I’ve been having a “hmmm(?!)” moments with a wee bit of the due diligence stuff in clause 27 of the Work Health Safety Bill (WHS). I’m interested to hear what you people reckon about it. Here’s the rub: I don’t think it’s possible to get a clear idea of what it means to comply with … Continue reading “The “head scratcher” in due diligence”
Col Finnie, formerly WorkSafe Victoria’s Principal Legislation Officer, looks at what the notion of individual accountability might look like if it was incorporated in the Work Health and Safety Bill, all done with his tongue firmly jammed in his cheek It’s a good thing new perspectives about getting Occupational Health and Safety (OHS) right are … Continue reading “Individual accountability – the Great Leap Backward (and into a legislative maze)”
Last decade the New South Wales government operated a “premium discount scheme” intended to reinvest workers’ compensation funds into preventative safety measures and programs. Other OHS jurisdictions had a similar authority but chose not to apply it. Since then economic safety incentives have not been on the political agenda. However this is not the case … Continue reading “The European experience with economic incentives for OHS improvements”
The UK government’s Health & Safety Executive is continuously countering poor decisions of local government that are being “blamed” on health and safety. Recently the Wimbledon tennis open joined the club of misrepresenting risk decisions as health and safety. England has a unique tabloid journalism that has generated substantial confusion on the role and application of … Continue reading “Government must restructure to address the evolution of OHS”
The survey results of the inaugural Directors Sentiment Index have been around for several months but recent breakfasts discussing the findings have generated renewed media interest. The survey provides a useful profile of how directors see their role and lists forecasts of trends but in none of the recent media reports does workplace health and safety receive attention although it is mentioned … Continue reading “Directors Sentiment Index mentions OHS but……”
The Liberal Party of New South Wales won last Saturday’s State election in a landslide. The New South Wales employer associations are jubilant but the jubilation masks some confusion over OHS reforms. The new NSW government is being urged to act promptly on OHS reform issues particularly by the Australian Institute of Company Directors (AICD) … Continue reading “Election excitement masks OHS confusion”
The latest edition of The National Research Centre for Occupational Health and Safety Regulation’s newsletter lists two new working papers, one from Andrew Hopkins and one from Neil Foster. Both should be obligatory reading. Hopkins discusses how to increase the value of the “management walk-arounds” an increasingly common key performance indicator for senior executives. Hopkins, … Continue reading “Managerial OHS walk-arounds and D&O liabilities”