A new industrial manslaughter offence and other key safety measures passed Federal Parliament today, under a Government deal with crossbench senators, while new right-to-disconnect laws appear likely to be added to the Closing Loopholes Bill.
A WHS regulator will enforce the utilisation of risk assessments for psychosocial hazards in psychologically dangerous workplaces, under one of 18 recommendations from a parliamentary inquiry into NSW's workers' compensation system.
The Federal Court has ordered a redetermination of whether a worker's injury was caused by customer aggression or reasonable administrative action, finding an earlier decision in favour of the man failed to apply the correct legal test.
The passage of an amended industrial manslaughter Bill, through South Australia's Parliament, has been described as a "game-changer" for WHS compliance. Meanwhile, the Commonwealth jurisdiction's WHS Act is being amended to empower those directly affected by workplace safety incidents to provide advice to regulators.
A worker who claimed she suffered a psychological injury from her employer sending her "very intense" emails on a COVID-19 vaccine mandate has been denied compensation, with a commission finding there was nothing unreasonable about the employer's communication.
A major employer has been cleared of unlawfully discriminating against an impaired worker by rejecting her medical clearances to return to work after she threatened to fight and kick her co-workers.
A worker's psychological injuries are impacting on his physical condition but he is still entitled to two sets of incapacity payments, an appeals commission has confirmed.
A tribunal has expressed sympathy for an injured worker's frustrations with his compensation claim, finding a major employer failed to provide him with clear advice or fulfil its obligations to assess his application properly.