Western Australian employers urged to install RCDs, and other WA news; Queensland releases guide to complying with OHS laws in flood clean-up; South Australians invited to apply for $50K safety-initiative grants; ACT safety chief reappointed; and Bullying-prevention guides, fatality alerts and other publications.
The absence in the draft model Work Health and Safety Regulations of a requirement to use risk assessments in all situations could save employers millions of dollars without undermining safety, according to an impact statement released by Safe Work Australia.
The TWU has failed to convince a NSW court that saliva swabs are more appropriate than urine samples for testing drivers for drug and alcohol impairment.
Many employers in flood-affected areas will be required to identify and eliminate a host of workplace hazards they have never encountered before, a new report from law firm Blake Dawson has warned.
SWA reports alarming spike in notified fatalities; NT WorkSafe issues alert after two fatalities in two weeks; Comcare prosecuting John Holland and Transpacific over fall deaths; and Employer charged over insulation death.
Flood-affected Queenslanders have been urged to exercise extreme caution when dealing with electrical equipment and asbestos-containing materials during the floods and clean-up period.
The number of asbestos-related deaths in NSW will soon dwarf the annual road toll, Ombudsman Bruce Barbour has warned in calling for a State-wide asbestos-eradication plan. But a medical breakthrough announced on this, the first day of Asbestos Awareness Week, offers hope for mesothelioma victims.
In this update, OHS Alert outlines all the important OHS and workers' compensation legislative changes made in the third quarter of 2010. We also recap the most significant court and tribunal rulings and other developments in each jurisdiction.
