> Mirror WHS Bill debated in WA Lower House, industry concerned; > Two duty holders charged with multiple WHS breaches after fall; and > WHS regulator investigating two falls, one fatal.
An employer that largely ignored the reasonably practicable and inexpensive control measures identified in 10 improvement notices has been convicted and fined $125,000, while two regulators have issued fatality alerts outlining height and post-bushfire safety measures.
A PCBU engaged to design, supply and install a fall prevention system has been fined heavily over a six-metre fall, taking the total WHS penalties for the incident to $525,000.
A PCBU that exposed a visiting pest controller to the risk of death or serious injury from a fall through a trapdoor has been convicted and fined, in a long-running case that challenged the validity of all WHS prosecutions over a three-year period.
Two companies and an engineer who allegedly failed to ensure a worksite was supervised in his absence have been charged over a fatal crane incident, while an employer has been fined $110,000 after a worker was nearly struck by a falling object - weighing two tonnes.
A PCBU that made a half-hearted attempt to comply with three improvement notices has been prosecuted and fined $24,000. Meanwhile, workplace safety regulations for using equipment in non-explosive atmospheres have been simplified in Queensland.
The director of a company with a long history of safety and entry contraventions had a "deliberate policy" to breach entry laws because he believed he was being targeted by a union, the Federal Circuit Court has found in fining the director, the company and a supervisor.
An employer forewent a manufacturer-approved method for performing a high-risk task because of a project's "continually moving timeline", which led to three workers dangling from a collapsed crane jib on the roof of a high-rise building site, a court has found in fining the employer $390,000.
