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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.

• Emerging WHS risks targeted for world safety day;
  
• WHS clauses for stone ban clarified; and
  
• Passage of WA safety Bill ensures national consistency.

• Double-fatality fines too low to deter safety breaches, says union; and
  
• Department of Defence charged over psychosocial risks.

A union and one of its officials have been handed fines totalling nearly $37,000, after a court found the latter made a frustrated comment that constituted a threat to the future career of a workplace health and safety manager.

All work processes where workers might be exposed to respirable silica will be considered high risk and subjected to tougher WHS regulations unless risk assessments prove otherwise, under one of a string of changes agreed by Australia's WHS ministers.

An appeals court has quashed a ruling that the WHS prosecution of a major company was invalid because of the process used to delegate the applicable regulatory powers. Meanwhile, a play centre has been charged with multiple safety breaches after a child fell seven metres.

An injured worker has lost his claim that under his rehabilitation plan, he should have been provided with subscriptions to health monitoring mobile phone apps, and language training software.

A full Federal Court has granted Comcare another chance to dispute liability for a worker's 45-year-old injury, agreeing that critical medical evidence showing his condition might have been "normal" by the mid-1980s was overlooked by a decision maker.

An appeals court has upheld the acquittals of two PCBUs charged over the hypothermia death of a helicopter pilot, confirming that the "cascading" series of WHS measures they allegedly failed to adopt were not reasonably practicable.

• Qantas agrees to pay $21k in ongoing WHS discrimination case; and
  
• Disconnect laws highlighted on release of mental stress numbers.