In this major report, OHS Alert examines all the must-know work health and safety, workers' compensation and work-related COVID-19 developments from the fourth quarter of 2020, with highlights including a series of important legislative changes and near-record WHS fines.
OHS Alert is taking a break for a few weeks, and we're leaving you with a list of our most popular articles from the last 12 months - a list dominated by our leading stories on managing the work-related risks of COVID-19, and high-profile court cases.
Workplaces like healthcare facilities should apply the hierarchy of controls to respiratory protection programs and test all relevant staff, regardless of symptoms, when an outbreak of coronavirus or similar occurs, the independent review of the COVID-19 outbreak in north-west Tasmania has found.
An employer's evidence disputing a worker's claims of bullying and "toxic" conditions fell well short of the evidentiary expectations set by a supreme court chief justice, a tribunal has ruled.
> Site-specific induction overlooked before powerlines incident; > High WHS fines for mines pass Tas Parliament; and > SWA urges duty holders to eliminate common fatality risk.
> Work safety incidents attract second round of fines; > WHS changes creating new PCBU duties for quad bikes in Tas; and > NSW workers invited to challenge past injury payments.
A commission has rejected an employer's claim that it was unable to make reasonable return-to-work adjustments for a worker who suffered a cardiac arrest, finding it ignored medical advice that his work capacity could improve with "an appropriate period of work hardening".
A major employer has been handed significant WHS penalties in two jurisdictions, including for failing to properly respond to two previous workplace fires, which led to a contractor sustaining fatal injuries in a third fire.
An injured worker has been refused compensation after a tribunal found it was reasonably arguable she "staged" a work-related fall and deliberately hurt herself.
