Safety inspectors will be "out in force" to ensure employers are meeting their health and safety obligations as they reopen workplaces across Victoria, the State regulator says.
> Workplace exposure thresholds halved in WA; > KFC operator failed to provide safety supervision; and > Did you miss OHS Alert's latest quarterly update?
Workplaces will no longer need to be on Victoria's permitted work list to open under new pandemic rules, taking effect tonight, but workers who are able to work from home must continue to do so, and safety plans remain mandatory.
Two employers that failed to identify and rectify a step that didn't comply with Australian Standards have been ordered to pay damages to a worker who sustained injuries descending the step.
> Employer fined in latest action on coffee burns; > Labour-hire workers not properly trained; and > PCBU and directors fined for disregarding asbestos regulations.
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.
The overarching aim of an employer's overseas conference for employees made the company liable for a worker's paddle-boarding injury, in accordance with a High Court test, a magistrate has found.
> West Gate Bridge anniversary sends work safety message; > PCBU failed to enforce exclusion zones; and > Safety blitz moves to next Canberra suburb, issues 31 notices.
An unlicensed worker who conducted a "quick fix" of electrical wiring created a workplace electrocution risk, providing a valid reason for his dismissal, a commission has found.
