A second employer has been fined over guarding breaches that led to an Irish backpacker being scalped and losing an ear, while a scaffolding company has been fined heavily after an apprentice sustained debilitating electric-shock injuries in a no-go zone.
Companies or officers who have breached work health and safety or workers' comp laws within the last five years will be blocked from providing labour-hire services under Victoria's new licensing scheme.
An award-winning employer's partnership with a national charity to provide injured workers with meaningful duties has accelerated the return-to-work process and driven down its days lost to injury.
An employer has been convicted and fined $180,000 for failing to adopt safety procedures that "guard against human error", after a labour-hire worker's fingers were crushed in a press and later amputated.
A labour-hire company has been refused special leave to appeal to the High Court against a ruling that it was liable to indemnify a host-employer for the $800,000 paid to a worker who was injured after the supply contract between the parties formally lapsed.
An employer has committed $500,000 to enhancing its behavioural-based safety (BBS) process, conducting a hand safety campaign and other initiatives, after a worker was injured reaching into operating equipment.
Ashley Services Group has achieved a record-low lost-time injury frequency rate for its labour-hire division. It explains how it did so in this Q&A with OHS Alert.
Victoria is likely to take steps to better harmonise its OHS Act with the model WHS Act within months, in addition to introducing legislation establishing a labour-hire licensing scheme with safety requirements.
