> WHS amendments mandate "competent" managers in SA; > WHS conviction and $400k fine followed by NSW blitz; and > Beaconsfield rescuer fronts worker and family support group.
An employer has been fined $400,000 over the death of an inexperienced worker, in a decision that could jeopardise its ability to tender for Commonwealth-funded work.
NSW has applied its new penalty unit system to more types of WHS offences - instantly increasing the maximum available fines - and added more WHS offences to the list of breaches attracting infringement notices.
A WHS regulator has accepted a second PCBU's second attempt to enter a safety undertaking in lieu of prosecution, despite the latest applicant's long history of compliance issues and statutory notices.
Industry experts consulted for a major work safety project, which will inform an upcoming crane blitz, have called for a tiered licensing system, mandatory pre-deployment site visits and a more aggressive inspection and enforcement regime.
NSW has lived up to its promise to step up enforcement of coronavirus health orders by fining 10 employers in a blitz. Meanwhile, a Victorian workplace with COVID-19 cases has been closed following Fair Work Commission talks and a visit from an occupational physician.
> Workplace COVID-19 controls encouraged by awards shift; > Injury prevention program covers 40,000 workers, and growing; and > Major workers' comp changes commence in NT next week.
> High-risk occupations overlooked in COVID-19 pandemic; > Warnings issued after crane and hose deaths; and > Another WHS regulator issues white card safety warning.
In this article, OHS Alert reviews all the need-to-know workplace safety and compensation developments from the second quarter of 2020, including Australia's first industrial manslaughter conviction, recklessness cases, work-related pandemic restrictions and wholesale legislative changes.
A PCBU has committed nearly $600,000 to putting hundreds of its workers from linguistically diverse backgrounds through English classes covering safety and site-specific issues, under a $1.5 million WHS undertaking.
