> WHS blitz report sheds light on regulatory activities; > Dedicated psychological health officer to improve WHS performance; and > Alerts issued after fatality, drum burns and fall.
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.
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.
An employer that could have prevented a fatality by using more appropriate machinery for a high-risk task has been fined $650,000. Meanwhile, an individual has been fined for failing to prepare a health and safety coordination plan, which contributed to a three-metre fall.
A fatal work vehicle explosion was triggered by an exposed wire in a storage compartment containing a gas cylinder, which wasn't stored in accordance with the relevant Australian Standards, codes of practice or safety data sheets, an inquest has found.
> WHS Amendment Bill tackles scissor lift deaths in SA; > Legislative review forms part of fatality response in Qld; and > Consultation on GHS transition officially launched.
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.
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.
An employer and three of its managers have been fined for preventing union officials from investigating suspected safety breaches, while the Federal Court has dismissed claims that a union official "negated" a Western Australian employer's choice to operate after an ACT fatality, which led to multiple reckless conduct charges.
