In this latest edition of our long-running quarterly update series, OHS Alert reviews all the key WHS news from the first three months of 2020, including everything you need to know on the COVID-19 pandemic, the findings on Dreamworld's dismal safety systems, caselaw from all jurisdictions, and legislative changes.
A PCBU's category 3 WHS penalty has been reinstated, in an appeals court case examining the "continuing duty" to ensure the safety of workers and others affected by a business or undertaking.
Laws establishing a new safety regulator and transferring "serious" resources cases to the Work Health and Safety Prosecutor have passed in Queensland, with amendments. Meanwhile, a timely Bill mandating vaccinations for healthcare workers has passed in Victoria.
A requirement to lower a vehicle's access ladder from a "safe location" was an administrative control that could be bypassed either deliberately or inadvertently, an investigation into a worker's death has found. Meanwhile, an employer recently charged with seven dangerous goods breaches has been accused of 21 more offences.
A PCBU that failed to audit its isolation procedures has been fined after a maintenance worker sustained permanent crush injuries requiring full-time care, while a regulator has called for contractors to follow the advice of engineers, in light of a recent prosecution.
