HSRs 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...
View Article6 Essential OHS Questions for Employers
Occupational health and safety (OHS) laws establish duties on employers (and employees) to provide safe and healthy workplaces. These duties reflect the social morals of the time, but the morality of...
View ArticleOHS questions remain after Jumping Castle owner freed
A Magistrate has said there is insufficient evidence to find Rosemary Gamble guilty of a criminal offence over an incident involving an inflatable jumping castle that resulted in the deaths of six...
View ArticleTough questions about psychosocial safety and health
Over the next week or so, SafetyAtWorkBlog will be focusing on the issue of psychosocial hazards and psychological risks at work, as we cover the Psych Health and Safety Conference in Sydney. These...
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