In the media
Worksafe defends decision not to prosecute CFA over
Fiskville handling
Victoria's workplace safety watchdog tells a parliamentary
inquiry there was insufficient evidence to prosecute the Country
Fire Authority for safety breaches at its Fiskville training base
(21 November 2015).
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CFMEU found guilty of unlawfully entering Adelaide
building sites
The Federal Court found the construction union and 12 organisers
guilty of 31 violations of the Fair Work Act at Adelaide building
sites (21 November 2015).
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State Insurance Regulatory Authority Board members
appointed
The inaugural Board of the State Insurance Regulatory Authority
(SIRA) has been appointed by NSW Minister for Innovation and Better
Regulation Victor Dominello (20 November 2015).
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Lawyers have lowest health and wellbeing of all
professionals, study finds
Lawyers working in firms, from top-tier to sole practice, have the
lowest health and wellbeing of all white-collar workers; not only
that, they are the highest users and abusers of alcohol and
nicotine, a study has found (19 November 2015).
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Improvements to Australia's chain of responsibility
laws to make roads safer for all
Details of new chain of responsibility reforms have been published
by the NTC (18 November 2015).
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Study finds on-farm deaths could be halved through
simple safety measures
A study has found on-farm deaths could be almost halved if
producers took simple safety measures like wearing seatbelts and
helmets. James Cook University canvassed about 120 farmers and
fishers from Cairns to Hobart to find out what is stopping them
from improving their safety practices (18 November 2015).
More...
Ministers approve next step to reduce the number of
un-roadworthy heavy vehicles on Australia's
roads
Details of Heavy Vehicle Roadworthiness reforms have been published
by the NTC (18 November 2015).
More...
Trucking boss jailed for manslaughter appeals, claiming
judge's comments lacked balance
A trucking company boss jailed over a driver's death caused by
faulty brakes missed out on a fair trial because the judge's
comments to the jury lacked balance, South Australia's appeals
court has been told (18 November 2015).
More...
Changes to split Mr Fluffy housing blocks in two to be
tabled in ACT
Controversial planning rules that allow the ACT Government to
subdivide Mr Fluffy blocks and sell each unit separately,
increasing the land's value, are to be tabled today by Planning
Minister (17 November 2015).
More...
Jobs at home stir workplace safety
discussions
A campaign that aims to encourage discussions about workplace
safety by recognising the important jobs we do at home was launched
today by WorkSafe Victoria. Available from the 17th November,
further details can be accessed form the website
jobsathomeday.com.au (17 November 2015).
More...
Injured veteran fights and wins court case against
invalidity payment splitting
In a major victory for injured defence veterans, a Family Court
judge has ruled that invalidity payments are immune from divorce
settlements. The judgement means that thousands of veterans have
been wrongly advised by the Commonwealth Superannuation Corporation
that the payment was "splittable" (14 November 2015).
More...
Victorian Workers Urged To Take Extra Care On The
Job
The Andrews Labor Government is urging all workplaces to make
safety a priority and take extra care on the job, following the
tragic deaths of five workers in just nine days (13 November 2015).
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Consultation on new return to work assistance
benefits
An open public consultation for proposed changes to better support
NSW's injured workers to return to work has been opened this
week. The NSW State Insurance Regulatory Authority (SIRA) released
a discussion
paper, Return to Work Assistance to seek feedback from industry
(13 November 2015).
More fines for CFMEU after Emporium
Blockade
The Federal Court today imposed significant penalties of $151,000
on the CFMEU and a number of its senior officials for blockading
parts of Melbourne's CBD during August and September 2012 in
its bitter industrial dispute with Grocon Pty Ltd. The penalties
follow court proceedings brought by Fair Work Building &
Construction (11 November 2015).
More...
Drug taking IT workers threaten Australian public
service, says corruption watchdog
Australia's corruption watchdog is targeting drug-taking public
servants working in IT because they threaten the security of the
federal bureaucracy and susceptible to bribes or pressure from
criminals (10 November 2015).
More...
WADA Independent Commission report: ASADA
Acting CEO of ASADA, Trevor Burgess, has welcomed the findings of
the World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA) Independent Commission released
today.
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Queensland to introduce no-fault CTP liability in line
with other Australian states
The Queensland Government is moving to a no-fault scheme for
vehicle liability insurance, ending a longstanding national divide
on compulsory third party (CTP) coverage (11 November 2015).
More...
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Queensland to protect people catastrophically injured in
traffic crashes
The Queensland Government is considering options to implement the
National Injury Insurance Scheme (NIIS) to provide reasonable and
necessary care and support for people catastrophically injured in
road traffic crashes, irrespective of fault (11 November 2015).
More...
Capsized barge disaster ends in fines of
$600,000
A company that overloaded a barge which capsized on the Patterson
River, throwing three workers into the water and seriously injuring
one of them, was convicted and fined a total of $600,000 in the
County Court last week (10 November 2015).
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Essendon Football Club charged
Following a comprehensive investigation, WorkSafe has charged the
Essendon Football Club with two breaches of the OHS Act 2004 in
relation to its 2011-2012 supplements program (10 November 2015).
More...
Published – articles, papers, reports
Safe Work Australia: July 2015 Notifiable Fatalities
Monthly Report July 2015
There were 16 work-related notifiable fatalities during July 2015
— 11 male workers, 1 female worker, 3 male bystanders and 1
female bystander. Of these fatalities, 3 workers died as a result
of an incident on a public road and 1 worker died in an air crash
(16 November 2015).
More....
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Support frameworks for the use of social media by
emergency management organisations: Policy report
Digital Media Research Centre (QUT)
This policy seeks to improve knowledge sharing across Australian
emergency management organisations about the effective uses of
social media for crisis (11 November 2015).
More...
Exploring the Barriers and Facilitators to Adoption of
Improved Work Practices for Safety in the Primary
Industries
Richard Franklin of James Cook University
In 2013, the 48 deaths in the agriculture, forestry and fishing
industries represented a quarter of all workplace fatalities. It
was equal to 15.11 fatalities per 100,000 workers, which was nine
times the national rate of 1.64. More...
In practice and courts
NTC seeks further input on proposed changes to Assessing
Fitness to Drive
Have your say about the proposed changes to the Assessing Fitness
to Drive medical standards and guidelines (13 November 2015).
More...
SafeWork Australia consultation: workplace chemical
exposure standards
Safe Work Australia is holding a public consultation process about
exposure standards for hazardous chemicals used in workplaces and
how they could be reviewed and maintained. The public consultation
closes on 18 December 2015. Read The
Role of Chemical Exposure Standards in Work Health and Safety Laws:
Discussion Paper and submit your views on the Safe
Work Australia public submissions website.
More...
Directions issued regarding the draft RSRO on minimum
payments for contractor drivers
The Full Bench of the Tribunal has issued
Directions regarding further submissions on the
draft Contractor Driver Minimum Payments Road Safety Remuneration
Order 2016 (draft Payments RSRO). Submissions closed 13
November 2015.
NSW WorkCover Consultation: Issues Paper, Review of
self-insurance licensing framework
The Paper addresses a range of issues including the structure of
compliance activities and licence duration. The Issues Paper is
available from www.workcover.nsw.gov.au/about-us/have-your-say
Submissions close on Monday 14 December 2015.
NSW WorkCover Consultation: Regulation of Legal Costs
for Work Capacity Decision Reviews
The
Discussion paper - Regulation of legal costs for work capacity
decision reviews (October 2015) has been released for public
comment. The discussion paper, which was prepared by the State
Insurance Regulatory Authority (SIRA), examines the three options
for regulating the payment of legal costs that are directly
connected with a work capacity decision review. Comments on the
discussion paper should be sent to SIRA by 23
November 2015. More...
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Consultation: Proposed amendments to the Poisons
Standard - ACMS meeting, March 2016
The TGA is seeking comments from interested parties on proposed
amendments to the Poisons Standard. The closing date is 10 December
2015.
More...
Cases
Nash v Glennies Creek Coal Management Pty Ltd; Nash
v Integra Coal Operations Pty Ltd (No 9) [2015] NSWIC
15
OCCUPATIONAL HEALTH AND SAFETY – prosecution under s 8 of the
Occupational Health and Safety Act 2000 (NSW) –
mining accident – the nature and seriousness of the offences
– moral culpability – aggravating factors –
mitigating factors - pleas – deterrence – comparable
cases – victim impact statement – parity –
sentencing related companies – conviction entered –
penalties imposed – costs.
More...
Legislation
Victoria
Bills Introduced and Second Read in the first House
– 13 November
Drugs, Poisons and Controlled Substances Amendment Bill. More...
New South Wales
Regulations and other miscellaneous instruments
Tattoo Parlours Amendment (Permits) Regulation 2015 (2015-688)
— published LW 13 November 2015.
Bills passed by both Houses of Parliament - 23 November 2015
Crimes Amendment (Off-road Fatal Accidents) Bill 2015.
Firearms and Weapons Prohibition Legislation Amendment Bill 2015.
Security Industry Amendment (Regulation of Training Organisations) Bill 2015.
Queensland - Bills Updated
Tobacco and Other Smoking Products (Smoke-free Places) Amendment
Bill 2015
Introduced on 10/11/2015 Referred to Committee on 10/11/2015.
Tackling Alcohol-Fuelled Violence Legislation Amendment Bill
2015
Introduced on 12/11/2015: Referred to Committee on 12/11/2015
The objective of the Bill are to tackle alcohol-fuelled violence,
particularly late at night, through an evidence-based,
multi-faceted approach by way of amendments to the Liquor Act
1992 and other related Acts; and ensure consistency across
Queensland statutes dealing with directors' liability through
amendments to the Fair Trading Act 1989.
This publication does not deal with every important topic or change in law and is not intended to be relied upon as a substitute for legal or other advice that may be relevant to the reader's specific circumstances. If you have found this publication of interest and would like to know more or wish to obtain legal advice relevant to your circumstances please contact one of the named individuals listed.