The NSW WHS Act will be amended to impose new duties on PCBUs that "provide food delivery services", if an Opposition Bill (which forms part of a broader safety strategy for gig workers) passes Parliament. Meanwhile, Tasmanian employers have been told to "stay COVID safe" as border restrictions ease.
Social media denoting COVID-19 as a "killer virus" creates a sense of danger and distress among frontline workers. Employers should reduce these mental health risks by providing more consistent information and better training, researchers say.
Australia's WHS framework is robust and can help duty holders grapple with the ever-changing impact of COVID-19 on health and safety, but mitigating pandemic hazards is not a one-size-fits-all approach, according to department heads from two Federal safety agencies.
A quarter of the 3.6 million Australians exposed to carcinogens at work are exposed to five or more different cancer-causing substances, according to researchers who have identified those most at risk.
Work tasks causing whole-body vibrations should be addressed in risk assessments for pregnant workers, researchers have warned in an "alarming" study. Meanwhile, another study has found work stress makes employees vulnerable to a range of infections.
Researchers have called for the proper assessment of vibration emissions from powered hand tools, and outlined workplace control measures, after identifying a high prevalence of vibration-related chronic pain, diseases and neurological disorders in a large group of workers.
Employers' health promotion and tobacco cessation programs can be significantly undermined by unrestricted vaping, including in outdoor work areas, according to a team of doctors specialising in quit-smoking initiatives.
Suicide rates are expected to increase by 40 per cent in the next decade from the impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic, and employers are being urged to consider the role they will play in suicide prevention and managing emotional conversations.
The proportion of COVID-19 infections in healthcare staff attributed to work has surged from 22 per cent in Victoria's first wave of infections to at least 69 per cent in the second wave, according to a new report, which says tea rooms and old ventilation systems are partly to blame.
