Firstly, I'd like to extend a warm welcome to the newest senior members of our team: Penny Stevens and Nicole Fauvrelle who have joined the firm as partners this month and are based in our Melbourne office. We also bid farewell to Paul Cutrone, who has retired from the partnership this month after 17 years with the firm.
In this issue, guest contributor Julie Honore, Managing Director of health and safety search and recruitment firm safesearch, talks about some of the emerging trends and themes in the workplace health and safety landscape.
The model work health and safety laws have now been implemented in most jurisdictions (Western Australia and Victoria excepted) and we look at some of the developments under the national harmonised laws. For example, under the model Work Health and Safety Act 2011 (Cth) (WHS Act), individuals and entities may be able to enter into an enforceable undertaking for alleged or actual contraventions of a workplace health and safety duty. We examine some of the benefits and key considerations of this developing area of compliance and enforcement.
We also saw the first prosecution of an individual under the national harmonised WHS Act in the case of R v Kenoss Contractors Pty Ltd. This decision is an important reminder to individuals that all employees have a responsibility to ensure safety in the workplace.
It's been 12 months since the introduction of the Australian privacy law reforms. We reflect on how the Privacy Commissioner intends to enforce the legislation, and review the significant developments to date.
In Smith v Aussie Waste Management [2015], the Fair Work Commission found that swearing at a manager didn't warrant dismissal. We consider whether this is reflective of a wider trend in modern workplaces that expectations of standards of behaviour are dropping.
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