With CFOs and other senior accountants being "very squarely labelled" as company officers under the model WHS Act, employers should ensure their accountants recognise the effect their decisions have on workplace health and safety, according to a corporate governance researcher.
Employers should think very carefully before signing statements made to safety inspectors following incidents, with inspectors' coercive powers under the model WHS Act potentially leading to "unmeritorious" decisions to prosecute, an OHS lawyer warns.
Revised WHS construction Code released for comment; Vic launches firefighter hotline as "presumptive" laws progress in Tas; and Nanomaterials project opens the door to effective toxicity testing.
The WHS Act and the Fair Work Act's new bullying provisions combine to create a "powerful" anti-bullying regime, and employers that don't have distinct policies to deal with the issue are open to prosecution on "a number of fronts", lawyers have warned.
SWA agrees to re-release WHS Code, plans deemed diseases list; Victorians warned about wind, as firefighter safety initiative launched; Anti-lock brakes to be compulsory from next year; and OHS Alert upgrade information.
Asbestos-containing materials are still prevalent in thousands of Australian workplaces, and "just about any task" can disturb them. In this article, the head of the new Asbestos Safety and Eradication Agency explains how employers should deal with the issue - and how to avoid breaching the WHS Act in the process.
To comply with the duty to eliminate safety risks "so far as is reasonably practicable", PCBUs should "constantly" scour the internet for information on hazards, and be prepared for workplace acts of stupidity, former NSW Industrial Court Justice Frank Marks says in a new book.
Safe Work Australia has released the final version of its model Code of Practice on workplace traffic management, as well as four industry-specific guides to the Code, while WorkSafe ACT has published a guide on WHS management plans for construction contractors.
An employer group has warned that the business costs of engaging external workplace bullying investigators - as advised by the draft model Code of Practice on bullying - will be excessive, while unions have called for the Code to be strengthened.
