A union has launched Federal Circuit Court proceedings against a company and two safety managers, alleging they hindered an investigation into suspected safety breaches by failing to disclose a worksite's WHS management plan.
> NSW's COVID-19 work recovery tool guided by 100 years of crises; > SA employers should expect COVID call from a WHS inspector; > Vic workers told to keep working at home; and > Start date for ACT's labour-hire licensing scheme confirmed.
An employer's "evident and intelligible justification" for performance managing a worker has sunk his claim that his team leader bullied him and harmed his health and wellbeing by undermining his achievements.
> Indoor work temperature could affect COVID-19 spread; > Workplace consultation key to WHS compliance in pandemic; and > ACT workers affected by pandemic offered portable leave.
A WHS defendant's bid to cross-examine an employee of a co-accused company, at a coronial inquest, was not barred by laws prohibiting interference with the administration of criminal justice, the High Court has ruled in a high-profile case involving the hypothermia death of an Antarctic pilot.
A worker has been sentenced to 12 months' jail for reckless conduct that killed a co-worker, in a judgment revealing a litany of safety failures resulting from inadequate training, time pressures and cost-saving measures.
> PCBU enters $770k EU after crane failure on 51st floor; > WHS fees waived under NSW's COVID-19 stimulus package; > Fatality and other incident alerts issued in five jurisdictions; and > New ACT WHS Commissioner appointed.
A maintenance contractor has been ordered to pay a total of nearly $2.4 million in damages to four workers, after its failure to take adequate care when maintaining a component of a lift caused the lift to malfunction and injure the workers.
In this latest edition of our long-running quarterly update series, OHS Alert reviews all the key WHS news from the first three months of 2020, including everything you need to know on the COVID-19 pandemic, the findings on Dreamworld's dismal safety systems, caselaw from all jurisdictions, and legislative changes.
Resources companies have been urged to implement a string of extra precautions to protect fly-in-fly-out and drive-in-drive-out workers, in camps or "on the move", from COVID-19. Meanwhile, ACT employers have been directed to conduct coronavirus risk assessments and ensure their contractors comply with hygiene rules.
