Over-reliance on admin controls ends in $160K safety fine; Transport ministers approve national truck and rail safety regulators; and Essential safety news from around Australia.
Victorian employer handed hefty safety fine for scaffolding breach; South Australian employer fined for confined-space confusion; and Comcare reports falling funds and increasing premiums.
WorkSafe Victoria has warned that it has doubled its prosecution rate in recent months, and is urging employers to "find and fix" workplace hazards before inspectors discover them.
South Australia to accelerate lower-premium laws; Workplace regulators investigating five fatalities; WorkCover WA increases medical fees and fines employer; and Q-COMP develops RTW site.
Employers have been urged to consult with workers on safety issues and conduct regular reviews, after a second Victorian employer in a matter of days was handed a significant fatality-related fine.
A Victorian principal contractor that failed to ensure a structure was stable during construction has been fined $350,000, after it collapsed and killed a worker.
A workplace supervisor could spend up to 20 months in a Victorian prison for failing to ensure the safety of a young worker, who was killed after being directed by the supervisor to drive an overloaded truck with faulty brakes down a steep slope.
In this update, OHS Alert outlines all the important OHS and workers' compensation legislative changes made in the third quarter of 2011. We also recap the most significant court and tribunal rulings and other developments in each jurisdiction.
