By: Safety Solutions/NSCA Chloch Homes & Developments, a Victorian developer, has pleaded guilty to one charge of failing to ensure that the workplace was safe and without risk to health and safety. The developer was fined $15,000 without conviction. The Director of Public Prosecutions appealed the fine in the Melbourne County Court, where Chloch was convicted and …
By: SafeWork SA SafeWork SA will implement a reduced workplace exposure limit (WEL) for respirable crystalline silica on 1 July 2020. Work health and safety (WHS) ministers have agreed by the requisite majority decision of Safe Work Australia to reduce the WEL for respirable crystalline silica to an eight-hour time-weighted average of 0.05 mg/m3. WHS ministers agreed …
As we begin to open our doors, if you need assistance managing your safety measures including, physical distancing, personal hygiene, and contact tracing RME and our partners may be able to help. RME has sourced the most commonly used products including, signage, thermometers, and hand sanitiser, however, there are more available so if you don’t …
By: Safework Australia Safework Australia has updated their website to provide a wealth of information in preparedness for lifting of restrictions or to help those still being able to operate. They include: Physical distancing Hygiene Cleaning, and Personal protective equipment (PPE) In addition to these there is also a number of checklists which will assist you in identifying practicable steps ensure the …
By Safe Work Australia Safe Work Australia will take a modified approach to enforcement to ensure compliance with the Australia WHS Laws during Covid-19 pandemic. While realising there is ‘unprecedented pressure’ on the industry they will apply a common sense and practical approach when engaging with workplaces. Statement of Regulatory Intent – Regulatory approach to …
Inexperienced and young workers remain a vulnerable group in all industries, in particular the construction industry, as demonstrated by the recent sentencing hearing of a concrete pump contractor in SafeWork NSW v NonAbel Concrete Pump Pty Ltd; Bilal Hamdan (2020). Case Background NonAbel Concrete Pump Pty Ltd (Company) is a company providing concrete pumping and …
By: Jared Butt HSEQ News The peak body representing Australian small businesses has slammed a South Australian Labor Opposition Amendment Bill that would provide automatic workers’ compensation to prescribed workers who contract COVID-19. The SA Bill would amend the State Return to Work Act 2014 so that when a person employed at a prescribed workplace or in …
As people and businesses across Australia and New Zealand feel the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic, it has never been more important to look after our health and wellbeing. Taking the necessary protective measures is crucial in the current climate and in all areas where our health and safety can be compromised. Let’s rise to …
By Safe Work Australia Australia is continuing to closely monitor the outbreak of coronavirus (COVID-19). Cases of the COVID-19 virus are increasing in Australia and the situation is changing rapidly. You can access the latest information from australia.gov.au. The Prime Minister, the Hon Scott Morrison MP, has advised that employers should allow workers to work from …
By: Greg Jones: ACT Work Safety Commissioner – 06/02/2020 The tragic death of a 60-year-old worker occurred this week, after falling from the second storey of a residential construction site in Denman Prospect. This is the second death of a worker on a residential construction site in Denman Prospect in less than a month. The …
48-year Greg Page (Yellow Wiggle) is shining a light on the need for business and clubs to supply accessible defibrillators after he’s near death experience. Greg who suffered a SCA (sudden cardiac arrest) during a bushfire relief show, has described himself before the incident as being in good health and very fit with recent health …
Victoria now joins the ACT (under the Crimes Act) and Queensland in having specific workplace or industrial manslaughter laws in place. The Northern Territory has also introduced a WHS Amendment Bill creating the offence of industrial manslaughter while NSW has introduced a WHS Amendment Bill. Determining factors of suicide could be a problem. Victorian Workplace …
By: workplaceohs 2 Dec 2019 The Northern Territory Legislative Assembly has passed the Territory’s first industrial manslaughter laws, creating a new offense to protect the safety of workers. The new law will ensure all businesses, regardless of the business size, face the same level of penalty if reckless or negligent conduct has caused a workplace …
Often when something goes wrong at work, it goes wrong quickly and with disastrous consequences. Putting on a different hat for a moment, below are the top 12 workplace health and safety hazards that safety inspectors regularly find during visits to small businesses. manual handling housekeeping and slips, trips and falls storage and racking – …
By: health & safety bulletin, Michael Selinger A preventable fall from heights at a construction site in the ACT in 2016 that led to a 16-year-old work experience student suffering significant injuries has resulted in a fine of $180,000 being imposed this week on the head contractor Nikias Diamond. Two other contractors involved in the …