A tourism operator has been fined for WHS breaches, including failing to follow a manufacturer's instructions, which led to a woman sustaining "cannon ball" injuries. Meanwhile, regulators have issued alerts after two fatal falls and two serious crane incidents involving counterweights.
An employer has failed to convince a superior court a worker was not "forced" to undertake a risky activity and negligently failed to refuse to perform it.
Safety regulations for exclusion zones and equipment in the construction industry could be overhauled under recommendations from an inquest into a young worker's death, which led to the first reckless conduct charges under Australia's harmonised WHS laws.
> Infringement notice priorities and alerts issued in Qld; > WHS amendments step up asbestos training rules in ACT; and > UK increases enforcement of carcinogenic welding fumes.
Employers in the public health system are required by WHS laws to take all rather than just some reasonably practicable steps to stamp out workplace bullying, independent reviewers have stressed in a concerning report on the ACT's health services.
In this article, OHS Alert reviews all the major WHS and workers' comp developments from the final quarter of 2018, including the release of ISO 45001 as an Australian Standard, record-breaking safety fines and enforceable undertakings, and legislative changes.
New WHS and workers' comp standards have commenced or been postponed in three jurisdictions, while two jurisdictions have issued confined space alerts after three deaths and an electric shock.
Work safety authorities have issued special heat warnings to employers, which are particularly important to heed given the Bureau of Meteorology's latest annual climate statement and three-month forecast.
