Category: law

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 licencing scheme rather than a sectoral one as preferred by some organisations.  This should make the scheme easier to administer as it removes demarcation disputes and, as pointed out by the Minister for Roads and Road Safety, Luke Donnellan, removes loopholes of opportunity for avoiding obligations – a critical consideration in a sector that has shown such disregard for legal obligations. Continue reading “Victoria joins the push for licencing labour hire”

Action demanded on sexual harassment in the entertainment industry

On 12 December 2017, part of Australia’s screen and television industry held a forum in Sydney about sexual harassment in the sector and what could be done to reduce this workplace hazard. This initiative occurred a day before an open letter was published about sexual harassment in the music industry.  There is a momentum for change on sexual harassment in the workplace, but it is at risk of resulting in a fragmented approach which will generate turf wars, confusion and, ultimately, ineffectiveness.

The

Subscribe to SafetyAtWorkBlog to continue reading.
Subscribe Help
Already a member? Log in here

Workplace safety in correctional facilities

In support of the recent SafetyAtWorkBlog article “Detention Royal Commission touches on workplace safety”, WorkSafe NT was contacted with a series of questions about the role of the Northern Territory’s occupational health and safety (OHS) regulator in detention centres.  Those questions comprised:

• Has WorkSafe ever undertaken any inspection activities at detention centres in the Northern Territory?  If so, what was there a specific request, incident or other catalyst for this?
• Is there a specific group/team of inspectors under whom responsibility for inspecting detention centres would sit?
• Does NTWorkSafe coordinate any WHS inspection activities with other government agencies and authorities?
• Has the Northern Territory Correctional Services ever requested NTWorkSafe’s assistance in safety reviews of their facilities?

Subscribe to SafetyAtWorkBlog to continue reading.
Subscribe Help
Already a member? Log in here

Banking Royal Commission should not limit our thinking about culture

Australia is to have a Royal Commission into Misconduct in the Banking, Superannuation and Financial Services Industry.  What’s this to do with occupational health and safety (OHS)? Not a lot, at first blush.  OHS professionals and safety practitioners need to watch this Royal Commission because it could led to a fundamental reassessment of corporate culture. The OHS discipline is beginning to understand that it operates within that organisational, or corporate, culture; the same culture that will be examined over the next twelve to eighteen months.

SafetyAtWorkBlog has written repeatedly on safety culture and the potential OHS changes from investigating the corporate culture of banks.  An analysis of corporate culture inevitably includes discussions of due diligence, corporate governance, leadership, accountability and ethics – all elements that are critical to understanding and building safe systems of work. Continue reading “Banking Royal Commission should not limit our thinking about culture”

Titterton talks safety

Episode 5 of Safety At Work Talks podcast contains a chat with safety lawyer and partner with Clyde & Co, Alena Titterton. The conversation touches on safety issues like industrial manslaughter, dealing with police at an incident, certification to safety standards, safety in procurement, and small business.

It was also good to hear her talk about the “safe systems of work” a concept that has existed since the early days of modern OHS laws but is still poorly understood.

Kevin Jones

Heights, Standards and Safety

Engineering and design Standards have existed globally for a long time.  They have considerable authority, often provided through legislation, and underpin many of the safety devices and equipment used in workplaces.  But does compliance with Standards mean that something is safe?

The easy answer is no. A recent presentation to the Central Safety Group (CSG) by David Davis of the Working at Heights Association illustrated this gap between workplace safety compliance and compliance with Standards.

Subscribe to SafetyAtWorkBlog to continue reading.
Subscribe Help
Already a member? Log in here

Detention Royal Commission touches on workplace safety

In June 2016, the Australian Broadcasting Corporation showed an investigation report into the detention of children who had broken the law in the Northern Territory.  The revelations of maltreatment were so confronting that a Royal Commission was announced by the Australian Government very shortly after.  The Commission’s final report was tabled in Parliament on November 17 2017.

All Australian workplaces are subject to clear occupational health and safety duties and obligations that relate to workers and to those who may be affected by the workplace and activities.  (The SafetyAtWorkBlog article “Royal Commission into juvenile detention should include OHS” discusses this at length.)

A brief search of the Final Report of the Royal Commission into the Protection and Detention of Children in the Northern Territory shows an acknowledgement of the OHS perspective but with little discussion of it. Continue reading “Detention Royal Commission touches on workplace safety”

© Workplace Safety Services P/L (ABN: 68091088621) and SafetyAtWorkBlog, 2008-2026. Unauthorized use and/or duplication of this material without express and written permission from this blog’s author and/or owner is strictly prohibited. Excerpts and links may be used, provided that full and clear credit is given to Kevin Jones and SafetyAtWorkBlog with appropriate and specific direction to the original content.

Concatenate Web Development
© Designed and developed by Concatenate Aust Pty Ltd