There are more work health and safety lessons from a Near Miss incident than a workplace death. There is also more information about how occupational health and safety (OHS) should be managed in an Enforceable Undertaking (EU) than there is from a prosecution. Recently there were several EU’s in Queensland that illustrated these OHS management …
In 2010 Queensland’s former Attorney-General Cameron Dick said of enforceable undertakings that: “Enforceable undertakings promote the introduction of long-lasting and more wide-ranging safety changes that would not have occurred under the prosecutorial system that imposes fines after the event.” Enforceable Undertakings can be a powerful force for improving occupational health and safety (OHS) but they … Continue reading “Enforceable Undertakings on OHS – Good and Bad”
Enforceable Undertakings (EU) are a relatively new phenomenon in the occupational health and safety (OHS) world. They are, fundamentally, a legal process that allows organisations to avoid a prosecution for breaching OHS laws. The issue has garnered some attention recently due to application of an EU to a New Zealand school after two student actors …
The issue of “enforceable undertakings” for breaches of OHS law receives an interesting interpretation in the Courier-Mail newspaper on 18 January 2010. “Enforceable undertakings” are unfairly described as “plea bargains” but the article does provide some comparisons to support the argument. The first example provided where a worker was left a paraplegic sounds like a plea bargain in that there was … Continue reading “Do “enforceable undertakings” equal justice?”
Yesterday (April 4, 2019) SafeWorkSA dropped charges against the Department of Planning, Transport and Infrastructure (DPTI) over breaches of the workplace health and safety legislations that contributed to the death of 54-year-old Debra Summers, in exchange for an Enforceable Undertaking (EU). This move had been flagged earlier noting that it was unusual to accept an …
Enforceable Undertakings (EUs) are increasingly popping up in the prosecution lists of occupational health and safety (OHS) regulators. A curious one appeared on WorkSafe Victoria’s website in January 2018. Ardex Australia P/L was prosecuted for breaching OHS laws after a subcontractor was burnt: “…when a dry powder mixing machine was operated whilst hot metal slag …
Ross Gittins is a prominent Australian economics journalist. In The Age on September 20, 2023, he wrote an article about the recent spate of corporations being prosecuted and penalized for breaking the law. Many of his points can also relate to companies and executives breaking occupational health and safety (OHS) laws.
