Does OHS research have a Left and a Right?

Occupational health and safety (OHS) has had an uneasy ride in political debates in Australia, often because there is a disturbing morality in laws that dictate an employer has responsibility for the safety and health of their workers, even if legal wriggle room is allowed. There is no written history of OHS in Australia except …

Login or subscribe to SafetyAtWorkBlog to continue reading.

Gig work changes that could save lives

The New South Wales government is conducting an inquiry into the gig economy, modern versions of precarious work. There has been five deaths of food delivery workers over the last few months and this has increased media attention on the Inquiry and the issues raised. On November 28 2020, Joellen Riley Munton, Professor of Law …

Login or subscribe to SafetyAtWorkBlog to continue reading.

Queensland enforces its labour hire laws while Victoria is still working theirs out

The Queensland government was the first Australian State to introduce a licencing scheme for the providers of contract workers and temporary labour.  As a result, enforcement activity by the regulator there will likely set the scene for similar actions in other States particularly as Victoria has opened it public consultation on its labour hire regulations. …

Login or subscribe to SafetyAtWorkBlog to continue reading.

A new Senate inquiry into industrial deaths

Another Australian Government inquiry into workplace health and safety (WHS) was announced on March 26 2018.  According to the Senate Hansard, the Senate’s Education and Employment References Committee will report on a range of occupational health and safety (OHS) matters by the end of September 2018....

Login or subscribe to SafetyAtWorkBlog to continue reading.

Victoria joins the push for licencing labour hire

Victoria is the latest Australian State to introduce laws into Parliament that establish a licencing scheme for labour hire operators. The Labour Hire Licensing Bill 2017 was read into Parliament on 14 December 2017 (Hansard, pages 55-61) The Bill is compatible with the laws passed recently in Queensland and South Australia which apply a universal … Continue reading “Victoria joins the push for licencing labour hire”

Victoria announces a new OHS review

On 11 February 2016, the Victorian Government announced a review into occupational health and safety (OHS) but you would hardly have noticed. The media release gained little attention in any of the mainstream press and yet its terms of reference are quite broad.  It will be interesting to see how the review panel sets its …

Login or subscribe to SafetyAtWorkBlog to continue reading.