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.
* Daily safety checks urged ahead of national truck-health survey; * GHS pictogram poster updated for system transition; and * Workers' comp premiums increased in WA.
It is well known that chemical accidents can expose workers to hazardous irritants, but employers need to be aware that exposure often occurs during everyday "controlled" tasks, a study of 18 years' data on occupational asthmas has shown.
A major employer has been handed a pre-discount WHS penalty of $900,000, after a worker and a customer were engulfed in flames. The relevant Elgas Ltd safety instructions for personnel were inadequate because they were "scattered" throughout dozens of documents, a court found.
An employer could have prevented serious burn injuries, and avoided a WHS penalty, through simple measures like ensuring equipment was properly secured during transport and fitting a vehicle with safety equipment, a judgment has shown.
The CSIRO has committed nearly $3.3 million to workplace safety rectifications and undertakings, in lieu of prosecution over an explosion, in the first enforceable undertaking accepted under the Commonwealth WHS Act.
The Federal Department of Home Affairs and a healthcare provider have been charged with WHS breaches relating to the suicide of a detainee at the Villawood Immigration Detention Centre in Sydney. They could be fined a total of up to $6 million if found guilty.
