Insights

Two recent cases have illustrated the significance of having and implementing adequate safety procedures for constructions companies

Spinal fusion surgery has been added to a list of procedures deemed to be wasteful, unnecessary and potentially harmful to patients, in a move which is set to relieve stress on the Australian health care system and save millions annually.

The death of a worker in an unsupported mine has seen BHP hit with a record South Australian Work Health and Safety fine of $390,000, and also ordered to pay $80,000 in compensation to the worker’s family.

Millions of women all over the globe have been coming forward with their own stories of sexual harassment in the workplace following the commencement of the #metoo campaign.

A recent case involving a husband and wife who were working from home were deemed to be employees rather than contractors has shed further light on the composition of the employment relationship.

The Victorian Government has introduced changes to its Labour Hire laws, presenting the Labour Hire Licensing Bill 2017. The Bill creates a regulatory scheme which subjects labour hire providers to background checks, and ensures that they are “fit and proper” persons.

In a recent and pivotal finding, the Fair Work Commission has concluded that employers are entitled to conduct random drug testing at high risk sites where the relevant agreement so permits.

A worker’s serious and wilful misconduct by way of taunting a co-worker, which led to the co-worker assaulting the claimant, has been deemed reason enough to warrant the rejection of the worker’s compensation claim.

In April 2016 18-year-old Joshua Park-Fing was working at Queensland’s Toowoomba Showgrounds when he fell from a flatbed tractor trailer, sustaining fatal head injuries.

A 2015 decision in the NSW Supreme Court was thought to be the first case where an employer was found liable for PTSD. Although this decision was overturned this year, it has outlined multiple key considerations for employers where psychiatric injuries are concerned.

Updates to the national Load Restraint Guides have been endorsed by Australia’s state, territory and commonwealth transport ministers, with leaders confirming the implementation of the former recommendations. Ministers have also supported the introduction of laws which would make non-compliance with safety documents an offence.

A court has ruled that a worker’s belief that her employer expected her to attend the workplace was not enough to make her injury compensable. This occurred after the worker was sent reminder emails to complete forms for the employer, attended the workplace on a rostered day off to complete the forms, and was injured in the process.