Australia is closely monitoring and responding to the outbreak of the respiratory illness caused by a novel (new) coronavirus, first identified in Wuhan, Hubei Provence, China. Coronaviruses (CoV) are a large family of viruses that cause illness from the common cold to more severe diseases such as Middle East Respiratory Syndrome (MERS-CoV) and Severe Acute…
WHS authorities across Australia undertook 230,054 workplace interventions, issued 46,472 notices for WHS breaches and finalised 289 legal proceedings between 2013-14 and 2016-17, resulting in $18.9 million in fines ordered by the courts, according to a recent Safe Work Australia report. It also found that the total expenditure for workers’ compensation schemes across Australia was…
Safe Work Australia (SWA) Members have agreed to adopt the Globally Harmonized System of Classification and Labelling of Chemicals (GHS) Revision 7 under the model WHS laws for workplace hazardous chemicals. This will ensure Australia’s requirements for the classification and labelling of workplace hazardous chemicals remain best practice and are aligned with our key international…
[vc_row][vc_column][vc_column_text]What is ISO 45001? ISO 45001 is a product of collaboration between more than 70 countries, and is the first global standard of its kind. Designed to work with any organisation, large or small, the universal framework is designed to improve employee health and safety, reduce workplace risks, and create healthier, safer working conditions. Australian…
[vc_row][vc_column][vc_column_text]Workers are at the heart of Safe Work Australia’s new 10 year vision to minimise the impact of work-related injury and illness and enable workers to have a timely, safe and durable return to work. More than half a million Australians sustain a work-related injury or illness each year. The impact of this is felt…
[vc_row][vc_column][vc_column_text]The amount organisations are spending on compliance has been consistently going up for two decades, however, the amount of extra safety they are getting in return “has not been going up at all”, according to the Safety Science Innovation Lab at Griffith University.
The second Australian Workplace Psychological Safety Survey, surveyed 1,093 Australian employees and found that just under a quarter (23%) do not currently do any activities to connect them with colleagues. One of the biggest barriers found was not having time due to workload. Workplace mental wellness expert and R U OK? Board Member Graeme Cowan…
It may be only a matter of time before industrial manslaughter offences are introduced right around Australia, with a number of states and territories already introducing industrial manslaughter laws and a number of others looking to enact similar legislation, according to Clyde & Co.
An infographic summary of key findings from the Comparative performance monitoring report 20th edition–Part 1 analyses trends in work health and safety and workers’ compensation scheme performance across Australia and New Zealand. The report facilitates the improvement of work health and safety, workers’ compensation and related service outcomes in Australia and New Zealand by: monitoring…
[vc_row][vc_column][vc_column_text] The review of the model WHS laws is now complete and the report is available on the Safe Work Australia website. The review report makes 34 recommendations designed to enhance the WHS framework. Key recommendations relate to the model WHS Regulations and Codes of Practice, including making regulations on psychological health, higher penalties and…
