[Guest post from Ross Macfarlane] A rhetorical question: if you were an OHS advisor for, say, a Victorian construction company, would you prefer to rely on a regulatory guidance document issued in 2012, under legislation which is not in force in the State, or one which is well over 20 years old, and issued under … Continue reading “The nonsense of Victoria’s non-harmonisation”
The harmonisation of Australia’s occupational health and safety (OHS) laws has stagnated since the West Australian government’s tepid response to the strategy and Victoria’s belligerent and ill-founded rejection. But some continue to examine the harmonisation process. Eric Windholz is one of those researchers. Windholz is a former executive of Victoria’s WorkSafe and is now with … Continue reading “Australian research on OHS harmonisation’s progress, success and errors”
Writing recent articles on workplace bullying and harmonisation reminded me of an interview I conducted in 2003 with the then head of the National OHS Commission, Robin Stewart-Compton. NOHSC was a predecessor to Safe Work Australia. The extract below reminds us that National Uniformity, a cousin to harmonisation, started over twenty years ago. SAW: In the early 1990s there was a strong push for National … Continue reading “Stargazing on harmonisation from 2003”
In April 2012, this blog said that the harmonisation of occupational health and safety laws (OHS) in Australia was coughing up blood. On 1 January 2013, two more Australian States introduced new OHS laws based on the model Work Health and Safety Act and Regulations of the harmonisation process. (only two left, Victoria and Western … Continue reading “Australia’s harmonisation program may be on life support but it’s getting stronger”
Things seem to have been quiet on the harmonisation of OHS laws in Australia so it is worth to check the latest status of these laws. Australian law firm, Freehills, recently provided clients with an update (not yet available online) in which they described the process as now operating in two stages, almost splitting Australian … Continue reading “WHS harmonisation status”
According to an official budget speech by Victoria’s Treasurer, Kim Wells, the State will not be enacting the model Work Health and Safety laws. Under the subheading “A Stronger Victoria” (page 14), the Treasurer states “The Government will not sign up to the current proposal for harmonised legislation for occupational health and safety. It offers little … Continue reading “Victoria bows out of OHS harmonisation”
In The Australian newspaper on 3 April 2012, Judith Sloan presents a useful summary of the status of the OHS harmonisation process. Many of her criticisms are valid but she has not realised that the new Work Health and Safety laws stopped being occupational health and safety laws some time ago. It is easier to … Continue reading “Is OHS harmonisation a dead parrot or is it just pining?”