A PCBU has been found guilty of WHS breaches, for failing to properly supervise and train a worker so he could identify tasks he was prohibited from undertaking.
Employers will be required to prepare a "silica hazard control statement" and obtain a special licence under proposed Victorian regulations affecting four sectors and 24 sub-industries. Meanwhile, tighter workplace exposure thresholds, including for diesel emissions, take effect in NSW next week.
In a rare case, a PCBU has been convicted and fined under WHS consultation provisions, after its failure to "consult, co-operate and co-ordinate" with other duty holders led to a worker sustaining serious injuries in a fall.
A labour-hire company has been found not guilty of WHS breaches involving inadequate guarding and finger injuries, with a court finding its safety consultation process was "seriously compromised" by the representations of a host employer.
A PCBU that could have prevented the death of an 18-year-old worker through simple visual inspections has been handed one of the highest WHS fines in NSW history.
An individual has been convicted and fined heavily over a fatality, in a "unique" case involving a failure to implement engineering controls to "cure a defect" in the design of a piece of equipment.
An employer is implementing a safety communication system that will allow workers to send photographs, videos and proposed work processes to engineers for "instant risk assessment", as part of a $541,000 enforceable undertaking.
> Alarms ignored, worker killed, employer fined $540k; > WHS guides for worker accommodation and events released in NSW; and > WHS exemption extended in NSW.
