A high school operator has been handed a pre-discount WHS fine of $700,000 over the drowning death of a student on a camping trip, with a tribunal finding no risk assessment was completed for the dangerous rock fishing activity that led to the incident.
A court has stressed the importance of employers instilling a "safety consciousness" in young workers, in sentencing a PCBU whose safety breaches brought "shock, trauma, ongoing pain and disfigurement" to a teenage worker in an instant.
A tribunal has ruled a severe workplace injury caused a worker's attempt to end his own life and the main contributor was not, as the employer claimed, his personality disorder and relationship issues.
A PCBU has unsuccessfully challenged its WHS conviction and $600,000 fine for failing to engage experts to assess the design of new leased plant, which fatally crushed a worker.
New anti-violence jail terms of up to 11 years will help improve the safety of retail workers and reduce the alarmingly high numbers of assaults and abuse in the sector, according to the NSW Government and one of Australia's largest employers.
The South Australian Government has revealed plans to introduce industrial manslaughter laws to Parliament, make a string of changes to the State WHS Act, and start overhauling the WHS regulator's case management system, all within the next financial year.
Three companies subjected to WHS improvement and prohibition notices relating to ride restraints have lost their appeals against a recent decision to maintain the notices. A tribunal full bench acknowledged errors in the initial decision, but found safety remained the higher priority.