The author of the review that led to the introduction of industrial manslaughter laws in Queensland has recommended that senior officers face up to "life" in prison for negligently causing the death of a worker in the Northern Territory. Meanwhile, the Territory has passed laws to protect emergency workers from violence.
> First engineered stone dust death reported in Qld; > ICAC releases "learnings" from SafeWork SA probe; and > Relying on visual barrier results in multiple WHS charges.
A PCBU faces a fatality-related fine of up to $1.5 million, after a High Court majority found that Federal civil aviation laws operate within the framework of WHS legislation and other state, territory and Commonwealth laws.
A union official recently accused of hindering a WHS inspector in Queensland has been charged with doing the same thing in another jurisdiction, while two of his colleagues have been charged with misleadingly telling workers they were entitled, by WHS laws, to leave an "unsafe" site on full pay.
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.
The Australian Defence Force's failure to implement a safety rule recommended after a 2009 fatality - for which it was handed a near-maximum work health and safety fine - contributed to the death of an inexperienced soldier in a live firing exercise, an inquest has found.
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.
OHS Alert is taking a break for the Christmas and New Year period, and we're leaving you with a list of some of the most popular of our 800 articles from the last 12 months.
In a case prompting renewed calls for industrial manslaughter laws, a PCBU that failed to comply with its own safety management manual or apply available controls has been convicted over a death, while another employer has been fined over a painter's fatal fall.
