The sentencing regime for workplace health and safety offences could be amended to ensure penalties have a "real economic impact" on large companies, and to enable imprisonment for more types of offences, under changes flagged by Victoria's Sentencing Advisory Council.
A major study traversing the past four years has revealed that students are the most frequent perpetrators of digital harassment of Australia's university staff, and senior managers in the sector are not doing enough to safeguard workers' psychological health.
Managerial experience in dealing with common mental disorders (CMDs) is a key organisational "asset", according to researchers who studied more than 3,000 managers and point employers to international guidance on the issue.
Encouraging teamwork and ensuring safety personnel provide managers with advice on legislative requirements are two vital elements researchers say facilitate workers' return to work after suffering mental health disorders.
A company and its director have been charged with WHS recklessness, which was allegedly identified during an investigation into a helicopter crash that occurred just moments after a worker suspended under the aircraft was cut free and fell to his death.
Employers of workers in an at-risk group have been urged to rethink their mental health strategies to support those with suicidal thoughts and other issues, with a caution that "practice has surpassed research".
Researchers have urged employers to hone their approach to near-miss reports, and involve workers in the process, after finding inadequate responses lead to consequences beyond preventing future incidents.
Australia has moved a step closer to harmonising the right to disconnect from work, with a parliamentary inquiry recommending the move after hearing workers across multiple sectors are being exhausted and injured "to no good purpose".
Facilitating 15 to 30 minutes of physical activity every day can significantly improve the health of sedentary workers, who are 34 per cent more likely to die from cardiovascular disease, a study of nearly half a million people has shown.
The majority of workers believe they are sufficiently educated to stay safely hydrated in hot working conditions, but a new Australian study has found most aren't drinking enough water and experience heat illness symptoms that can quickly become severe.
