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”
Finally, a State-based safety awards night that has both OHS and Return-to-Work awards. On 27 October 2009, Workplace Health & Safety Queensland held its annual safety awards night as part of Safe Work Australia Week. In a media release, the Minister for Industrial Relations, Cameron Dick, said “The inaugural Return to Work Awards are run by Q-COMP – the statutory authority that … Continue reading “Combining safety and RTW awards”
The best OHS advice, or rather innovative thinking, is frequently coming from those experts from outside the traditional OHS background. A case in point could be a presentation made by prominent Australian demographer, Bernard Salt, at one of the many Safe Work Australia Week events in South Australia. Salt provided enough information about population … Continue reading “The demographic challenges facing OHS management”
Today, 1,500 union health and safety representatives attended a one-day seminar in Melbourne concerning occupational health and safety. The seminars were supported by a range of information booths on issues from support on workplace death, legal advice, superannuation and individual union services. Kevin Jones, the editor of SafetyAtWorkBlog took the opportunity to chat with a couple of people on the booths about OHS generally and … Continue reading “Safe Work Australia Week podcast”
The last week of October 2009 is Safe Work Australia Week. The federal OHS authority sets an overall framework for the States’ OHS promotional activities. A media statement in support of the week, reiterated the statistics – “More than 260 Australians die as a result of work related injuries and over 135,000 are seriously injured … Continue reading “Safe Work Australia Week 2009 begins”
Recently SafetyAtWorkBlog reported the umbrage that the Australian Institute of Company Directors (AICD) felt about executive accountability, particularly in relation to OHS legislation. On 25 October 2009 the Australian Chamber of Commerce and Industry (ACCI) provided an example that should stop generalisations about employer associations , at least for a little while. Below are extracts of the significant statements … Continue reading “Not all employers are the same”