The UK government has begun consultation that is set to create safe use rules for automated vehicles on British roads. Automated vehicle technology is set to play a major role in the transport revolution happening across the UK, helping to improve transport by making journeys safer, more flexible, and more reliable. The Safe Use RulesRead more
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A number of prominent mental health advocates, unions, and academics have released a joint statement calling on WHS ministers to agree to amend the national model WHS Regulations to prescribe control measures for psychosocial risks. State, territory, and federal WHS ministers are set to meet on May 20 to discuss key reforms recommended in bothRead more
Employment laws will be amended to define workplace sexual harassment as “serious misconduct”, with the Federal Government agreeing wholly or partly to all 55 recommendations of Sex Discrimination Commissioner Kate Jenkins’ Respect@Work report. Last year, Jenkins released the Respect@Work report following a landmark national inquiry into sexual harassment in the workplace by the Australian HumanRead more
A New Zealand trade union is calling on the government to provide more protection for victims of violence in the workplace amid the nation’s poor violence statistics. Prior to the pandemic, New Zealand had the highest rate of domestic violence per capita in the developed world, and the second-highest rate of workplace bullying. Now, theRead more
All Victorian workers who seek compensation for a mental health injury will receive payments to cover reasonable medical expenses while they await the outcome of their claim, under new laws introduced to Parliament. The Workplace Injury Rehabilitation and Compensation Amendment (Provisional Payments) Bill 2020 is designed to help workers who suffer a work-related mental health injuryRead more
Industrial manslaughter laws will have a significant impact on post-incident investigations, according to national law firm Mills Oakley. Industrial manslaughter does not, of itself, require a change to risk management systems, said Mills Oakley partner in workplace relations, employment and safety, Harold Downes, who explained that such laws are a dramatic change to potential legalRead more
Western Australia is a step closer to introducing industrial manslaughter laws and joining the harmonised WHS regime after its Work Health and Safety (WHS) Bill passed the Legislative Council this week. The new laws will offer greater protection to workers, capturing modern employment relationships, such as subcontractors or casual workers, not just the classic employer/employeeRead more
The Federal Government has been accused of ‘dragging its feet’ on work health and safety reform, as new Safe Work Australia statistics reveal the national work-related fatality has increased for the first time in more than a decade. SWA’s Key WHS statistics Australia report shows that while the fatality rate has decreased by 53 perRead more
The Federal Government has handed down its 2020-21 budget, in which it commits hundreds of millions of dollars towards detecting COVID-19 in the workforce, maintaining the paid pandemic leave scheme, and increased funding for the Fair Work Commission. $1.1 billion is being allocated to states and territories, including funding to ensure private hospitals are availableRead more
Victorian safety regulators and police are set to target the state’s workplaces and enforce the use of face masks as the number of coronavirus cases continues to remain high. The Victorian Department of Health and Human Services says the majority of the state’s outbreaks are now coming from settings where people are working closely together.Read more
