What's News

28 January 2010

Latest News

Victorian Education Department fined for asbestos incident
20 January 2010
Worksafe Victoria claims failing to ensure a tradesman was aware of the presence of asbestos has cost the Education Department $10,000 as well as being ordered to pay costs of $3,500. More...

WorkCover NSW urging businesses to focus on young workers safety
21 January 2010
WORKCOVER NSW is urging businesses across the state to prioritise the safety of young workers during the 2010 new year. More...

NOPSA ready to take over administering offshore well integrity and safety regulations
22 January 2010
The National Offshore Petroleum Safety Authority (NOPSA) says it has the appropriate experience to take over the administration of offshore well integrity and safety regulations. Currently, NOPSA is responsible for the OHS of people at offshore petroleum facilities not the integrity of wells. More...

Safety blitz targets Queensland insulation installers
21 January 2010
Industrial Relations Minister has announced inspectors from the Electrical Safety Office (ESO) and Workplace Health and Safety Queensland are well on track to achieve their target of auditing 500 companies by the end of January as part of a state wide safety blitz on insulation installers. More...

MUA claim asbestos safety breach
14 January 2010
Members of the Maritime Workers Union who have been shifting asbestos to Barrow Island for the Gorgon gas project are refusing to return to work until their safety is guaranteed. Asbestos was used in pipes and fences about 40 years ago and buried when oilfields were first developed. More...

WorkHealth initiative available in all regions of Victoria
19 January 2010
WORKSAFE Victoria’s WorkHealth initiative, which is said to improve the health of Victorian workers and the productivity of workplaces, is now available in all regions across the state. More...

Surf Coast unsafe work sites
14 January 2010
WorkSafe spokesperson Michael Birt said he was “disappointed” with a November blitz to check on compliance with occupational health and safety laws at workplaces around the Surf Coast, with an enormous number of Surf Coast employees working at heights without fall protection, constructing unsafe scaffolding and operating unguarded machinery. More...

Enforceable code of practice for abalone fishing work: Tasmanian Coroner
16 January 2010
A Tasmanian Coroner said he was concerned with a lack of clear workplace standards for commercial fishing vessels and has recommended an enforceable code of practice for abalone fishing work after hearing that an abalone quota-holding businessman believed he had no occupational health and safety duty to those on the boat, whom he saw as independent sub-contractors. More...

Malu Sara sea tragedy case referred to CMC
14 January 2010
A month after federal workplace safety regulator Comcare confirmed it was planning to prosecute the Department of Immigration and Citizenship and the boat’s manufacturer Subsee Explorer Pty Ltd, the Queensland Crime and Misconduct Commission has also said it is looking into the case. More...

Queensland teachers take on nonviolent crisis intervention
17 January 2010
Once confined mainly to staff in special education units, courses have been rolled out to mainstream Prep and other classrooms to counter the number of workers’ compensation claims arising from injured teachers. Sheila Hunter, representing teacher aides through the Liquor Hospitality and Miscellaneous Union said staff were suffering physical and psychological injury from student attacks. More...

WorkSafe issues warning against working in confined spaces
12 January 2010
WORKSAFE has issued a warning about the dangers of working in confined spaces after a tank cleaning company was convicted and fined $500,000 following the death of a worker. According to WorkSafe, Depot Vic, a company which cleans and repairs storage tanks for the chemical industry, pleaded guilty to failing to provide and maintain a safe workplace. More...

Construction company fined $15,000 for inadequate fall protection
11 January 2010
A WA Construction company has been fined $15,000 for failing to adequately cover an opening after a worker fell more than three metres through a gap in a third storey floor. More...