Search Results for: "Safe Work Australia"

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South Australia drops new OHS Bill less than one month after introduction

The South Australian Government has confirmed to SafetyAtWorkBlog that the Work Health and Safety Bill introduced into Parliament on 7 April 2011 has been withdrawn less than one month later. South Australian politics has been in turmoil since the resignation of the Industrial Relations Minister, Bernie Finnigan, on 22 April 2011.  Finnigan presented the WHS Bill to Parliament and had … Continue reading “South Australia drops new OHS Bill less than one month after introduction”

Australian safety awards are important but require rebooting

The 6th annual Safe Work Australia awards concluded a couple of hours ago.  The event was an opportunity to meet Australians prominent in the safety profession, celebrate innovation and to acknowledge individual efforts.  The winners’ achievements were largely significant but there are problems with the OHS award processes across Australia and the Safe Work Australia … Continue reading “Australian safety awards are important but require rebooting”

Industry action confuses quad bike sellers

Last week, Honda quad bike dealers were supplied with the safety code provided by the Federated Chamber of Automotive Industries. This code outlines research that shows some roll over protection (ROPS) devices may increase the risk of injury.  A major ROPS identified in recent reports is the QuadBar, a device that may be “set to … Continue reading “Industry action confuses quad bike sellers”

Beware OHS statistics quoted in media releases

On 6 April 2011, at the Safety In Action conference in Melbourne, the Safety Institute of Australia and the Australian Institute of Management released the findings of their 2011 Business Survey.  The 2010 survey was discussed in an earlier blog article. SafetyAtWorkBlog was allowed to see a version of the survey results prior to their public release next week but according … Continue reading “Beware OHS statistics quoted in media releases”

Safe Work Method Statements and independent positions

Over the last few months most Australian OHS regulators, and many labour law firms,have been conducting workshops and public seminars on Australia’s plans to harmonise its OHS legislation.  In those workshops, the consultative process and timeframes have been described by some as a “nightmare”, which is not exactly inspiring participants who are seeking clarity from … Continue reading “Safe Work Method Statements and independent positions”

Evidence on the need for safe job design

One reader has provided an example of recent research that supports the previous SafetyAtWorkBlog article on the importance of quality and safety in job creation. In the March 2011 online edition of the Occupational & Environmental Medicine journal, Australian researchers have analysed data concerning “the psychosocial quality of work”.  According to an accompanying media release … Continue reading “Evidence on the need for safe job design”

One person’s red tape is another’s due diligence

Australian business is soon to be required to apply the concept of “due diligence” to occupational health and safety.  One would have expected the agency that is coordinating the changes to provide detailed guidance on what is expected from “due diligence”.  That is not the case and so, inevitably, lawyers have stepped in (some stepped … Continue reading “One person’s red tape is another’s due diligence”