> 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.
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.
> Two individuals fined over fatal fall from mobile plant; > Nearly 1,000 improvement notices issued in safety blitz; and > Australia's first occupational dust diseases register commences.
A multi-state PCBU has committed nearly $1 million to creating a steering committee to oversee safety at a national level and other undertakings, after a falling concrete beam nearly caused a scaffold collapse on a major construction site. Meanwhile, another employer has committed $387,000 to developing safety resources for workers with limited English after an employee was seriously injured.
> Lack of documented loading procedures leads to paraplegia; > Workers' comp transitions and premiums announced in three states; and > New WHS Minister appointed in Tas.
> Four entities including manager charged over teenager's death; > OHS improvement notices maintained after quad case withdrawn; and > New drug testing rules commencing under RSNL.
An employer that relied on verbal height safety instructions instead of waiting for edge protection to be installed has been fined $120,000, plus $21,500 in costs, after a worker sustained serious injuries in a 3.6-metre fall.
A judge who jailed a company director for a category 1 WHS breach failed to direct the jury to consider whether the man had a "reasonable excuse" for not installing a safety rail, an appeals court has ruled. In another case, a director has been jailed over a young worker's death.
