The NSW WHS Act will be amended to impose new duties on PCBUs that "provide food delivery services", if an Opposition Bill (which forms part of a broader safety strategy for gig workers) passes Parliament. Meanwhile, Tasmanian employers have been told to "stay COVID safe" as border restrictions ease.
This article examines all the must-know workplace safety, workers' compensation and COVID-19 developments from July, August and September 2020, with highlights including a new WHS Code for the pandemic, the Dreamworld judgment, a record double-fatality fine and gross negligence cases.
> COVID work restrictions eased slightly in Vic, with UK lesson; > Comcare updates transition-to-usual-work guidance; and > Industrial manslaughter laws demanded for Tas WHS Act.
A worker was "on the job" when he was violently assaulted while chasing an absconding customer, a tribunal has found in rejecting his employer's liability challenge.
> COVID face coverings can create new work risks, regulator warns; > "Second line of defence" prescribed for Qld mines; > Employers reminded of new quad bike safety standards; and > New online system helps WHS notifications in Tas.
An employer has convinced a tribunal that intense computer work did not cause a worker's hand injury, but it failed to avoid one of the other "pathways to liability".
Australian researchers have called for the long-term use of rigorous occupational hygiene measures and working-from-arrangements to reduce the risk of a resurgence of COVID-19, while paid pandemic leave schemes have been introduced in two more states, providing a financial incentive not to attend work while infectious.
A High Court majority has upheld Federal Government and employer appeals against a finding that workers performing 12-hour shifts are entitled to 10 individual days of sick or carer's leave per year under the National Employment Standards.
