Workers’ compensation claims related to mental stress and harassment and/or bullying have both risen in recent years, according to a recent Safe Work Australia analysis. It found the frequency rate (claims per 100 million hours worked) of mental stress claims declined from 2002–03 to 2015–16, before rising again in recent years.
To create a better understanding of workers’ exposure to welding fumes in Australia, the NSW Government’s Centre for Work Health and Safety is conducting new research. Together with the University of Sydney and Curtin University, the Centre is focusing on broadening the knowledge of Australian welding industries and occupations, current controls being used and the…
[vc_row][vc_column][vc_column_text]The biggest challenge when it comes to systems thinking is a fixation on ‘human error’ and the behaviour of workers at the so-called sharp end when trying to understand and manage safety, according to the University of the Sunshine Coast.
There were 1222 workers’ compensation claims related to COVID-19 lodged in 2020, and of these, 974 claims were accepted, 127 were rejected and 121 are still pending, according to new Safe Work Australia data. Of the 1095 accepted and pending claims lodged last year, 826 were for workers who had contracted COVID-19, 212 were for…
[vc_row][vc_column][vc_column_text]While some avenues for influence have been narrowed for WHS professionals in by not being able to be physically present when speaking to decision-makers through 2020, this has been potentially offset by WHS professionals’ increased visibility in critical roles which operationalise COVID-19 responses.
[vc_row][vc_column][vc_column_text]This time last year, parts of Australia were badly affected by extreme heat and bushfires. Working in heat and/or in air pollution can be hazardous and can cause harm to workers in both indoor and outdoor work environments.
[vc_row][vc_column][vc_column_text]Psychological hazards in the workplace receive less attention than physical hazards, however, such hazards – including workplace bullying – are increasingly identified as significant contributors to psychological injuries, according to a recent Productivity Commission report.
Safe Work Australia has released the Work-related Traumatic Injury Fatalities Australia 2019 report, which provides the latest detailed national statistics on all workers and bystanders fatally injured at work. The 2019 report shows that over the last decade, the number and rate of work-related fatalities have been gradually decreasing.
[vc_row][vc_column][vc_column_text]Last year in Australia, Safe Work Australia preliminary data shows that around 180 people died while doing their job. Around 107,000 people made a workers’ compensation claim for serious injury or illness in 2017-18. Safe Work Month (SWM) runs every year in October and this years theme is ‘Work Health and Safety through COVID-19‘.
Safe Work Australia has published new guidance to help businesses navigate the transition to GHS 7. Australia will begin a two-year transition to the Globally Harmonized System of Classification and Labelling of Chemicals Revision 7 (GHS 7) on 1 January 2021.
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