Getting the OHS message out there

Next week in Australia is Safe Work Australia Week in which each State jurisdiction undertakes information and promotional activities in support of occupational health and safety. In Sydney, the Safety Institute of Australia (SIA)  is hosting a Safety Conference.  A major theme, understandably, is Australia’s OHS law harmonisation and there are excellent speakers at the … Continue reading “Getting the OHS message out there”

Safe Work Bill, suitably qualified and professional plans

Dr Geoff Dell of Protocol Safety Management and a prominent member of the Safety Institute of Australia (SIA), believes that the most crucial issue facing the safety profession in Australia is the lack of the requirement to use a “suitably qualified” safety adviser. The Australian Government was recommended to include such a requirement in its draft OHS model … Continue reading “Safe Work Bill, suitably qualified and professional plans”

Verify website data

At SafetyatWorkBlog the use or reuse of material is carefully considered.  Some articles are not proceeded with, or media used, because of copyright, restrictions or cost.  No content is used from websites without permission or without referring back to the original source and providing hyperlinks if possible.  An example of how internet information can go wrong occurred earlier … Continue reading “Verify website data”

HWCA could be influential in Australia’s workers’ compensation reforms

Australia and New Zealand have a small strategic organisation called the Heads of Workers’ Compensation Authorities (HWCA, pronounced “howca” by those in the know).  It is a regular meeting (some say “love-in”, others say “coven”) of the CEOs of the various workers’ compensation bodies in Australia and New Zealand.  Over the next five years, as the Australian Government … Continue reading “HWCA could be influential in Australia’s workers’ compensation reforms”

OHS law debate and Law Society position

Boardroom Radio has hosted a very interesting podcast between two labour lawyers, Andrew Douglas and Michael Tooma, with the participation of Barry Silburn, the National President of the Safety Institute of Australia. The SIA National President’s contributions were quite narrow, dominated by the issue of “suitably qualified” in the new model OHS laws (but he did struggle … Continue reading “OHS law debate and Law Society position”

Safety Institute gets a seat at the OHSAC table

SafetyAtWorkBlog has been informed that the current CEO of the Safety Institute of Australia (SIA), Gary Lawson-Smith, has accepted an invitation to join the WorkSafe Victoria’s OHS Advisory Committee (OHSAC), as a representative of the SIA.  This is a terrific win for the SIA as it adds a degree of legitimacy to the organisation’s developing … Continue reading “Safety Institute gets a seat at the OHSAC table”

Finger injury causes hefty new safety agenda for John Holland Rail

Comcare has instigated a hefty list of enforceable undertakings (EU) against John Holland Rail (JHR) after a contractor, Jack Wilmot, needed a finger amputated after a workplace injury. According to the report on the Comcare website “…an apprentice boilermaker was involved in an incident which resulted in crush injuries to his left index finger at … Continue reading “Finger injury causes hefty new safety agenda for John Holland Rail”