FWC launches dedicated anti-bullying webpage; New mine safety regulations taking effect in South Australia; Comcare prosecuting Linfox; SWA releases WHS guide on water jetting; and Alerts issued after child killed and other incidents.
The model WHS Act's provisions on discrimination and inspector powers are likely to face scrutiny in a review aimed at identifying Commonwealth laws that "unreasonably encroach upon traditional rights, freedoms and privileges".
The Fair Work Commission is seeking feedback on a draft stop-bullying form, which allows alleged victims of workplace bullying to specify what they think needs to be done to prevent the problem. Also in this article, a survey has found that half of the labour-hire workforce has witnessed colleagues being bullied.
New Queensland electrical safety laws and South Australian WHS Regulations take effect in the coming weeks, while Safe Work Australia has released two more draft model Codes of Practice.
The six-year moratorium on employer applications for self-insurance under the Comcare scheme has been lifted, Federal Employment Minister Eric Abetz announced yesterday.
Many workers will be reluctant to speak up about safety issues for fear of reprisal if Safe Work Australia accepts Queensland's proposed changes to right-of-entry laws, according to the ACTU.
Federal Employment Minister Eric Abetz has hinted at what his approach to the WHS Act will be over the next three years, in citing - as an example of overregulation - a suggestion in the now-defunct bullying Code of Practice that employers put up anti-bullying posters in lunchrooms.
The life-span of the Road Safety Remuneration Tribunal could prove very short, with Federal Employment Minister Eric Abetz announcing a review into whether it imposes "onerous and unnecessary compliance burdens" on employers.
The President of the Fair Work Commission has stressed that the new anti-bullying jurisdiction is not about penalising employers, in releasing two documents to help employers and workers know what to expect when it takes effect on 1 January.
