> NSW launches COVID-19 work guidance, addresses misconceptions; > PCBUs warned after worker killed by damaged gate; > Revamped WHS regulator to focus on climate change and violence; and > ACTU applauds Vic's broader workplace death definition.
Engaging in "hard" tactics like legitimising requests by calling on safety policies, rules and regulatory sanctions is the wrong way to go about influencing senior managers, according to an OHS integration expert. She urges health and safety professionals to opt for more rational and value-based appeals.
> 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.
The velocity of the COVID-19 outbreak has demonstrated that current risk management approaches are too slow and rigid to deal with major disruptive events, according to a safety and risk management expert.
An employer's travel survey of employees was a lawful and reasonable part of its efforts to control the risks posed by the COVID-19 pandemic and comply with its WHS duties, a commission has ruled in upholding the dismissal of a worker who refused to complete the survey.
> 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.
The common "safety first" philosophy of organisations is actually a "mediocre" pledge that can cause incidents and injuries by creating unnecessary business pressures and compelling workers to conceal safety issues, an organisational psychologist has warned.
A coalition of organisations, including the Australian Institute of Occupational Hygienists and the ACTU, has called for the Federal Government to establish a register of approved respirators, and developed a guide to buying face masks to protect workers from COVID-19 and other substances.
Australia's recovery from COVID-19 has the earmarks of an industrial safety disaster, but also presents an unprecedented opportunity for WHS professionals to become a trusted voice in their organisations going forward, a leading safety lawyer says.
