Australia is in the last few weeks of its federal election. Because it is a national election and occupational health and safety (OHS) is almost totally regulated at the State and Territory level, workplace health and safety is rarely if ever mentioned directly in campaign pledges. However, OHS does have a political campaign context if …
The Australian Council of Trade Unions (ACTU) recently released its latest State of Work Health and Safety in Australia 2021 report called “Work Shouldn’t Hurt“. ACTU’s Liam O’Brien said “The ACTU’s 2021 Work Shouldn’t Hurt Survey revealed that 80% of workers who are injured or made ill at work do not even make a workers’ …
On Australia’s Women’s Safety Summit, Wendy Tuohy contemplated, in The Age, after the first day; “It may turn out to be too little, too late, but if there’s real commitment behind Morrison’s lines, we could conclude it’s a start.” There are few signs of Prime Minister Scott Morrison’s commitment. Women will continue to work in …
[Editor: this article has been reproduced from The Conversation’s website under the Creative Commons licence.] Joo-Cheong Tham, The University of Melbourne Australia’s official policy on vaccines is that they be voluntary and free. But the federal government hasn’t shut the door completely on employers pursuing mandatory policies of their own. Last week the federal government … Continue reading “Can Australian employers make you get a COVID-19 vaccine? Mostly not — but here’s when they can”
Australian Prime Minister Scott Morrison continues to promise a return to normal but it is impossible to return to a previous point in time without denying the changes that have occurred since then. Morrison speaks of this normality in relation to the COVID-19 pandemic and may offer some understanding of his reticence to act on …
On May 20, 2021, Australia’s Work Health and Safety (WHS) Ministers to discuss a range of occupational health and safety (OHS) matters. One matter will be the inclusion of a specific requirement on employers that, according to the Australian Council of Trade Unions (ACTU): “…. would finally require employers to identify and address risks to …
The Australian Broadcasting Corporation broadcast an episode of The Signal on April 21, 2021, which discussed the complexity of the culture of Australia’s military, and I strongly recommend you listen to it. It does make some points about culture worth contemplating in the context of one’s own workplace and profession. The most useful point was … Continue reading “Non-military safety lessons from the latest Royal Commission (open access)”
