A coroner has expressed his "fervent hope" that companies and heavy vehicle drivers will cease the common dangerous practice of placing modified window shades on windscreens, in his inquest into the blind-spot-related death of a worker in a parking area.
In a rare case, an employer has been prosecuted and fined for workplace health and safety breaches after high levels of the hazardous substance lead were detected in the blood of four of its workers.
An employer that failed to take steps to avoid very obvious safety risks has had its safety fine more than doubled on resentencing, over an incident demonstrating the legislative requirement to pair high level controls with proactive training and supervision.
A government employer failed to have proper regard to the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on the healthcare system when it refused to authorise a worker's sick leave, a court has found.
A superior court has highlighted the necessity, under safety laws, to match high level engineering controls with "robust" training and active supervision, in finding an employer's $20,000 safety fine was manifestly inadequate, and ordering that it be resentenced.
A major employer that failed to ensure a quarry road and a windrow complied with industry guidance has been fined $130,000, after a loaded haul truck breached the windrow and plunged 15 metres, killing the driver.