The commencement date for South Australia's new offence of industrial manslaughter has been confirmed, while a WHS regulator has announced a crackdown on poor housekeeping in an industry with a high rate of serious musculoskeletal disorders.
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.
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.
PCBUs could be handed WHS fines of up to $100,000 in civil penalty cases launched by affected parties like workers, deceased workers' families and unions, under proposed reforms that have reached the consultation phase in South Australia.
All of Australia's eight harmonised WHS jurisdictions have now formally applied or committed to adopting provisions explicitly requiring PCBUs to manage psychosocial risks through a risk management process.