The Victorian Government has confirmed that it is unlikely to adopt the harmonised WHS laws in their current form, and has vowed to restore "the cooperative environment previously created between WorkSafe, employers and unions".
Victoria's notorious Fiskville training centre, whose health and safety issues - including an alleged "cancer cluster" - led to the downfall of WorkSafe's CEO and chairperson, has been closed permanently.
Demand for safety professionals in the resources sector is plummeting, but it's increasing in some industries, and has soared by more than 40 per cent in two states, according to a safety recruitment expert.
Ambulance officers and paramedics are more likely than most other workers to suffer mental and musculoskeletal injuries, and their workers' comp claim rates are increasing, Australian researchers have found.
Coronial inquiries into the deaths of three Victorian workers, who were electrocuted after vehicles struck overhead powerlines, have found that at-risk workers are provided with little site-specific information about the hazard.
The workers' compensation schemes in five jurisdictions will be amended, and employer premiums increased, under one of the Federal Government's preferred options for ensuring catastrophically injured workers are supported for life.
A Victorian employer that directed an incompetent truck driver to conduct a hazardous unloading task has been ordered to pay the "lion's share" of another worker's $1.3 million damages bill.
The Victorian Magistrates Court has rejected a manager's claim that his psychological injury arose from being overworked and bullied by managers, finding he sustained it after he was suspended for abusing colleagues.
Employers can significantly reduce the risk of injury and legal exposure by providing flexibility and resistance training to workers who perform manual tasks, according to a workplace safety lawyer, who is also a certified personal trainer.