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Asbestos scare closes quarry
3 September 2010
Following a site visit by Department of Employment, Economic Development and Innovation (DEEDI) Mines Inspectorate, operations were suspended at the Laurenceson Road site on August 6.Workplace Health and Safety Queensland has since issued an Improvement Notice to the quarry that stipulates appropriate processes are put in place to ensure any quarry material leaving the site does not contain asbestos. More...

Cafe owner verbally abused and underpaid staff
1 September 2010
The Chief Industrial Magistrates Court found the owner of a country cafe withheld more than $5000 in wages and leave entitlements from three staff and subjected them to verbal abuse and offensive language when they asked for their money. A national campaign by the Fair Work Ombudsman over the past 18 months has found $634,000 in unpaid wages owed to young employees. More...

SMEs warned to focus on safety after worker awarded $1.26 million
3 September 2010
The awarding of $1.26 million to a former employee of a company owned by pollster Gary Morgan who suffered a serious injury to his foot should serve as a warning to SMEs to make occupational health and safety a key part of their culture, an expert has warned. More

$450,000 fine for ‘avoidable’ excavator death
2 September 2010
Nationwide Towing and Transport was convicted and fined $450,000 on two counts under the Occupational Health and Safety Act at the Melbourne County Court. WorkSafe’s Acting Executive Director for Health and Safety said the avoidable death was even more tragic as it echoed a similar situation which occurred less than two years earlier, where no-one was hurt.More...

Union raises safety oversight after Tarcutta bypass death
31 August 2010
A New South Wales union official is questioning whether a safety oversight contributed to a man’s death at the Tarcutta bypass worksite.More...

Manufacturer fined after failing to seek aid for injured worker
3 September 2010
A company and it co-director were last week convicted in the Melbourne Magistrate’s Court and fined almost $200,000 over a preventable workplace fatality in October 2008 that involved a ‘deplorable’ lack of medical attention. Magistrate Andrew Capell ruled that mitigation over the offences had to play a secondary role to penalties for the death. More...

Safety at Adelaide Aqua desalination plant construction site questioned
1 September 2010
Safework SA said there had been 18 notifications of dangerous occurrences, three notified workplace injuries and two complaints from the site in the past 12 months, with workers claiming delays in reporting possibly breaching workplace safety laws. More...

Company and boss fined over fatal factory blast
1 September 2010
A munitions factory and its chief operating officer have been given close to the maximum penalty over a fatal explosion that killed three workers. Both the company Quin Investments and boss Nik Kuzub were found guilty in the Industrial Court of failing to
maintain a safe workplace. More...

More workplace fatalities in Victoria
31 August 2010
There have been another two fatalities in Victoria – making it 17 so far this year. The Director of WorkSafe’s Manufacturing, Logistics and Agriculture Division said such incidents were preventable because they could be foreseen. The employer who has the duty to ensure that there are safe systems of work in place, and that employees are provided with appropriate training and supervision to allow them to carry out their work safely. More...

Victoria issues Worksafe ‘report card’
30 August 2010
WorkSafe has released its annual report, noting that Victoria had its lowest ever injury rate in the past financial year. WorkSafe Chair, Elana Rubin, said the number of claims per thousand workers continued its downward trend finishing 2009-10 at 10.54 claims per 1000 workers compared with 10.8 claims per 1000 in 2008-09. While the injury rate is still above WorkSafe’s target of 8.35 claims per 1000, it is the lowest on record. More...

Man overboard code for fishing industry
31 August 2010
Western Australia has become the first state or territory to introduce a man overboard code of practice for the commercial fishing industry. The code issued by WA’s Commission for Occupational Safety and Health details safety guidelines to prevent falls on commercial vessels as well as emergency responses for man overboard incidents. More...

Courts at odds over safety laws which carry jail terms
27 August 2010
Company directors face jail terms for breaches of occupational health and safety laws in NSW. They face jail even if prosecutors fail to say how they could have avoided an accident, after a controversial decision handed down by the state’s Industrial Court this week. More...

Forklift foolery results in serious injury
26 August 2010
A 30-year-old worker sustained critical head injuries after an alleged skylarking incident with a forklift at a plastic pipe manufacturing plant near Wagga Wagga last week. John Watson, general manager of WorkCover’s occupational health and safety division, says forklifts are not designed for towing individuals. More...

Alcoa admits Wagerup dust breach of operating licence
24 August 2010
Mining giant Alcoa has pleaded guilty to a downgraded charge of to a breach of licence, when it allowed dust from its waste stockpiles to blow across neighbouring suburbs near its Wagerup refinery. More...

Another farmer death by tractor
24 August 2010
Another man has died following the second tractor accident on the Northern Rivers. The program leader of the Australian Centre for Agricultural Health and Safety and executive officer of Farmsafe Australia, said tractors were still the single biggest cause of deaths.More...

Publications/ Conferences

NSW: Workplace safety mentoring for small business
1 September 2010
NSW small businesses have the opportunity to learn about workplace health and safety management from larger businesses with experience in the area. WorkCover’s mentor program aims to help make NSW a safer place to work. Workplace safety mentoring for small business For more information or to register your interest, visit the WorkCover website.More...

Queensland: Safe storage and transportation of gas cylinders in vehicles
25 August 2010The purpose of this safety alert is to highlight the potential dangers associated with the storage and transportation of flammable gas cylinders in confined spaces of vehicles.More...

Queensland: Capstan and windlass style winches
August 2010
This safety alert highlights the hazards involved when operating unguarded capstan or windlass style winches on board commercial fishing vessels. More...