The number of serious injury claims per year is continuing to drop, but the average amount of time lost from work keeps rising, according to a new Safe Work Australia report. The agency has also released a report that recommends changing the workplace lead exposure limits in the model WHS Regulations.
Ambulance officers and paramedics are not only more likely to be killed than other workers, they also have one of the highest workers' compensation claims rates for occupational diseases.
Proposed changes to Commonwealth safety and workers' comp laws will drive up premiums for single-state employers, increase red tape and reduce worker protections, a Senate Committee has been told - but it recommends passing the amendments.
The return-to-work rate of injured workers who receive 'extensive' employer support is seven times higher than for those who receive no support, a Safe Work Australia survey has found. Also in this article, SWA has released a fact sheet on workers' comp laws relating to psychological injuries.
An effective return-to-work process hinges on cooperation between injured workers' GPs and employer-appointed occupational physicians (OPs), but do the former doctors trust the latter?
Reintroducing common law access under the proposed WorkCover SA overhaul will add complexity without improving safety, according to a Donaldson Walsh Lawyers partner, who adds that workers with significant injuries could lose out under the reforms.
Injured South Australian workers will have access to common law damages under the proposed overhaul of the State workers' compensation scheme, according to a new policy statement, which also promises much lower premiums for employers.
The number of infringement notices issued by OHS regulators dropped by 37 per cent in the 12 months to June 2012, while the number of prohibition and improvement notices also decreased, a new Safe Work Australia statistics report has shown.
Rehabilitating injured workers or referring them to a rehab service as soon as possible following an injury or illness is vital, according to the authors of a new Australian study of 95,000 injured workers.
One of Victoria's most hazardous sectors - public hospitals and health services - has a culture of accepting safety risks, while WorkSafe has done little to tackle its high injury rate, the State Auditor-General has found.
