A regulator has warned workplace leaders that they have a duty to "live and breathe" their anti-bullying policies, after securing its second reckless conduct conviction involving a life-threatening attack on an apprentice.
A PCBU completely reviewed its working-at-heights procedures after a work crew disregarded its safe work policy on wearing fall arresters and harnesses, a tribunal has heard in convicting the PCBU.
Heavy vehicle drivers and other duty holders have been warned against the "trap" of determining minimum rest times based on a 24-hour period starting at the end of a major rest break, after a court upheld the conviction of a worker who unwittingly transgressed fatigue regulations.
A 42-year-old mesothelioma sufferer, and member of the "third wave" of asbestos victims, has been awarded a record $3 million in exemplary and other damages, with a court warning that widespread appreciation of the hazard does little to protect workers and home owners.
A supervisor whose purported "brain fade" exposed a teenage apprentice to the risk of serious burns and death, in a case of "high jinks gone wrong", has been convicted and fined for the most serious WHS offence of reckless conduct.
Yesterday's sentencing of South Australia Police (SAPOL) over the death of an employee in a freezer has provided crucial WHS lessons for PCBUs with workers who work alone. Meanwhile, the State Government has flagged laws to protect the health of emergency workers from "disgusting behaviour".
A WHS regulator's investigative function will receive a $390,000 boost, after South Australia Police (SAPOL) was handed a record-equalling fine over the death of a worker in a freezer at a training facility.
> SIA demands free safety-related Australian Standards; > Workplace Safety portfolio created for new Vic cabinet; and > SA introduces Bill to scrap labour-hire scheme with WHS test.
A coroner has warned that industrial manslaughter laws will increase "defensive litigious strategies", but recommended a review that could shift the focus of WHS management from risk assessment to mandatory rules.
A PCBU over-relied on a worker's extensive experience and failed to realise that his high-risk tasks went beyond the scope of his qualifications and licensing, a court has found in fining the PCBU.
