A man has been ordered to stand trial for the industrial manslaughter of a worker who fell through an unguarded penetration, while employers have been urged to assess and control the risks associated with the potentially deadly disease melioidosis, after a work-related case was recorded.
A company and its director have been charged with WHS recklessness, which was allegedly identified during an investigation into a helicopter crash that occurred just moments after a worker suspended under the aircraft was cut free and fell to his death.
The final quarter of 2023 was marked by wholesale WHS changes affecting all duty holders. This report examines the amendments, as well as changes to other laws and all the need-to-know caselaw from the period.
A local council that faced a maximum WHS penalty of more than $7 million, relating to an allegedly unsafe plant modification aimed at protecting workers from crocodiles, has been permitted to enter a $76,500 undertaking in lieu of prosecution.
Significant amendments were made to workplace health and safety laws in every Australian jurisdiction in the third quarter of 2023, including many increasing penalties and making it easier to prosecute duty holders. This major report - the only one of its kind in the country - examines all the need-to-know legislative changes, workers' compensation developments and court decisions from July, August and September.
A PCBU has been ordered to pay nearly $700,000 in fines and costs over the death of a superintendent, but it could have been much worse for the business, which initially faced a maximum penalty of $35 million under a string of reckless-conduct charges.