In this major must-read report, OHS Alert examines all the key workplace health and safety and workers' compensation developments from the second quarter of 2023, including a wide range of actual and proposed WHS amendments, a string of high-profile safety prosecutions, and concerns around surging burnout rates.
Two fraudsters, including one who made workers' comp claims against companies that never employed him, have been convicted and ordered to pay back more than $250,000. Meanwhile, an employer has been fined $280,000 after the fatal crushing of a worker in a trapping space it created.
A company that repeatedly placed its workers in danger, including in underwater confined spaces, has been convicted and fined heavily under multiple reckless endangerment charges.
A company has been fined nearly $3 million for workplace safety and environmental breaches, in relation to chemical stockpiling and fire incidents that contributed to the Victorian Government's decision to introduce new recklessness offences attracting jail time.
A regulator could be empowered to overturn the decisions of companies self-insured against workplace injuries, with the Victorian Ombudsman finding the system is "patchy and unequal", and highlighting a case where a worker who was entitled to $75,000 was offered a $2,000 settlement.