Browsing: Duty holders

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".

As a union steps up its fight against proposed WHS amendments targeting NSW workers, European researchers have called for "legal co-responsibility" provisions to discourage employment arrangements that pressure workers to take safety risks on public roads.

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.

• 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.

Merging an organisation's occupational health management and corporate social responsibility frameworks can help it comply with its health and safety duties and maintain standards along supply chains, researchers say.

In an often "childlike" sham, a local council contractor was able to direct $1.6 million to his own IT company after submitting a tender for IT work with a copied OHS policy, which included clearly irrelevant references to agricultural activities like "windmill maintenance", the Victorian Ombudsman has found.

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 trauma-informed response mechanism and a "serious incident team" should be established to cover critical gaps in the ability of Commonwealth parliamentary workplaces to respond to serious incidents, a review prompted by the alleged rape of a staffer has found.