A South Australian colleague has pointed out some interesting elements in WorkCover SA’s review of employer incentives discussed earlier. The following text are some of the aims of South Australia’s Workers Compensation and Rehabilitation Act. (1) The objects of this Act are— (a) to establish a workers rehabilitation and compensation scheme— (i) that achieves a … Continue reading “Justice in workers’ compensation reforms”
WorkCover in South Australia has released a discussion paper for public comment on 9 November 2009. The paper is called “Consultation on a new framework for employer incentives” and poses the following questions: Do you think there should be any financial incentives for employers in relation to workers rehabilitation and compensation? What do you think about the … Continue reading “Fixing what is broken”
On 9 November 2009 public submissions close on Australia’s model OHS Act but the move for harmonisation and, hopefully, a simplification for business and government continues in other areas. The Australian Transport Council (ATC) met on 6 November 2009 and agreed on many Council of Australian Governments (COAG) matters concerning unnecessary bureaucratic duplication: “ATC agreed to recommend … Continue reading “This may not work for OHS but why not?”
In late October 2009, there were several OHS court cases in Australia that raise issues that need to be kept at the forefront of the thoughts of safety managers, safety professionals, workers and business owners. Amputation One case in South Australia identified the need to have sufficient detail in policies and procedures for workers to be safe. The comment of Industrial … Continue reading “Amputations, shocks and burns – court cases”
The best OHS advice, or rather innovative thinking, is frequently coming from those experts from outside the traditional OHS background. A case in point could be a presentation made by prominent Australian demographer, Bernard Salt, at one of the many Safe Work Australia Week events in South Australia. Salt provided enough information about population … Continue reading “The demographic challenges facing OHS management”
The last week of October 2009 is Safe Work Australia Week. The federal OHS authority sets an overall framework for the States’ OHS promotional activities. A media statement in support of the week, reiterated the statistics – “More than 260 Australians die as a result of work related injuries and over 135,000 are seriously injured … Continue reading “Safe Work Australia Week 2009 begins”
Michael Tooma, of the Australian law firm Deacons, is often the first labour lawyer to comment on Australia OHS Law matters and this week was no different. While many of us are continuing to digest the draft OHS Act, Tooma has identified several issues of interest. Some are discussed below. [Tooma’s full legal update is available HERE] … Continue reading “Deacons are first with harmonised OHS law comments”