Employers that produce or pay for lengthy documents to cover every possible OHS risk - and forget about their people in the process - are likely to flounder on the "safety plateau", according to a health and safety consultant.
Workplace incidents will continue to occur unless employees are engaged through consultation and executives resist over-relying on "leading" indicators, according to a global environmental and sustainability consultancy's NSW health and safety manager.
Dozens of Australian employers are tackling worker absences through KPIs and wellbeing programs, according to Direct Health Solutions, whose latest survey has found the telecommunications and utilities sector has the highest sickies rate.
The Queensland Government has hinted, ahead of roundtable discussion with industry groups, that it will trust businesses to "do the right thing" on OHS under a less prescriptive WHS Act. It has also "streamlined" health and safety laws for the mining sector.
Employers are being encouraged to pledge their support for a new national anti-racism strategy, and improve their legal compliance and competitive advantage in the process.
Western Australia is one step closer to adopting the harmonised work health and safety laws, with the Barnett Government today calling for comments on an issues paper that examines the "likely impact" of the model WHS Regulations and Codes on organisations and workers.