Browsing: Jurisdiction (SA) | Page 3

A magistrate has slammed a company's "casual approach" to WHS, which "fell well below the standards required" of it, finding a worker would have been conscious of and avoided placing himself in a hazardous position if proper systems had been implemented.

Safe Work Australia has committed to immediately drafting changes to the national model WHS laws to reflect the outcomes of yesterday's WHS ministers meeting on engineered stone and other issues. The non-harmonised state of Victoria will make similar changes to its safety legislation.

• Reduce burnout risks with role modelling and detox: RMIT;
  
• WHS amendments commence on Xmas day in SA; and
  
• SWA releases labour-hire Know Your Duties tool.

The passage of an amended industrial manslaughter Bill, through South Australia's Parliament, has been described as a "game-changer" for WHS compliance. Meanwhile, the Commonwealth jurisdiction's WHS Act is being amended to empower those directly affected by workplace safety incidents to provide advice to regulators.

A major company and a state government are among the latest entities to formerly commit to phasing out silicosis-causing engineered stone and implementing a WHS ban on the substance.

A court has rejected a worker's claim that her employer unlawfully threatened to lodge a workers' compensation claim, against her will, after she raised safety concerns affecting her mental health.

• WHS phase-outs by IKEA and others fast-track end of deadly stone;
  
• Dozens of toilet-related WHS breaches found in SA blitz; and
  
• Worksite bystander killed.

Australia has taken a big leap towards banning engineered stone products, with the country's WHS ministers agreeing to release a "powerful and compelling" Safe Work Australia report that recommends the ban, and warns there is no evidence that alternative measures can curb the alarming rate of silicosis in engineered stone workers.

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.

Unsafe workplace layouts, and training and first-aid failings, were among the WHS issues that attracted improvement notices in a major compliance project targeting violence and aggression in a hazardous industry.