A court has blocked a regulatory directive banning the use of a worksite's mobile plant whenever the risk of lightning strikes reaches a certain level, after hearing the directive could create safety risks.
Another employer has been fined for WHS breaches that occurred on a troubled infrastructure project, while a work safety regulator has issued cyclone and respirator warnings.
An employer has failed in its bid to stay a WHS improvement notice, by claiming a safety inspector's limited enquires led to him relying on outdated documentation and proposing remedial measures that "were incapable of being complied with".
WHS entry permit holders were entitled to rely on "hearsay information" from a union safety hotline to form the suspicion that WHS contraventions were occurring at a site, a commission has ruled. It also found the union was not required, for entry purposes, to obtain and record the names of hotline complainants.
In a decision that led to a fatality, a company director bypassed a company rule requiring mechanics to conduct field repairs of mobile plant because a vehicle's mechanical issue appeared to be minor, a court has heard.
A worker who fell through a workplace roof while investigating a malfunction, which he noticed while driving past the site outside of his normal hours, was not contributorily negligent, a court has found in awarding him nearly $1 million in damages for his injuries.
An employer that accused an injured worker of workers' comp fraud has been ordered to pay the man $350,000 in damages, with a judge finding it negligently failed to implement a safe system for a frequently repeated task.
