A magistrate "impermissibly reasoned backward", and misapplied the reasonable practicability test, when she found an employer guilty of amputation-related safety breaches and fined it nearly $200,000, a superior court has found.
A principal contractor that failed to act on a union's height-safety warning has been fined $450,000 after a worker was killed, with a court lambasting its director for failing to take personal steps to protect workers.
An employer has been found liable for injuries a FIFO worker suffered on a fishing trip with his general manager, because it impliedly encouraged him to engage in the activity to rest and recuperate after a demanding week of shift work.
Industry associations have agreed to push for tougher sanctions for reckless conduct in the latest step towards a "safety reset" in the hazardous mining sector. Meanwhile, a regulator has warned that respirators are lower order dust controls and often ineffective, even when properly chosen and fitted.
"Basic clutter" like stacked boxes and bags on the floor is one of seven significant safety hazards frequently overlooked by employers, according to a global risk management provider.
A PCBU and its director have escaped prosecution for fatality-related category 2 WHS breaches because of "evidentiary issues", but have been convicted and fined for failing to cooperate with the investigation into the death.
> "Safety reset" agreed on after string of fatalities; > PCBU allegedly failed to act on induction advice before death; > Health department charged with OHS discrimination; and > Prohibition notice numbers nearly tripled in ACT.
UK researchers have cautioned against one-size-fits-all sitting reduction interventions. They say identifying an organisation's unique barriers and enablers to sitting less is a vital first step in ensuring a program will be effective.
A PCBU has been fined after an inexperienced teenage worker's fingers were amputated, just months after another worker was killed at the same site. Meanwhile, a worker has been awarded nearly $1.4 million after he was seriously injured moving 250kg slabs on his second day on the job.
