Worker handed record safety fine over Aboriginal elder's death; NSW promises tougher laws after Orica spill deemed "not serious"; and Supervisor's unsafe act a lesson to high-risk industries.
"Fake" WorkSafe psychologist jailed for five years; Builders back Victoria's "odd" harmonisation demands; WA premiums to increase for the second time in three months; and Queensland mining sector announces falling injury rate, issues three safety alerts.
Safe Work Australia has released harmonisation guides on the interpretation and application of the terms PCBU and "reasonably practicable", and on the duties of officers. It has also found that nearly one in three employees in high-risk industries "get so involved" in their work they forget about safety.
Injured workers who have a return-to-work plan with staged goals developed for them - and are given help to follow it - are significantly more likely to return to and stay in their jobs, a new report has found.
A transport regulator chief has called for employers to provide safer environments, saying safety management systems are often ignored, and heavy vehicles are over-represented in rail-related accidents causing death.
SafeWork SA is likely to prosecute more employers more swiftly for OHS breaches, after the South Australian Government promised to implement every recommendation contained in a Robin Stewart-Crompton report.
Safe Work Australia's latest fatality report has revealed there were nearly three times as many deaths from work-related injuries in Australia in 2008/09 than indicated in an earlier report, but CEO Rex Hoy says the harmonisation of OHS laws will lead to more timely and accurate figures.
WorkSafe Victoria has committed to modernising its IT systems and holding its insurance agents to account, after the State Ombudsman found the agents had withheld payments from injured workers, stymied the return-to-work process and rorted the scheme.
