Browsing: Authority/inspectorate news

A PCBU that contended it had never witnessed or heard of the possibility of a sequence of events, which killed one of its workers on a National Broadband Network site, has been convicted and fined $250,000, after a judge agreed that "the likelihood of the risk occurring was low".

Workplace safety laws and safety-bonus schemes are likely to be overhauled, with an inquiry into a methane explosion, which seriously injured five workers, finding a major company's gas control measures couldn't cope with its high production levels, and should have been subjected to greater scrutiny from the regulator.

A Commonwealth agency has been acquitted of WHS charges, on appeal, relating to the hypothermia death of a contract helicopter pilot. A court found a key measure the agency was accused of failing to implement was not reasonably practicable.

Safe Work Australia's sixth annual national statement on psychosocial health and safety and bullying in Australian workplaces shows the rate of mental stress claims is increasing, while the median direct cost of bullying-related claims has reached nearly $35,000.

• Workplace vehicle safety hinges on "heightened awareness"; and
  
• WHS entry guidance released in SA.

• WHS Code remade with significant changes in Qld; and
  
• Qld reveals workers' comp premium rate for 2021-22.

A white-collar worker has been awarded lump sum compensation and the cost of hearing aids, after a tribunal found her office environment was noisy enough to cause noise-induced hearing loss.

A full Federal Court has rejected, after careful consideration, a worker's assertion that injuries like mental ailments must remain compensable if they were "ever" connected to a claimant's employment.

Employers have been reminded of the carcinogenicity of welding fumes and their duty to keep on top of the latest health and safety developments, with a WHS regulator releasing details of a project examining fume exposure levels and control measures.

A PCBU accused of fall-related breaches has committed to developing and certifying a safety management system against AS/NZS ISO 45001, under a $274,000 WHS undertaking in which much of the spend will go towards initiatives that mature safety organisations already have.