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.
NSW's WHS regulations are being amended to mandate PPE and safety induction training for gig economy riders, but the State Government has been accused of shielding "Silicon Valley behemoths" and blaming workers for a string of fatalities.
A PCBU that endangered "other persons" by allowing an unqualified worker to perform high-risk crane work has been convicted and fined $170,000, in the latest of a series of cases involving the prosecution of multiple duty holders.
A labour-hire company and a host employer have both been fined for safety failures relating to unguarded plant, with a court outlining the measures the former could have taken to prevent an injury and prosecution.
A PCBU that failed to issue safety directions to a subcontractor has been fined $500,000 over the death of a labour-hire worker, bringing the total penalties for the incident to nearly $1 million.
A PCBU has committed to completely digitising its permit-to-work system to strengthen its effectiveness as a critical control for non-standard work, while a second PCBU will audit its mobile plant and traffic management plans across multiple sites, in response two serious safety incidents.
A major employer has been handed a pre-discount WHS penalty of $900,000, after a worker and a customer were engulfed in flames. The relevant Elgas Ltd safety instructions for personnel were inadequate because they were "scattered" throughout dozens of documents, a court found.
A commission has rejected a worker's claim she should not have been dismissed for punching a colleague in the face, shortly after her shift ended, because they were close friends discussing personal matters at the time of the altercation.
