Category: lawyers

Restorative Justice research gets funding boost as US hearings focus on workplace bullying and suicide

The role of restorative justice in workplace incidents has received a major boost from the Legal Services Board in Victoria.  According to an April 2010 newsletter from the Creative Ministries Network additional research funding has been received for a quality assurance framework.  As mentioned in the article below restorative justice could have particular benefits to instances of workplace bullying.

Several of the suggestions and areas of research echo some of the issues raised in US Assembly Labor Committee hearings on workplace bullying and suicides in the last few days.

“The Creative Ministries Network has received a further grant from the Legal Services Board to undertake a project to develop a Victorian quality assurance framework for any restorative justice service operating in the area of work-related death.  The project will also examine whether this framework may apply to work-related injury, especially in areas such as workplace bullying. Continue reading “Restorative Justice research gets funding boost as US hearings focus on workplace bullying and suicide”

Information flow is critical for sound Board decisions on OHS

Peter Arthur, a Partner with Australian law firm, Allens Arthur Robinson, spoke on Boardroom Radio on 1 April 2010 about new duties that national OHS laws will place on Directors.

Although there are six elements in the new general duty, Arthur says that they all can come under the category of “information flow”.   Continue reading “Information flow is critical for sound Board decisions on OHS”

OHS lawyers see opportunities in harmonisation of laws

The current edition of Lawyers Weekly includes some thoughts from Australian lawyers on the impact of the harmonisation of Australia’s OHS laws. 

Michael Tooma of Norton Rose believes that the new positive duty of officers has sparked interest in improving corporate governance.

Graeme Smith of Freehills has seen an improved recognition of lawyers’ roles in developing commercial contracts.  He also sees OHS as being better accepted as an element of risk management.  According to the article entitled “OHS shrugs off the GFC”, Smith believes

“…national harmonisation will raise the profile of OHS, and in the long-term, OHS will find itself established as a discrete but integral aspect of corporate governance, compliance and risk management…”

He sees this as a golden opportunity for lawyers.   OHS law seems now to be dependent on lawyers where, before, it used to be a law that workers, managers and the layperson could read, understand and implement.  Safety professionals need to use legal experts when required but should have the confidence to manage safety through the harmonised framework first.  Crucial to whether the lawyers dominate will be the quality of guidance provided by OHS regulators and the authority of the voices of the OHS profession.

Kevin Jones

Prominent OHS lawyer to facilitate workers’ compensation reform discussions

SafetyAtWorkBlog has been able to confirm the rumour that Barry Sherriff, a prominent Australian OHS Lawyer who recently joined Norton Rose, has been contracted to facilitate a series of exclusive forums on the reform of Australia’s workers’ compensation system.

Sherriff was one of the triumvirate who investigated a model OHS law for the Australian Government and should fulfill his contracted role for Safe Work Australia (SWA) admirably. Continue reading “Prominent OHS lawyer to facilitate workers’ compensation reform discussions”

Legal changes for Victoria’s workers’ compensation laws

As workers’ compensation keeps bubbling away as a political issues in South Australia ahead of this weekend’s State election, other Australian States are not sitting still on workers’ compensation.

Amendments to Victoria’s workers’ compensation system have passed through Parliament on 11 March 2010 enacting most of the findings of the 2007 Hanks inquiry.  The laws will be gradually introduced but with most effective from 5 April 2010.

The best summary of the amended laws is on the Victorian WorkCover website. Continue reading “Legal changes for Victoria’s workers’ compensation laws”

Another go at homeowners being exposed to workplace prosecutions

In October 2009, Australian lawyer, Michael Tooma gained considerable media coverage by stating that under the model Work Health and Safety Act:

“..if I call out a tradesperson to do some work at my home, my home is their workplace and I would be a person at their workplace.  As such, I would have a duty to take reasonable care for my own safety and the safety of others and to cooperate with their reasonable instructions in my own home.  If I breach that duty I could be liable for a criminal offence.”

At that time SafetyAtWorkBlog was skeptical as it was hard to believe that this likelihood, or regulatory loophole, would be allowed to continue.  It seems that a decision in the New South Wales District Court on 4 March 2010 has provided Tooma with a case that supports his decision. Continue reading “Another go at homeowners being exposed to workplace prosecutions”

OHS due diligence and safety management

In the February 2010 newsletter for Australian law firm, DLAPhillips Fox, Andrew Ball and Donna Trembath wrote about one of the important elements of the model Work, Health & Safety Act – due diligence.   We look at how SafetyAtWorkBlog and other OHS information services can support due diligence on OHS matters.

Ball and Trembath list 6 elements in the definition of due diligence (in bold):

Acquire and have up to date knowledge of work OHS matters.

This first element is where business and OHS information sources are going to be crucial supporters.  OHS law in Australia has always supported the need for companies and safety professionals to maintain a current state of knowledge.  There have always been newsletters on OHS issues but it is very easy to fall into a habit of reading only the information that will assist one in their job rather than getting information that relates to safety throughout a workplace.  The use of Health & Safety representatives or OHS Committees can be important in maintaining a “corporate” state of knowledge.  Delegation of reading information can be very useful and HSRs and OHS Committees are probably the most neglected preventative tools in the safety professionals toolbox. Continue reading “OHS due diligence and safety management”

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