At the moment Australian OHS professionals, lawyers and businesses are preparing submissions to the Government on the harmonisation of OHS laws. One of the areas that the Government is seeking advice on is penalties. The Discussion Paper asks the following Q17. Are the range and levels of penalties proposed above appropriate, taking account of the levels set for breaches [...]
All posts for the month October, 2009
New approaches on OHS fines and penalties
Posted by Kevin Jones on October 30, 2009
http://safetyatworkblog.com/2009/10/30/new-approaches-on-ohs-fines-and-penalties/
Combining safety and RTW awards
Finally, a State-based safety awards night that has both OHS and Return-to-Work awards. On 27 October 2009, Workplace Health & Safety Queensland held its annual safety awards night as part of Safe Work Australia Week. In a media release, the Minister for Industrial Relations, Cameron Dick, said “The inaugural Return to Work Awards are run by Q-COMP – the statutory authority that [...]
Posted by Kevin Jones on October 30, 2009
http://safetyatworkblog.com/2009/10/30/combining-safety-and-rtw-awards/
WorkSafe Victoria Awards winners
On 29 October 2009, WorkSafe Victoria held its WorkSafe Awards event at the Palladium Room at Melbourne’s Crown Casino. SafetyAtWorkBlog attended as a guest. All the winners were deserved and there are short profiles of some of the winners below. The first award was for the Health & Safety Representative of the Year, won by Phyl Hilton. Hilton [...]
Posted by Kevin Jones on October 30, 2009
http://safetyatworkblog.com/2009/10/30/worksafe-victoria-awards-winners/
Senator calls for Senate hearing on the safety of posties
Senator Steve Fielding is the head of the Family First Party, the smallest political party in Australia’s Parliament at the moment. Fielding is one of the handful of senators who hold the balance of power in the parliament and therefore has more political influence than a party of the size of Family First usually has. On 19 [...]
Posted by Kevin Jones on October 29, 2009
http://safetyatworkblog.com/2009/10/29/senator-calls-for-senate-hearing-on-the-safety-of-posties/
The demographic challenges facing OHS management
The best OHS advice, or rather innovative thinking, is frequently coming from those experts from outside the traditional OHS background. A case in point could be a presentation made by prominent Australian demographer, Bernard Salt, at one of the many Safe Work Australia Week events in South Australia. Salt provided enough information about population [...]
Posted by Kevin Jones on October 28, 2009
http://safetyatworkblog.com/2009/10/28/the-demographic-challenges-facing-ohs-management/
Australian AGM’s mention workplace deaths
Australia’s corporations are busy releasing their annual reports in October 2009. The outgoing managing director and CEO of Boral Limited, Rod Pearse, provided his comments on the company’s safety performance to shareholders on 28 October 2009. “Since demerger [January 2000], Boral’s safety outcomes have delivered steady year-on-year improvements and compare well with both ASX100 and industry benchmarks. Employee [...]
Posted by Kevin Jones on October 28, 2009
http://safetyatworkblog.com/2009/10/28/australian-agms-mention-workplace-deaths/
Safe Work Australia Week podcast
Today, 1,500 union health and safety representatives attended a one-day seminar in Melbourne concerning occupational health and safety. The seminars were supported by a range of information booths on issues from support on workplace death, legal advice, superannuation and individual union services. Kevin Jones, the editor of SafetyAtWorkBlog took the opportunity to chat with a couple of people on the booths about OHS generally and [...]
Posted by Kevin Jones on October 28, 2009
http://safetyatworkblog.com/2009/10/28/safe-work-australia-week-podcast/
OHS – time to grow up or get locked in the attic
In OHS law in Australia, the employer/employee relationship is dead or, at least, coughing up blood. OHS law is to be based on “people conducting a business or undertaking” (PCBUs have been discussed briefly elsewhere) and not a worker working in a workplace, even though the recently changed industrial law, the Fair Work Act, maintains this relationship. This morning [...]
Posted by Kevin Jones on October 27, 2009
http://safetyatworkblog.com/2009/10/27/ohs-time-to-grow-up-or-get-locked-in-the-attic/
Australian Standards and OHS harmonisation
This morning in Melbourne, WorkSafe Victoria conducted a three-hour seminar on the harmonisation of Australia’s OHS laws. The speakers and panelists were John Merritt of WorkSafe, Tracey Browne of the Australian Industry Group and Cathy Butcher of the Victorian Trades Hall. Tripartism at its best. The large auditorium was filled with hundreds of attendees, very few were the familiar faces of [...]
Posted by Kevin Jones on October 26, 2009
http://safetyatworkblog.com/2009/10/26/australian-standards-and-ohs-harmonisation/
Using OHS images
“A picture is worth a thousand words” rings as true for OH&S material as anywhere else. But it’s also true that using images ineffectively or including bad quality ones can detract from the quality of what you’re trying to achieve. I ain’t no graphic designer or expert photographer, but I’ve spent a bit of time [...]
Posted by colrf on October 26, 2009
http://safetyatworkblog.com/2009/10/26/using-ohs-images/
http://au.loadedweb.com/
