An investigation into the death of a worker on a mobile elevated work platform has found his employer relied on lower-order risk controls, and stressed that special risk assessments are needed for platform tasks involving complex three-dimensional movements.
The Queensland Government has promised to introduce domestic violence leave, tackle workplace bullying, and adopt all recommendations of an independent review of sexual harassment and bullying among firefighters.
Employers should target vascular risk factors, such as high blood pressure and smoking, to reduce the high risk of stroke among employees who work long hours, according to an international study of more than 600,000 workers.
Telstra has introduced "more mature" health and safety metrics that provide more comprehensive data than lost-time injury frequency rates, and help it respond quickly to incidents, according to its latest sustainability report.
Employers can combat the growing phenomenon of work-related cyberbullying by training workers to be more optimistic and resilient, as well as training them in email etiquette, Australian researchers say.
The median direct cost of a bullying-related workers' comp claim is nearly $20,000 higher than the all-claims average, according to Safe Work Australia's second annual statement on the issue. The agency has also released its 2015 workers' comp comparison report, as well as new operational and corporate plans.
A coroner has slammed a company director's poor knowledge of electrical safety requirements, and a safety inspector for failing to shut down a construction site's power source, during an inquest into a young worker's death.
Employers should introduce special policies, and provide workers with access to training, counselling and treatment, to tackle the "extremely high costs" of drug and alcohol-related absenteeism, Australian researchers have recommended.
Opponents of WHS provisions that exclude the right to claim the privilege against self-incrimination and reverse the legal burden of proof are being given an opportunity to convince the Australian Law Reform Commission to scrap them.
