Workplace fatality sees directors personally charged for breaches of duty under WHS Law
In many small businesses, directors are not only decision-makers but are also directly involved in day-to-day activities. This hands-on involvement brings unique advantages, but it also increases accountability under Work Health and Safety (WHS) law. Directors are recognised as “officers” of a Person Conducting a Business or Undertaking (PCBU) and, as such, carry significant legal obligations. Their foremost responsibility is to ensure the business maintains an effective WHS
Construction company fined $270,000 after fatal fall
13 March, 2025. 3 minute read. In February 2025 a family-operated Victorian construction company was convicted and fined $270,000 after a...
Deaths from falls
15 January 2025. 5 minute read. Fatalities caused by falling from heights remains the second highest cause of workplace deaths in...
Business owners, Directors, and CEOs may face up to 25 years imprisonment under new Industrial Manslaughter laws
From 16 September 2024 Industrial manslaughter is now an offence in New South Wales. This means that business owners, directors and CEOs...
Judge comes down hard on “reckless indifference”
The following court case is an example of a business owner running a business without sufficient knowledge of their WHS responsibilities ...
This term "Officer"
When talking about the highest level of management people in a business, those individuals who are entrusted with ....
Your Views Matter
Workers at every workplace in Australia, irrespective of the nature and risk of the business, must be consulted as far as is reasonably...
The Restoration of Workplace Health and Safety in Australia: The Model WHS laws
Weekly article 8 April 2023, 5 minute read Health and Safety Law in Australia The "Robens Model" was introduced to Australia in the...
Do Workers Have the Right to Cease or Refuse Unsafe Work?
“A worker may cease, or refuse to carry out, work if the worker has a reasonable concern that to carry out the work would expose the...
Preventing Workplace Injuries
Two recent (2019) WHS prosecutions in NSW were based on WHS failures that quite commonly result in serious injuries to workers. This...
“Reasonably Practicable” ... Fried Onions at Bunnings
In 2018 several media outlets ran a story about how Bunnings had changed the way its iconic sausage and bread delicacy could be...
$1.5 million Enforceable Undertaking or Prosecution by SafeWork NSW
Published 14 August, 2017. 3 minute read In July 2017 a NSW organisation entered into a $1.5 million enforceable undertaking with...
PCBU Primary Duty of Care
Under Section 19 of the New South Wales WHS Act 2011, a Person Conducting a Business or Undertaking (PCBU) has a primary duty of care to...