worker - isn't liable for the worker's injuries, the Queensland Supreme Court has ruled.
A Queensland employer has been ordered to pay nearly $370,000 in damages to a worker who was injured while demonstrating a technique for dealing with aggressive people.
OHS regulators and police in NSW, Queensland and Victoria are investigating a construction death, two fatalities involving quad bikes, a mining incident that left a man a quadriplegic, and a manufacturing incident that left a woman with serious crush injuries.
A Queensland care provider has committed to spend nearly $400,000 - in lieu of prosecution - on training workers in manual handling and on other safety initiatives, after an elderly resident sustained serious injuries.
In this update, OHS Alert revisits all the important OHS and workers' compensation legislative changes made in the first quarter of 2013. We also recap the most significant court and tribunal rulings and other developments in each jurisdiction.
Two Queensland employers that failed to conduct risk assessments or manage the risk of falling from height have entered into enforceable undertakings worth $211,000, after four workers fell from roofs.
Employers should involve injured workers in decisions that affect their daily work lives, and consider consulting an ergonomist, to facilitate a successful return to work, says a Queensland University researcher.
Some test and tag requirements and safety restrictions placed on apprentices will be removed under a proposal to reduce the administrative burden of Queensland's electrical safety regulations.
A coronial inquiry into the "freak" death of a Queensland woman, who was struck by a projectile while walking near a worksite, has highlighted how important it is to refer to manufacturers' manuals - instead of relying solely on personal experience - to reduce safety risks.
