Employers fined for ignoring Codes of Practice; Safety reviews urged after three horror incidents in 24 hours; OHS prosecutions to be fast-tracked in Victorian blitz; and South Australia offers $412K in OHS research grants.
New discrimination laws have broadened the definition of s-xual harassment and could expose unwary employers to claims of harassment, breach of contract and misleading or deceptive conduct, a lawyer has warned.
An ACT employer, which claims it received incorrect advice on right-of-entry laws from an "industry body", has been fined for denying two union officials access to a worksite to investigate safety concerns.
In this article, OHS Alert reports on high-risk licences, fatality reports, safety alerts, contractor guidelines that will apply from 1 July, and other OHS news from across the country.
The NSW Minerals Council has welcomed the State Government's plan to ban synthetic cannabis, and says it will test workers for the drug in the coming weeks.
A NSW employer that failed to properly calibrate a safety device has been fined nearly $300,000, after a mobile crane fell onto live powerlines and crashed into a house, narrowly missing residents and nearly electrocuting a worker.
Employers should, from January 2012, urge contractors to conduct risk assessments for every task, even if they are not obliged under harmonised work health and safety laws to do so, OHS lawyer Jacqui Hawkins told attendees at a recent webinar.
South Australia to ban synthetic marijuana detected in workers; WorkSafe calls for change after issuing more than 2000 notices; and "Small" safety initiatives to be recognised in revamped Victorian awards.
