December 2009

Case briefs

TAS
Rail Safety Bill 2009
Workplace Health and Safety Amendment Bill 2009

WA
Mine Safety and Inspection Amendment Bill 2009

NZ
Health and Safety in Employment Amendment Bill 2006

Publications - Draft

Australia - Chemicals - Submissions on draft codes published
Safe Work Australia has published submissions it received on the Draft National Codes of Practice for the Labelling of Workplace Hazardous Chemicals and Preparation of Safety Data Sheets. The submissions are now being analysed. View submissions.

Australia – Hospitals - Industry standard for surgical loan kits to be developed
WorkCover NSW is developing an industry safety standard for the design and handling of surgical loan kits, in consultation with stakeholders.  Inspectors have identified that this work has significant manual handling risks.  The standard is expected to be relevant nationally.  More – click here to and go to p. 22.

VIC – OHS - Two draft “WorkSafe Positions” released - Closed for comment
WorkSafe has released two new draft WorkSafe Positions, How WorkSafe applies the law in relation to discrimination on health and safety grounds and How WorkSafe applies the law in relation to the requirement to answer questions.  Comments have closed.  More.  View other WorkSafe Positions.

VIC - Traffic management - Draft code of practice released - Open for comment until 18 December
VicRoads has released its draft Code of Practice for Worksite Safety – Traffic Management for public comment.  Comments close 18 December 2009. View draft.

News

Campaigns

Australia - Campaigns for 2010 announced
The Heads of Workplace Safety Authorities (HWSA) have agreed to conduct two national OHS campaigns in 2010. The campaigns will focus on safe plant supply, particularly for imported machinery, and worker safety on or near public roads. More.

QLD - Insulation installers to be audited
Workplace Health and Safety and the Electrical Safety Office are auditing insulation installers to assess compliance with both OHS and electrical safety legislation. The audits will focus on compliance with the new safety conditions that commenced on 30 October 2009. Two workers have been electrocuted while installing insulation in four weeks. More.

SA - Fish wholesalers to be targeted by inspection campaign
WorkSafe has commenced an inspection campaign focusing on OHS in fish wholesaling workplaces.  The campaign will run until July 2010.  More.

Fines and prosecutions

 

Australia – Comcare insurance no protection for past OHS breaches
Companies alleged to have committed OHS offences under state/territory OHS laws before they joined Comcare can now be prosecuted in the relevant state/territory court.  This follows a unanimous decision by High Court judges.  A number of stalled court cases are now likely to be heard in the relevant state/territory. More.  Read news article.

Australia - Court-enforceable undertaking for large transport company after crane tips
A large transport company will make a number of mandatory OHS improvements, after agreeing to a court-enforceable undertaking instead of civil proceedings by Comcare.  It follows a Comcare investigation into an incident where a 76-tonne mobile crane tipped over at an Adelaide freight terminal. More.

QLD - $800,000 for rail company over two deaths
A government-owned rail company has been convicted and fined $650,000 plus $130,00 costs after two railway workers died when they were hit by a reversing 96 tonne track machine. It is the largest fine to date under Queensland's Workplace Health and Safety Act 2005. More.

QLD - Whitsunday dive company fined $25K after stranding divers
A Whitsunday dive boat operator has been fined $25,000 after it left two overseas divers stranded at sea overnight in May 2008.  More.

SA - $30,000 fines for two companies for OHS breaches
Two companies have been convicted and fined $30,000 for OHS breaches.  In one incident, a worker suffered severe burns to 25% of his body after vapours in a pressure vessel in which he was working ignited.  In the second incident, a truck driver was struck by a bale of compressed waste and suffered numerous fractures.  The joint operators of the waste facility have previously been fined $40,000 and $37,500.  More.

SA - Fall from ladder leads to conviction and $50,000 costs
A family cleaning business has been convicted and fined $40,000, and required to pay $10,000 compensation, after a worker suffered permanent brain damage when he fell 4.5 m from a ladder. The ladder slipped out from under him while he was cleaning windows.  More. 

SA - Fifth workplace fine for printing company
A printing company has been convicted and fined $40,000 after a worker put his fingers through a gap in a machine guard and suffered finger crush injuries.  It was the company’s fifth offence since 1998, for similar incidents and injuries.  More.

SA – Bottling company fined over scald injury
A wine bottling company has been fined nearly $20,000 after a worker was scalded by hot water.  The company was deemed to have not provided adequate engineering controls.  More.

SA - Finger amputation leads to fines for supervisor and employer
A supervisor and employer have been convicted and fined after a worker's finger was amputated.  An interlock switch had been disabled.  More.

SA - Carpenter fined after worker falls through stairwell
An Adelaide carpentry and joinery contractor has been convicted and fined $25,000 plus $10,000 compensation after a young worker fell 3m through an unguarded stairwell.  More.

VIC – Company and director fined $815,000
A company director has been convicted and fined $65,000, and his company fined $750,000, for failing to ensure workers were properly trained and supervised.  A worker was pulled into an industrial ironing machine in a commercial laundry and died.  The imported machine did not meet Australian Standards and was not appropriately guarded. It is the first time a company director has been sentenced in the County Court under section 144 of the Occupational Health and Safety Act 2004, which applies to company officers. More.

VIC - $160,000 fine and conviction for dangerous goods company
A dangerous goods warehouse and distribution company has been convicted and fined $160,000 over a chemical fire at a Footscray site. Heavy rainfall led to stormwater entering a storage shed and reacting with pool chlorine chemicals.  Nearby residents were affected and train services disrupted.  More.

VIC – Project managers and subcontractor prosecuted after fall from roof
Two subcontracted project managers and a subcontracting roofing company have each been prosecuted after a dogman fell eight meters through an asbestos roof.  The company was fined $15,000 and the individual project managers each fined $7,500.  More.

VIC - OHS Coordinator pleads guilty to falsifying documents
An OHS Coordinator has pleaded guilty to falsifying induction documents, during a WorkSafe investigation of safety breaches.  The worker was released on a good behaviour bond for 12 months.  More. 

WA - Leg amputation leads to $100,000 fine
A Bunbury company has been fined $100,000 after a worker's leg was amputated. The worker fell while cleaning a machine that was not isolated. His leg was torn from his body at the hip. More.

WA - Drilling contractor electrocuted and fined over work near powerlines
A drilling contractor has been fined $40,000 after his rig mast contacted high voltage power lines.  He received an electric shock and another worker suffered burns to 60% of his body. More.

WA - Printing company fined $36,000 over amputation
A Cannington printing company has been fined $36,000 after a worker's finger tip was amputated.  The worker did not isolate a machine she was working on and accidentally turned it on.  More.

WA - Transport company fined $30,000 over unsafe workplace and not reporting an injury
A Bibra Lake transport company has been fined $30,000 after a worker’s legs were crushed under the wheels of a truck trailer.  A company director reversed the vehicle when the mechanic was under it. The director did not notify WorkSafe of the reportable injuries, even after being told he needed to.  More.

WA - Fatigue breaches leads to fine
A Forrestfield transport company has been fined $5,000 for breaching commercial vehicle driver fatigue laws.  More.

WA - No prosecution for cyclone construction company
A construction company has been cleared of failing to maintain a safe workplace after Cyclone George hit a rail camp, injuring one of its employees.  The magistrate deemed that dongas were an appropriate refuge during a cyclone and that the company did not expose its employees to a hazard.  Seven other companies have been charged in connection with deaths and injuries at the camp.  More.

WA – Power company ordered to improve power pole management practices
EnergySafety WA has ordered a power company to improve its management of wooden power poles.  This follows a 2006 audit and follow-up inspection in 2008, which found that many required changes had not been made. A fallen power pole owned by the company is believed to have started a bush fire in Balingup in 2009. View order.

WA – Four companies fined for not having demolition licences
Four companies have been prosecuted for doing demolition work without having required licences. More.

NZ – Crane death leads to $150K costs to company
A crane hire company has been fined more than $105,000 and ordered to pay $50,000 in reparations after a worker died while operating a crane.  The slings snapped when the crane, with maximum lifting capacity, 5 tonnes was lifting a 10.5 tonne load and he was hit in the head by a shackle.  More.

NZ - Racing club $135,000 poorer after horses enter highway causing fatal crash
A racing club has been prosecuted and required to pay more than $135,000 in fines, reparations and court costs after horses escaped from a racetrack onto a highway.  A car hit one horse and the driver was killed.  Although the club is a non-profit organisation, it is deemed to have the same legal obligations as other workplaces to identify hazards and control risks.  More. 

NZ - $45,000 costs to farmer after ATV incident
A farmer has been fined $25,000 and ordered to pay $20,000 reparations after a worker suffered serious head injuries while using an All Terrain Vehicle (ATV).  He was not wearing a helmet.  More. 

Other news

Australia – OHS - Report on workplace injuries released
Safe Work Australia has released a report on workplace injuries, based on the 2005-06 Work-Related Injuries Survey. Agriculture, forestry and fishing workers had the highest number of work-related injuries. More.

Australia - Chemicals - Single regulatory framework for agvet chemicals proposed
The Primary Industries Ministerial Council (PIMC) is reviewing the National Registration Scheme for agricultural and veterinary (agvet) chemicals, with a view to having a single national framework. This follows a 2008 Productivity Commission report which recommended changes in a number of areas, including agvet chemicals regulation.  The proposal will be submitted to the Council of Australian Governments’ April 2010 meeting.  More.

Australia - Stevedoring - New national guidelines released
Safe Work Australia has released three new guidelines that aim to improve OHS on the waterfront. The guidelines address environmental, physical, mechanical and psychosocial risks associated with stevedoring operations.

1. Working safely on the waterfront
2. Working safely with containers
3. Working safely with general cargo

QLD - Insulation installation - Metal staples and fasteners banned; other OHS requirements introduced
From 1 November, metal staples and other conductive fasteners must not be used on ceiling insulation.  Other new obligations relate to risk assessments and compliance with the Wiring Rules.  These changes follow the electrocution and serious injury to workers installing foil insulation.  It is believed that a metal staple pierced a live electrical cable.  More.  View Ministerial notice.

VIC - Workplace death toll at highest level in eight years
Victoria has had its highest rate of workplace deaths since 2001.  More.

NZ - Chemicals - Chemical handling guide published
ERMA has published a guide to safe chemical handling, for business owners and employees. It includes checklists to create lists of chemicals and record chemical quantities and locations. It also helps you to assess risks and determine if controls are adequate.  View guide.

NZ – Chemicals – NZIoC updated
The New Zealand inventory of Chemicals (NZIoC) has been updated. There are 54 new listings, four deletions due to revocation of approvals under HSNO and 21 status changes. View November updates. View complete NZIoC list.

Case briefs