A Victorian employer and its director who were fined heavily after a newly-recruited and untrained worker was "knowingly exposed" to grave danger - which led to his death - have failed to have their penalties reduced in the State Court of Appeal.
A novel WorkSafe Victoria experiment - inspired by a famous 1960s study on World War II - has highlighted the detrimental effect productivity-obsessed supervisors can have on workplace health and safety.
A South Australian employer has been fined $105,000 after its "inexcusable" failure to fit machines with guarding caused a worker to lose his arm. Also in this article, a second South Australian employer has been fined for guarding failures after a finger amputation.
"Discontinuity" between training and work site caused wharf death; Victorians fined over chemical spill, house collapse and neglected notice; Second safety trainer convicted over Northern Territory explosion; and Western Australian employer fined for unsafe maintenance work.
An employer probably would have prevented a workplace death if it complied with an operator's manual and enforced the use of a stop button on a crane, the Tasmanian Coroner has found. Also in this article, two NSW employers have been handed safety fines after a derailed train ended up in a driveway.
Victorian employer handed hefty safety fine for scaffolding breach; South Australian employer fined for confined-space confusion; and Comcare reports falling funds and increasing premiums.
A workplace supervisor could spend up to 20 months in a Victorian prison for failing to ensure the safety of a young worker, who was killed after being directed by the supervisor to drive an overloaded truck with faulty brakes down a steep slope.
The tragic death of a truck driver on his second day at work highlights the dangers of informal on-the-job training, a South Australian magistrate has stressed in fining an employer $136,000.
A NSW employer that appointed inexperienced site coordinators for a construction project has been fined $300,000, after workers were left "totally exposed" to the risk of falling. Also in this article, an employer has been fined $90,000 after a worker fell 14 metres.