government – Page 48 – SafetyAtWorkBlog

Important OHS court decisions go unreported

On 20 May 2010 a Victorian magistrate fined an employer over $A500,000 following a workplace prosecution. Almost all of it went to charity, according to WorkSafe Victoria.

There are several issues raised by Magistrate Vandersteen’s decision:

Why to charity?
Why the particular charities?
Why not allocate the funds to OHS-related organisations or initiatives?
Why does the Magistrates’ Court not make court decisions publicly available?

The workplace incident that started this case was that in August 2008, a 40-year-old man had his arm ripped out of the socket when it became tangled in an unguarded post peeler. He was taken to hospital by an emergency ambulance helicopter where his life was saved. Continue reading “Important OHS court decisions go unreported”

New OHS Codes and Regulations for Australia

On 20 May 2010, SafetyAtWorkBlog mentioned the “challenge” of harmonising OHS approaches to bullying and harassment. This morning Safe Work Australia provided a list of the Code of Practice and Regulations that are being developed as part of the OHS harmonisation process:

Model Regulations

“Licences – general e.g. asbestos and high risk.

Workplaces –first aid, personal protection equipment and emergency management.

Plant – general.

Chemicals – inorganic lead, asbestos, labelling, safety data sheets and major hazard facilities.

Other hazards – manual tasks, Continue reading “New OHS Codes and Regulations for Australia”

Harmonising bullying terminology extends well beyond OHS

In May 2010, Workplace Health & Safety Queensland uploaded a Workplace Harassment Assessment Tool. The curious element to the information is that Queensland does not mention the word “bullying” even though the assessment criteria cover this hazard.

As Australia moves to harmonised legislation on workplace safety issues, the harmonisation of terminology is going to be important and probably subject to lively discussion. Continue reading “Harmonising bullying terminology extends well beyond OHS”

Lack of separation of pedestrians and forklifts results in $A24k fine

SafeWorkSA has released details of a successful OHS prosecution concerning forklifts, yet again. But the full judgement has more management information than is usual and deserves to be read in full.

The circumstances, according to a media release (not yet available online) are

“…an incident… in August 2007 in which a 56 year old delivery driver tripped over the tines of a forklift which was about to exit the curtained doorway of a cold-room.”

The judgement in the South Australian Industrial Court expands upon the charge:

“… that Kerafi, being the occupier of a workplace, had failed to ensure so far as was reasonably practicable that means of access to and egress from the workplace was safe. Continue reading “Lack of separation of pedestrians and forklifts results in $A24k fine”

Eye safety campaign – a good start but shortsighted on safety

On 19 May 2010, the Optometrists Association Australia (OAA) launched a national eye safety campaign. This campaign is worthwhile but illustrates some of the shortcomings of this type of campaign.

The OAA media release states:

“Sixty per cent of all eye injuries happen at work, .. warn optometrists who are urging every workplace to put eye safety procedures in place as part of a new national campaign.

Optometrists Association Australia (OAA) and HOYA Lens Australia will launch ‘Eye accidents change lives forever’ a comprehensive workplace eye safety campaign this week.” [links added]

The need for eye safety procedures is clear but the recommended action is too narrow. The entire focus of the campaign is to increase awareness of eye hazards and to increase the usage of safety eyewear. There is no focus on the reduction of the hazard itself, just the protection of the worker’s eyes. Continue reading “Eye safety campaign – a good start but shortsighted on safety”

Safe Work Australia releases official asbestos statistics

On 12 May 2010, Safe Work Australia released the official statistics on on the number of new cases of mesothelioma. The report is entitled Mesothelioma in Australia Incidence: 1982 – 2006, Mortality 1997 – 2007.

More discussion on asbestos statistics and Safe Work Australia stance on asbestos issues is available HERE

Professor Michael Quinlan on Jeff Shaw’s legacy

The Australian newspaper on 12 May 2010 published an article that is an example of the type of article on the passing of former New South Wales Attorney-General Jeff Shaw that SafetyAtWorkBlog expressed concerns over. For most of the article Shaw’s alcoholism is the focus yet we should not judge a person only by their flaws but by their achievements.

SafetyAtWorkBlog interviewed Professor Michael Quinlan who was closely involved in some of the law reform work that Jeff Shaw instigated in the 1990s when he was the Attorney-General.

Quinlan echoed the opinions of Professor Ron McCallum over Shaw’s commitment to industrial relations and OHS law reform but spoke of a different set of legislation that Quinlan thinks was an important achievement of Shaw. Continue reading “Professor Michael Quinlan on Jeff Shaw’s legacy”

Tag: government

Important OHS court decisions go unreported

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New OHS Codes and Regulations for Australia

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Harmonising bullying terminology extends well beyond OHS

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Lack of separation of pedestrians and forklifts results in $A24k fine

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Eye safety campaign – a good start but shortsighted on safety

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Safe Work Australia releases official asbestos statistics

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Professor Michael Quinlan on Jeff Shaw’s legacy

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