Three safety regulators have outlined how to reduce the risk of musculoskeletal injuries, choose the right respirator when working with harmful contaminants, and prevent Legionnaires' disease at work facilities.
The Northern Territory has introduced a Bill that establishes "fit notes", caps injured workers' weekly and medical benefits, and follows South Australia's lead by changing the name of its workers' comp statute to the Return to Work Act.
Creating flexible safety cultures and complying with the due diligence requirements of the WHS Act hinge on "fanatic discipline", "empirical creativity" and "productive paranoia", according to Norton Rose Fulbright partner Michael Tooma.
Employers are being urged to apply higher-order hazard controls wherever practicable, after a new Safe Work Australia report found that more than three in five workers are regularly exposed to multiple hazards associated with occupational diseases.
A major UK study has identified a link between "fit notes" - which are being introduced in some areas of Australia - and a "downward trend" in long-term sick leave taken by workers.
The Federal Government has introduced an SRC Amendment Bill to enable Comcare to collect "exit contributions" from authorities that leave the scheme, after the ACT revealed plans to develop a workers' comp system that covers its public sector employees.
A major project has found that improving written communication sent to injured workers, removing "duplication of effort" and simplifying correspondence with treating doctors accelerates the return-to-work process, according to a workers' comp expert.
