Browsing: Authority/inspectorate (QLD) | Page 3

A major employer has failed to block a safety directive, requiring it to take hundreds of vehicles out of action in certain electrical storms, by claiming the rule actually increases the risk of workers being struck by lightning.

Provisions for health and safety representatives and entry rights could be amended by a new Queensland WHS Bill, while a WHS blitz has found that every targeted business in one industry was breaching its health and safety obligations.

A PCBU previously prosecuted over a fatality, and a facilities manager who failed to manage the entrapment hazard posed by a disused stairwell, where a visitor died, have been fined for WHS contraventions in Queensland.

A major energy company that failed to implement an adequate visual inspection regime for power poles, and a business that failed to manage asphyxia risks, have been fined a total of nearly $500,000 over fatalities. Meanwhile, duty holders have been urged to assess the risk of heat-related illnesses, after an outdoor worker died in hot weather.

A company that uses 3D modelling and motion sensors to better manage work tasks and prevent musculoskeletal disorders has been handed a major safety prize.

A worker who chose not to return home between deployments and suffered a fatal heart attack in temporary accommodation did not die during an "ordinary recess" or on a work "journey", a commissioner has ruled in a dependency dispute.

Significant amendments were made to workplace health and safety laws in every Australian jurisdiction in the third quarter of 2023, including many increasing penalties and making it easier to prosecute duty holders. This major report - the only one of its kind in the country - examines all the need-to-know legislative changes, workers' compensation developments and court decisions from July, August and September.

• Workers urged to cease and report unsafe tasks under "Reset";
  
• Workplace heat warning and tips issued for El Niño; and
  
• Business handed $170k premium recovery fine.

The Federal Court has highlighted the important WHS function of escorting entry permit holders around sites, in handing penalties to a union and one of its officials for right-of-entry breaches.

• Counterfeit components endanger workers;
  
• Ignored SDSs revealed risks that caused injury; and
  
• Organisation charged over vulnerable client's death.