Several OHS colleagues on an international discussion forum have expressed some opinions on the final report of the Australia’s National Model OHS Law review. Safety Alerts One asked that better and more frequent safety alerts be published by the regulators and that those reports be based on fatalities, injuries and near misses. There is … Continue reading “National OHS Review – initial comments”
In the aims of most of the Australian OHS legislation is “to eliminate, at the source, risks to the health, safety and welfare of employees and other persons at work…” I have written elsewhere on how this conflicts with the push for “reasonably practicable” but the need to remember this important aim was emphasised by … Continue reading “Eliminating hazards”
Every so often one will hear of an occupational that is “inherently dangerous”. Every time we hear this or see the phrase in print we should protest loudly. If a safety professional uses the term, they should be shunned. Anything that is described as “inherently dangerous” reflects on the lazy thinking of the describer. Working … Continue reading “Inherently Dangerous”
According to today’s The Australian, Australian trade unions has “panned” the first report by the National OHS Law Review. Here is what the ACTU Assistant Secretary Geoff Fary said, “We are pleased that the Panel Report has recognised that breaches of OH&S laws are criminal rather than civil matters. These recommendations are a step … Continue reading “Statements on Australia’s OHS review report”
The first report of the National OHS Law Review panel was presented to the Australian Government yesterday. The best initial assessment of the report can be found at a safety blog operated by Deacons law firm. In that report by Michael Tooma and Alena Titterton, the following points are made: there should be a general … Continue reading “National OHS Law Review – First Report released”
For many years OHS regulators have been concerned about the quality of advice that OHS experts have been providing to businesses in Australia. Some States have a regulated profession, others do not. Certainly there is no regime in Australia that compares to the “closed-shop” of Singapore. I have seen no evidence of bad OHS advice … Continue reading ““Suitably qualified” OHS professionals – who benefits?”
One of the most ignored OHS obligations in Australian workplace is to provide safety information in a language other than English. Most workplaces in a multicultural society struggle greatly with this obligation and, more often than not, rely on employees to pass on OHS information to their colleagues in the employee’s language. This translation is … Continue reading “Discrimination and OHS information in languages other than English”