The public submission period for commenting on the Australia’s OHS model laws has closed and the submissions are gradually being made available on the Safe Work Australia website. At the time of writing there are around 15 submissions listed and Safe Work Australia has indicated that there are many more that are being sifted through at the moment. Each … Continue reading “Australia’s employers’ thoughts on OHS law”
Finally, the Safety Institute of Australia has got its act together and has contracted someone who has produced an OHS magazine that, mostly, satisfies the needs of its members and the aims of the Institute. The first edition of OHS Professional landed in the SafetyAtWorkBlog letter box this morning and, it is fair to say … Continue reading “New Safety Institute magazine is (mostly) a winner”
Safe Work Australia introduced a program of safety ambassadors in the lead-up to Safe Work Australia Week 2009. The editor of SafetyAtWorkBlog was chosen as one of this year’s ambassadors. Kevin Jones was also featured in the authority’s newsletter, the Safe Work Australian, that is available for download. There were no formal requirements of the … Continue reading “Australian Safety Ambassadors”
In October 2009 a workshop was held on worker safety by the Worker Education and Training Program (WETP), a part of the US National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences. Many of the topics raised in the workshop – REACH, Globally Harmonized System (GHS) of Classification and Labeling of Chemicals, and nanotechnology would be issues or … Continue reading “EHS workshop report and Australian nanoparticles reports”
A special guest for the Safe Work Australia events in Queensland was Matthew Gill, former Beaconsfield Gold mine manager. According to a media statement from the Government “Matthew Gill who was the public face of the Beaconsfield mine rescue will speak about how he immediately took control of the emergency and then implemented rescue operations for … Continue reading “Management – the importance of what comes before”
Several years ago while visiting a local council with an OHS mentor, a call came through that a worker had fallen over 10 metres through a skylight into a plant room at a commercial swimming pool. It was the first time I had been on site shortly after a workplace incident and was party to the negotiations and advice between OHS … Continue reading “Workplace falls continue even during a safety week”
At the moment Australian OHS professionals, lawyers and businesses are preparing submissions to the Government on the harmonisation of OHS laws. One of the areas that the Government is seeking advice on is penalties. The Discussion Paper asks the following Q17. Are the range and levels of penalties proposed above appropriate, taking account of the levels set for breaches … Continue reading “New approaches on OHS fines and penalties”