The latest edition of Creighton & Stewart’s Labour Law book (7th edition) has been released. I say “book”, but it is almost a brick, weighing in on my scales at 1.8 kilograms (see photo below). The book is excellent and probably authoritative, with the primary negative being its size and format. This article focuses on …
I am a big fan of diagnosis as a tool for obtaining evidence from which decisions about occupational health and safety (OHS) can be made. However, increased attention on the inclusion of mental health management in OHS exposes us to the same minefield that is currently surrounding the (over?) diagnosis of autism, Attention Deficit Hyperactivity …
Australia has learned much from its consideration of psychosocial factors that can generate psychological harm in workers over the last decade. By the end of 2025, all Australian jurisdictions will likely have re-emphasised the psychological elements of employers’ and workers’ occupational health and safety (OHS) duties. However, the legislative changes are likely to fail to …
Culture has perhaps become the dominant theme in modern occupational health and safety (OHS). Possibly more dominant than Leadership. Culture remains an amorphous concept that is an inclusive adjective but also unhelpful. Several recent events started making connections in my OHS brain that I am still working through:...
In December 2024, WorkSafe Victoria released “Office Health and Safety – A Guide for Employers“. Sadly, it seems to have (half) dumped the Officewise brand. If WorkSafe had kept it, the guide would have been part of an illustrious history stretching to the last century when the first edition was published in 1995. The new …
Occupational health and safety has traditionally been considered under the category of industrial, or industrial relations, but largely this is due to the major advocates of OHS being the trade union movement. So OHS seems to fit with workers’ rights under the issues of wages and conditions, but really OHS is a social law. According …
Many of the prominent Australian mining companies are in the process of changing their cultures to minimise the risk of sexual assaults and harassment after several recent damning inquiries into worker health and safety. Everyone seems to agree that cultural change can take a long time. I am not convinced. Change will take time if one operates …
