DYS Issue 59 - March 2018
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Have your say in the review of the model WHS law The various State and Territory Ministers who are responsible for WHS laws agreed to have a review that examines whether the model WHS laws are achieving the objects in the model WHS Act or result in unintended consequences.
Public consultation is now open and everyone is invited to have their say. In particular the review body wants to hear your views on:
• What is working and why • Will it continue to work in the future • What doesn’t work and why, and • What could be done to make it work
Safe Work Australia has more information about this HERE
Road safety and fitness to drive On any day in the working week a significant proportion of drivers on the road are at work and the WHS Act and/or the Heavy Vehicle National Law (HVNL) applies to their work activity and their fitness to drive.
So how can those who have a legal duty in this matter be sure that a driver is fit to drive. Nathan Cecil, at Holding Redlich Lawyers, has written a helpful article on this matter titled, Assessing Fitness to Drive- Some Helpful Tips. To read this article click HERE.
A one year extension of audiometric testing exemption Clause 58(2) of the WHS Act sets out the requirements for workplace audiometric testing in the workplace. SafeWork NSW has issued a new exemption from these requirements from the 1st January to 31st December 2018.
This exemption has been granted because the national review of the model WHS legislation is underway. For further details please copy/paste this link to your browser: www.safework.nsw.gov.au/news/notice/audiometric-testing-exemption2
SafeWork NSW: Updated enforceable undertakings guidelines SafeWork NSW has updated and reissued their Enforceable Undertakings Guidelines. They commenced January 2018.
The guidelines now include “some high level information around the process of making an application for an EU” and introduce two assessment stages. The first stage is a ‘eligibility’ assessment to decide if an EU is an appropriate enforcement measure, and the second stage is an ‘evaluation’ assessment of the merit of an EU proposal. For further details please copy/paste this link to your browser: www.safework.nsw.gov.au/news/notice/new-enforceable-undertakings-guidelines-commenced-january-2018
SafeWork NSW new prosecution guidelines released Jan 2018 The Guidelines have been updated and streamlined. The workers compensation content has been removed, as this area of responsibility is now with the State Insurance Regulatory Authority. “The guidelines are used to determine what enforcement action should be taken in response to risks which arise and incidents which occur, in NSW workplaces.” “The guidelines promote transparency, consistency and accountability for decisions made by SafeWork NSW”. For more information see our recent article listed below, SafeWork NSW has Updated its Prosecution Guidelines
A Tragedy Highlights the PCBU’s Responsibility to Manage WHS Risks
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This publication provides general information about WHS. It is not a legal opinion and does not represent a comprehensive statement of the law to be applied to a particular problem.
Brought to you by Courtenell Pty Ltd, Work Health & Safety Training Specialists.
ABN 42164393628 ~ Fax : 02 9516 3644 ~ Email : train@courtenell.com.au
~ Website: www.courtenell.com.au Phone : 02 9516 1499 ~ If you need any more information, you can contact us by phone, email or by fax anytime.
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