A WHS Code of Practice and regulations for elevated work platforms could be amended in Queensland, and the changes applied nationally, under recommendations from a coronial inquest into a renowned photographer's death.
A worker's submission that there were ways for her to safely carry out her work, without "limiting" her human rights through a COVID-19 vaccine mandate, did not identify any exceptional circumstances warranting a vaccine exemption, a commission has found in the second of two almost identical cases.
A man who carried out dodgy and dangerous work while posing as a licensed electrician on gig economy platform Airtasker has been fined $60,000. Meanwhile, a worker has pleaded guilty to breaching his WHS duty to a teenage colleague, after concocting a work plan that led to the youngster being crushed.
Three business partners have been fined for breaching their WHS duty to ensure imported plant - whose signage and instructions were all written in Chinese - was "without risks to the health and safety of any person".
An employer's common law safety duties to workers do not extend to rigidly abiding by disciplinary and performance management procedures, a court has found in rejecting a manager's bid for damages.
A PCBU that failed to ensure bags of imported chemicals were properly labelled has been fined for WHS breaches, while a WHS regulator has issued a warning after four workers were injured in an explosion.
A commission has upheld a government employer's "brief" reasons for refusing a COVID-19 vaccine exemption for a worker, who contended potential tensions with her family members supported her bid.
A safety prosecutor has been directed to pay a defendant's costs, after failing to prove beyond reasonable doubt the man breached his electrical safety duty in relation to equipment linked to a worker's death, which was the subject of a coronial inquest.
