One of the most effective ways to reduce workers' comp claims costs and premiums is to focus on returning injured workers to their pre-injury hours, rather than their pre-injury duties, according to workplace relations lawyer Kim Cunningham.
Safe Work Australia's new deemed diseases report, which is designed to inform workers' comp laws and prevention strategies, includes a number of diseases that aren't included in the work-related diseases lists currently used in the states and territories.
The average number of days lost to a serious workers' comp claim in the construction industry has increased by nearly 40 per cent to more than six weeks since the early 2000s, according to one of two new Safe Work Australia reports.
Employers that exposed workers to asbestos in the past could be faced with a new raft of damages claims, after French researchers found the hazardous substance causes a range of digestive cancers.
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.
Employers are being advised to establish a "workplace heat alert system", after Australian researchers found occupational heat illness claims increase by nearly 13 per cent for every one-degree rise in temperature during hot conditions.
Workplace falls were the main cause of fatalities in the construction industry over the 12 years to 2013-14, with falls from roofs and ladders causing more than half of the deaths, according to a new Safe Work Australia report.
