Employer fined after bystander death; New CEO announced for Safety, Return to Work and Support; Better communication techniques reduce workplace stress; and Essential safety news from three jurisdictions.
The number of serious injury claims per year is continuing to drop, but the average amount of time lost from work keeps rising, according to a new Safe Work Australia report. The agency has also released a report that recommends changing the workplace lead exposure limits in the model WHS Regulations.
A new paper from the Northern Territory has questioned whether the costs of the model WHS legislation's provisions on principal contractors and audiometric testing outweigh the benefits.
Work health and safety interventions should focus on either physical or psychological health, depending on how old the targeted workers are, a new Australian report says.
Being hit by falling objects continues to be one of the leading causes of work-related deaths in Australia, according to a major report, which has prompted questions over Western Australia's increasing fatality rate.
UK researchers have found that workers with epilepsy or diabetes are no more likely than others to sustain workplace injuries, and warned that employers could be applying "unwarranted limitations" on them.
Ambulance officers and paramedics are not only more likely to be killed than other workers, they also have one of the highest workers' compensation claims rates for occupational diseases.
Western Australia has replaced the term "harmonisation" with "modernisation" to describe the drafting of new WHS laws for its resources sector, suggesting the laws will differ considerably from those in other jurisdictions. Meanwhile, the State mining regulator has released new guidelines and fatality reports.
Proposed changes to Commonwealth safety and workers' comp laws will drive up premiums for single-state employers, increase red tape and reduce worker protections, a Senate Committee has been told - but it recommends passing the amendments.
Work-related road incidents are common, costly and affect most employers, yet many OHS professionals wrongly believe road safety is outside their area of influence, the European Transport Safety Council says.
