A court has recorded a conviction against a company and nearly doubled its fine for failing to reduce or eliminate height risks, while a regulator has called for employers to review their engineering control plans, following a string of electric shock incidents.
> NSW's COVID-19 work recovery tool guided by 100 years of crises; > SA employers should expect COVID call from a WHS inspector; > Vic workers told to keep working at home; and > Start date for ACT's labour-hire licensing scheme confirmed.
Hazelwood Power Corporation Pty Ltd has been fined a total of $1.56 million - or just 12 per cent of the maximum available penalty - for 10 OHS breaches relating to the devastating Hazelwood coal mine fire, after the Victorian Supreme Court found the fire didn't result from the company's safety contraventions.
Safety processes for staff working alone or in remote locations must include strict training regimes and call-in procedures that don't place "unreasonable reliance" on "personal vigilance", a coronial inquiry into a worker's death has shown.
> Employer fined for non-causal failures after fatal fall; > COVID-19 work cluster sparks renewed calls for WHS overhaul; and > COVID-19 safety strategies announced in Tas and NT.
A former Qantas employee allegedly suffered severe psychiatric injuries from being harassed and discriminated against at work for 13 years, and is seeking a total of more than $2 million in damages from the airline and a law firm, according to court documents obtained, through a Federal Court ruling, by OHS Alert publisher Specialist News.
> SWA launches COVID-19 hub and home setup guide; > More work-related COVID-19 guides and fatality alerts issued; and > HSEQ manager appointed boss of NT WorkSafe.
> Workers from four sectors targeted in Vic's COVID-19 blitz; > Coronavirus affecting "tolerance to risk", warns NSW regulator; and > SWA and WA issue new COVID-19 guides and warnings.
Employers have been reminded of their WHS duty to take all reasonably practicable steps to protect workers from COVID-19, after ACTU polling found many workplaces still don't have proper social distancing, PPE and cleaning protocols. Meanwhile, the UK's work safety regulator has issued social distancing tips for distribution centres and other sites.
