Queensland premiums increase by 2% as bigger hikes recommended; NSW coal premiums falling thanks to safety training and gas monitoring; SA Greens adjourn workers' comp retirement-age Bill; and Western Australia's maximum weekly benefits increasing by 4%.
Journey claims will be axed, recess claims curtailed and "large increases" in insurer remuneration reviewed, under recommendations made by the parliamentary committee inquiry into the NSW workers' compensation scheme.
Secure employment and improved working conditions are key to reducing the staggering impact that mental illness among young men has on workplace productivity, a new report suggests. Also in this article, workers are being urged to "butt out" for World No Tobacco Day today.
Workplace "wellbeing" programs could be more tightly controlled, and industrial-manslaughter provisions added to the Work Health and Safety Act, under initiatives flagged in a draft ACTU policy paper.
The NSW Government will consider removing WorkCover journey claims and reducing step-down periods to prevent premiums from increasing by 28 per cent, but unions warn that injured workers will be abandoned under the proposals.
Workers' comp claims for occupational skin diseases (OSDs) are common and costly for employers, but up to 40 per cent of the thousands of workers regularly exposed to chemicals or wet work have not been provided with proper safety training, according to Safe Work Australia.
Victorian "dividend" Bill could push up workers' comp premiums; Study finds injured workers require "intensive" help; Western Australia introduces firefighter compensation Bill; and WorkCover NSW investigates forklift death, releases investigations fact sheet.
The Australian Government has called for workplaces to be more vocal on safety, after three new Safe Work Australia reports found work-related injury, illness and disease cost the country about $60 billion a year - despite a falling fatality rate.
South Australian on-hire agencies to pay lower workers' comp levies; Workplace fatality reports reveal high pedestrian and rural death rates; Rollover-protection opponents relying on flawed simulation tests; Comcare's inaugural health and safety awards open; and WorkCover NSW hosting free harmonisation webinars.
WorkCover NSW and WorkSafe Victoria have clarified the alarming cost of workers' compensation claims for stress, industrial deafness and musculoskeletal disorders, and outlined what they plan to do to help employers reduce them.
