A PCBU has been fined for failing to report a head knock to a regulator, while a worker who should have refused his employer's request to carry out unsafe work has been fined over a co-worker's injuries, and a man has been penalised for his "disgraceful" asbestos breaches.
A judge has increased an employer's WHS fine nearly three-fold on appeal, stressing that a worker's injury-causing "stupidity" occurred in the context of the employer's failure to separate pedestrians and mobile plant, and slamming a magistrate's "almost unintelligible" remarks on the matter.
An employer's failure to address the obvious risks posed by its "incredibly cluttered" warehouse set off a "catastrophic" sequence of events, and has led to a $5.6 million damages award to an injured worker.
A major public healthcare provider has been convicted and fined $340,000 for breaching workplace health and safety laws in failing to identify and control a suicide risk to a patient.
A regulator has warned that union officials must hold valid right-of-entry permits when entering sites under provisions for "resolving" WHS matters, after the High Court blocked an appeal on the issue.
A labour-hire company and a host employer have both been fined for safety failures relating to unguarded plant, with a court outlining the measures the former could have taken to prevent an injury and prosecution.
An employer has unsuccessfully challenged a $2.5 million injury damages bill relating to work road maintenance failures. An appeals court rejected its claim that the injured worker was contributorily negligent in failing to satisfy the "high" duty of care owed by drivers.
A PCBU that failed to issue safety directions to a subcontractor has been fined $500,000 over the death of a labour-hire worker, bringing the total penalties for the incident to nearly $1 million.
Two workplace duty holders charged with recklessly endangering a client, who died, will be tried by a judge alone without a jury, following an appeals court decision aimed at reducing the backlog of criminal trials caused by the COVID-19 pandemic.
