SafetyAtWorkBlog was able to contact the Federal Chamber of Automotive Industries’ Rhys Griffiths this afternoon seeking clarification of the FCAI’s withdrawal from quad bike safety discussions reported yesterday. Prior to withdrawing, a document was read to the quad bike safety working group. The document has not been released publicly but below is the gist. Further … Continue reading “Source data from within the quad bike safety stoush”
The New South Wales Government submitted its version of the Work Health and Safety Bill into parliament on 4 May 2011. Neither the Bill or speeches are yet available on-line [Update – see comments below] but NSW Greens MP, David Shoebridge, has provided some indication of what was presented. Hopefully more information will be available tomorrow. Shoebridge confirms what many expected “The Work … Continue reading “New work health safety laws in NSW parliament”
What is a workplace? In Australia, the easy answer is “wherever work takes place”. This seems sensible and logical but think about it and the impact on businesses and community will be large. The Sunday Age newspaper reports on one business that is setting down some ground rules for those who are running businesses from … Continue reading “Workplace safety challenges for the Coffice”
In mid-November 2010, a gymnasium in Queensland was fined A$70,000 following the death of a 19-year-old Michelle Maitland. Ms Maitland fell and hit her head on a part of the floor that was not covered by a safety mat. The case has been regularly reported in Queensland media since the death in June 2009 and the … Continue reading “The intersection of OHS and public liability becomes more urgent”
In Australia there are safety magazines and then there are safety magazines but which are the publications that are obligatory reading for safety professionals and practitioners? National Safety magazine, published on behalf of the National Safety Council of Australia (NSCA), has been the safety magazine of choice in Australia for many years. It has developed a degree of authority in … Continue reading “Safety magazines in Australia”
In 2002, after several corporate collapses, the United States government signed in the Sarbanes-Oxley Act which was intended to establish business practices on accounting and auditing among other aims. The Western world watched the introduction of this legislation and echoed many of the requirements in their own legislation and corporate oversight agencies. It is likely in the wake of the global financial crisis that the United States … Continue reading “Where’s the Sarbanes-Oxley for workplace safety?”
Insurance policies for directors and officers (D&O) liabilities have yet to gain much application in terms of occupational health and safety penalties. But D&O insurance policies are in Australia and are established in other countries. According to Wikipedia: “Directors and Officers Liability Insurance (often called D&O) is liability insurance payable to the directors and officers of a company, … Continue reading “D/O liability insurance gets to England’s High Court”