In Australia there is a purposely created commonality between the developing OHS law and industrial relations law on certain issues. Consultation is one of those matters and, although a decision by the Federal Court of Australia on 11 June 2010 relates to the Fair Work Act, safety professionals and business owners should take note. On … Continue reading “When information supply is NOT consultation”
Rex Hoy of Safe Work Australia (SWA) spoke on 1 June 2010 at the Australian Senate Estimates hearing (around page 44) and confirmed progress on the draft OHS regulations and codes of practice. The draft Hansard reports Hoy saying: “Just to cover the areas we are working on: there will be model regulations covering administrative arrangements … Continue reading “Safe Work Australia at Senate Estimates – harmonisation latest”
For years Australian OHS legislation has focused on establishing a “safe system of work”. This focus is inclusive and is an understandable approach to safety regulation but it has also generated a fair share of confusion. If a business does not have a documented safety management system, does it have a system of work? Yes … Continue reading “A safe (social) system of work”
An earlier article today provided a reminder of a County Court judge’s criticism of OHS management-speak in a 2004 decision concerning the death of Robert Sergi on a rail bridge construction project near Geelong. In response to some of the safety initiatives outlined to the Court by the lawyer for Leighton Contractors Ross Ray SC, … Continue reading “OHS needs plain language, consultation and corporate engagement”
Two days ago, Ian Macdonald, the New South Wales Minister for Mineral Resources opened the annual conference of the NSW Minerals Council. It was a dour presentation but delegates said that the Minister is not the most exciting public speaker. Macdonald announced a new research program into safety culture, an announcement that did not get much response from the conference delegates, … Continue reading “Mining Minister’s safety claims challenged”
If Victoria is the jurisdiction with the least changes needed to meet the new Work Health & Safety Act, it is worth looking at a recent enforcement activity. On 21 April 2010, WorkSafe Victoria announced an enforceable undertaking with the Department of Education & Early Childhood Development (DEECD). According to the WorkSafe media release this agreement “…requires all equipment … Continue reading “Is the Education Dept getting off lightly?”
The Queensland Government has released a public discussion paper into its workers’ compensation scheme. Obviously this was part of the reason for the political argy-bargy in the State in late February 2010 over a report by Deloitte. A major question posed in the discussion paper concerns the application of Whole Person Impairment (WPI) or Work-Related Impairment (WRI) as the … Continue reading “Discussion paper on Queensland workers compensation released”