Regulatory Impact Statement to be released on 14 September 2011

According to a media release from Senator Chris Evans, the Australian Minister for Workplace Relations,  the Regulatory Impact Statement for the new OHS regulations will be released today, 14 September 2011.  The release is not yet publicly available on-line so the full text is included below: New health and safety regulations to boost national productivity “Historic health and safety … Continue reading “Regulatory Impact Statement to be released on 14 September 2011”

Do Work Health and Safety regulations comply?

The draft model Work Health and Safety regulations were published for public comment in December last year, but rather than sailing through with general public support (i.e. negligible objection) they were met with incredible public objection, with over 1000 submissions.  This astonishing fact begs the question; has something gone wrong in the WHS legislation making … Continue reading “Do Work Health and Safety regulations comply?”

Dis-harmonisation over OHS laws

Victoria’s largest OHS conference and trade show has ended.   The shadow of the impending harmonisation of OHS laws hung over both events.  The OHS message throughout the conference was one of nothing to worry about. WorkSafe’s Ian Forsythe felt that Victoria was well-placed for minimal disruption as the OHS laws in that State had … Continue reading “Dis-harmonisation over OHS laws”

OHS awards consider work/life balance but not vice versa

On 15 March 2010, the Australian Government congratulated the winners of, and participants in, the 2009–10 National Work–Life Balance Awards. According to a media release from the Department of Education, Employment and Workplace Relations: “The Awards…. recognise family friendly practices like flexible working hours, options for working from home, paid parental leave, job sharing, onsite carer’s … Continue reading “OHS awards consider work/life balance but not vice versa”

The future for Standards Australia will be hard

SafetyAtWorkBlog has written elsewhere of how the global financial crisis has caused OHS related programs to be revised.  The latest bulletin from Standards Australia indicates the impact of the financial pressures on its plans and the reduction in the value of their investments has come at a time of other worrisome changes. (In this article … Continue reading “The future for Standards Australia will be hard”

Government report into plastics and chemicals

Australia’s Productivity Commission has released a report into the national regulation of plastics and chemicals.  The supplementary report has additional topicality as it is released a week before the Review Panel into Model OHS Law presents its report to the government.  The key points of the Productivity Commission report are “The Productivity Commission has recently … Continue reading “Government report into plastics and chemicals”

Workplace Safety Reforms and “Red-Tape”

As well as the National OHS Review Panel, there are several other reviews and investigations that are occurring that will change how OHS is managed and enforced in Australia. One process is under COAG (Coalition of Australian Governments) which met in early July 2008 and provided an update on its actions. Sadly, most of the … Continue reading “Workplace Safety Reforms and “Red-Tape””