Call for Industrial Manslaughter laws after more unnecessary deaths
It was inevitable that all States in Australia would end up with Industrial Manslaughter (IM) penalties related to occupational health and safety (OHS). Tasmania is the latest to start the consultation...
View ArticlePurposeful or lazy discussion of Right-To-Disconnect and Working-From-Home?
There is a curious development in the current discussion in Australia about the newly introduced Right-To-Disconnect (RTD). Many are conflating RTD with Working From Home (WFH) – two separate but...
View ArticleWork (re)design needs government subsidies to succeed
Last week, SafeWork New South Wales progressed the management of psychosocial hazards at work with the release of its Designing Work to Manage Psychosocial Risks guidance. This document has been a long...
View ArticleHSRs are one option for Consultation, not the be-all and end-all
WorkSafe Victoria’s obsession with Health and Safety Representatives (HSRs) was displayed at last week’s 2023 WorkSafe Awards night. The HSR of the Year nominations generated rowdiness in the audience,...
View ArticleThe (fatal) flaw in over-reliance on government safety funding
As I write this, I am in a rooftop bar not far from the Astor Theatre, where the new Australian film ”Just a Farmer” is premiering. I am expecting a powerful story of the struggles of a farming family...
View ArticleNew Australian film on farming life and mental health
“Just a Farmer” is an extraordinary independent Australian film about an all too common occurrence on farms – suicide. The filmmakers have built a strong media profile over the last few months,...
View ArticleTrust your gut
Recently, a former occupational health and safety (OHS) official from SouthEast Asia told me a story about how his “gut” gave him a feeling about employers and companies that did not have a genuine...
View ArticleBusiness values and OHS impacts
No one outside occupational health and safety (OHS) talks about OHS. Outside of scandals and disasters, OHS is a fringe consideration, especially in the media—social and mainstream. So, OHS needs to...
View Article“Does my business comply with the OHS/WHS law?”
Employers struggle to know if their businesses comply with the local occupational health and safety (OHS) or work health and safety (WHS) laws. They always have and, likely, always will. Employers are...
View ArticleOHS advice for new businesses
It is legitimate to not know something, but choosing not to know something is inappropriate, especially about something you are meant to be knowledgeable about, like occupational health and safety...
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