Browsing: Workplace safety | Page 1

• New injury definitions to trigger litigation in Vic; and
  
• WHS barrister announced as IRC President in restored NSW regime.

An appeals court has confirmed that a step's defective non-slip strip, which was missed by safety inspections, remained in place through the negligence of two companies and caused a worker to fall, entitling him to more than $1 million in damages.

The Fair Work Commission has declined to make orders in a rare decision from its stop-s-xual-harassment jurisdiction, but hinted that sending "vile" text messages to colleagues could attract such an order.

A company accused of failing to reassess risk controls, following "material deviations" from earlier assessments, has avoided prosecution by committing more than $1 million to safety initiatives, including a trial of autonomous inspection vehicles.

A commission has cautioned that society's "significantly raised" bar for what constitutes consent for physical interactions is "even higher" in work-related environments, in upholding the summary dismissal of a worker for inappropriately touching a colleague.

Workplace cultures that promulgate the image of "bulletproof" workers that need to be tough to do their jobs can magnify the "insidious" effects of vicarious trauma, a top complex trauma expert says.

The jailing of an operations manager, the passage of right-to-disconnect laws and significant WHS and workers' compensation amendments were among the highlights of the first quarter of 2024. This major report covers all jurisdictions and looks at everything you need to know from the start of the year.

• WHS penalties increase significantly as ACT Bill passes; and
  
• HVNL amended by host jurisdiction.

Up to half of working parents in Australia are experiencing psychologically harmful workplace discrimination, showing policies delivering inclusivity for those with caring responsibilities are urgently needed, researchers say.

• Workplace disasters often linked to ignored concerns: lawyer; and
  
• Incident notification requirements amended in Vic.