An employer is entitled to direct workers to remove their moustaches or beards to comply with safety policies and manage deadly risks, a commission has ruled in examining WHS laws.
Employers have been urged to identify all powerlines at their workplaces, including around entry and exit points, after a company was convicted and fined over an electrocution. Employers have also been warned about the presence of asbestos in workplace fire doors, following exposure incidents.
A PCBU has successfully fought off allegations that it used false or misleading information to obtain an authorisation for a high-risk job and to disguise who was really performing the work.
The NSW Government has introduced WHS amendments tripling the maximum penalties for category-1 breaches, clarifying that officers can be prosecuted for recklessness, introducing "prohibited asbestos notices" with hefty non-compliance fines, and giving police certain enforcement powers under WHS laws.