On 9 July 2009 I wrote in SafetyAtWorkBlog “The Fair Work Act has no relevance to occupational health and safety, so why mention this on SafetyAtWorkBlog?” The Fair Work Act changes the negotiating and consultative structure of Australian workplaces stemming from changes in industrial relations law. A book that came across my desk this morning … Continue reading “An OHS look at the Fair Work book”
On 3 June 2009, the Victorian Auditor-General released the audit report, CLAIMS MANAGEMENT BY THE VICTORIAN WORKCOVER AUTHORITY. The objective of the audit was to assess the effectiveness and efficiency of VWA’s claims management. The report found that the current claims management model “has not substantially improved RTW [return-to-work] outcomes, or the effectiveness of agents’ case management practices” Although … Continue reading “Audit report says “could do better””
The Safety in Action conference is lucky to have Professor Michael Quinlan as a keynote speaker, as he has seriously curtailed his conference appearances to favour those that benefit the safety profession over the commercial conferences. His, and Richard Johnstone’s, research on 1200 inspectors has provided useful insight into the effectiveness and roles of OHS … Continue reading “Professor Quinlan outlines the roles and approaches of the OHS inspectorate”
WorkSafe Victoria recently released a guideline, or clarification, on what it considers to be the issues surrounding “employing or engaging suitably qualified persons to provide health and safety advice“. SafetyAtWorkBlog remains to be convinced that such a process will lead to better safety outcomes in the small to medium-sized enterprises at which this program is … Continue reading “The insidiousness of “reasonably practicable””