> 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.
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.
> Employer fined $850k over missing SWMS and fatality; > Individual convicted for hindering WHS investigation; and > More WHS offences attract on-the-spot fines in NT.
Employers could be fined nearly $200,000 for failing to comply with new notification regulations for COVID-19 in Victoria. Meanwhile, a WHS regulator has issued an alert to help duty holders identify fake respirators during the pandemic.
> COVID-19 and silica updates from NSW, Vic, WA and SWA; > Manslaughter laws come with broader definition of workplace death; and > Inventory overhauled for new risk-based chemical safety system.
Employers will be forced to make quickfire decisions on right-of-entry disputes, under recent amendments to the Queensland WHS Act, according to workplace health and safety lawyers.
> HSE adviser allegedly unlawfully snubbed by official; > New WHS Code of Practice commences in NSW; > Two more jurisdictions halve workplace silica threshold; and > Draft national safety guidelines for asbestos-cement pipes released.
New laws accelerating workers' access to COVID-19-related compensation and easing constraints on damages claims have been flagged for Western Australia. The State has also revised the start date for its mobile phone distraction crackdown, and called for comments on an anti-violence Code for workplaces.
NSW's latest WHS Amendment Bill, which overrides health privacy laws, will ensure regulators can identify and take enforcement action against specific employers exposing workers to existing and emerging health and safety risks, the State Government has revealed.
