01:18 pm, Tuesday 7 June, 2011

Under the current Workplace Health and Safety Regulation 2008 (QLD) there are two types of licences relating to asbestos removal work.

An ‘A’ class licence, which is held by a business, covers all asbestos removal work, that is, both friable and bonded (or non-friable) asbestos.

A ‘B’ class licence, which is held by an individual, covers removal of 10 square metres or more of bonded asbestos. It does not cover removal of friable asbestos.

Bonded asbestos can be found in products such as asbestos cement sheeting commonly used in building materials between 1940s to the late 1980s.

Other bonded asbestos products include:

• profiled sheets used on roofs and walls and flat sheets in flashings
• imitation brick cladding
• roof shingles
• water or flue pipes
• plaster patching compounds
• textured paint
• vinyl floor tiles
• friction products such as brake shoes, disc pads, clutch housings or elevator brakes.

Common forms of friable asbestos materials include:

• sprayed on fireproofing/soundproofing/thermal insulation
• acoustic plaster soundproofing
• thermal insulation (not sprayed on).

A ‘B’ class licence remains valid for five years. Renewal of this licence involves resitting the examination under the supervision of a registered training organisation and making application to Workplace Health and Safety Queensland for renewal of the licence.

Under the proposed model Work Health and Safety regulations to be implemented, the ‘B’ class licence will become a business licence rather than an individual licence and the worker doing the removal will be required to be competent in a specified unit of competency.

The Workplace Health and Safety Regulation 2008 has been amended to extend the term of all current ‘B’ class licences until the end of 2012 to allow sufficient time to transition persons to the new licence scheme with minimal disruption, cost and burden to workers and industry.

Unlicensed persons seeking to obtain a new B class licence will still be required to make application for a bonded asbestos removal certificate.

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12:43 pm, Tuesday 7 June, 2011

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07:48 am, Sunday 29 May, 2011

The Work Health and Safety Bill 2011 passed through the Queensland Parliament on Thursday.

The Bligh government has become the first state in Australia to pass the Work Health and Safety Bill as part of the three year national reform agenda.

NSW followed suit on Friday, with the Upper House of that state also passing workplace safety laws.

The QLD Bill, once enacted and commenced, will bring into force in Queensland harmonised national workplace health and safety laws.

The harmonisation of national workplace health and safety laws has been a three-year project for all governments in Australia and Queensland is the first state in the nation to pass the harmonised legislation.

Industrial Relations Minister Cameron Dick said the laws will increase protections for workers and reduce red tape for businesses.

“The laws broadens the definition of ‘worker’ to include labour hire, contractors and subcontractors, and imposes the onus of proof on the regulator to prove an offence”, Mr Dick said.

“The legislation enables the courts to impose significantly higher penalties for breaches of the Act.

“The new legislation combats the confusion, complexity and duplication caused by Australia’s multiple workplace health and safety regimes and replaces the Workplace Health and Safety Act 1995,” he said.

The new national model Work Health and Safety Bill was developed in consultation with industry, unions, all states and territories and the general public and Dick said the new legislation includes changes to various pieces of workplace health and safety legislation.

It also amends the Workers’ Compensation and Rehabilitation Act to ensure the review of the workers’ compensation scheme every five years, to strengthen insurance and data collection arrangements in the construction industry, and to protect workers’ entitlements to accrue leave entitlements while on workers’ compensation

The new laws are expected to come into force from 1 January 2012.

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07:32 am, Sunday 29 May, 2011

Employers will no longer have to prove their innocence when facing a workplace safety hearing under new workplace safety laws passed on Friday in NSW.

However, under the amendments, the unions’ right to prosecute employers in certain cases has been retained.

The NSW upper house passed the workplace safety laws after the Shooters and Fishers Party added the unions limited right to prosecute amendment.

The Shooters’ amendments will allow unions to prosecute for offences in the lower category and for category one and two offences if WorkCover fails to follow up breaches identified by the Director of Public Prosecutions.

The former NSW Labor government had opposed Julia Gillard’s new national scheme, but the new Coalition government has sided with federal Labor to introduce nationally consistent workplace safety laws.

Under the new laws, unions in NSW are no longer entitled to receive half the fines for successfully prosecuting OHS cases on behalf of workers.

Employers will also no longer be subject to the “reverse onus of proof” whereby employers had to prove they were innocent of causing a workplace accident rather than, as in all other courts, having to be proven guilty.

The role of the NSW Industrial Relation Commission will be further sidelined, with the most serious cases now to be heard in the NSW District Court and the Supreme Court.

The NSWIRC will still hear the vast bulk of cases, but they will be for less serious “category 3″ matters.

The new laws will take effect from January 1, 2012, at the same time as the federal government’s uniform rules.

“The NSW Liberals and Nationals promised to introduce this legislation in our first 100 days of government and we are delivering on that promise,” NSW Minister for Finance and Services Greg Pearce said yesterday.

“We are making the laws easier to understand, cutting red tape for business and, most importantly, maintaining our strong work, health and safety framework.”

Business leaders – who have long complained that the NSW laws were overly generous in favour of unions – welcomed the changes.

NSW Minerals Council chief executive Sue-Ern Tan said it corrected a serious inequality in NSW businesses when compared to the rest of the country.

“For serious offences where you risk going to jail, you now have fundamental legal rights such as the right to be tried by a jury of your peers and the right to appeal to the highest court in the land,” she said.

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02:20 pm, Friday 8 April, 2011

Western Australia’s Parliament yesterday debated whether to amend the Occupational Health and Safety Act and Criminal Code to include Industrial Manslaughter.

The consequence of the legislative amendment, according to the Greens MP Alison Xamon, is that senior managers could face manslaughter charges if an employee dies as a result of their negligence or recklessness.

Ms Xamon says the safety of workers is very important.

“This Government likes to say it’s tough on crime but it appears the exception on being tough on crime is where employers are doing the wrong thing by employees,” she said.

“Not all deaths that occur at the workplace are a result of negligence but certainly where that has occurred we need to take that very very seriously.”

She says industrial manslaughter is already in existence in other jurisdictions, including the Australian Capital Territory and the United Kingdom.

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11:31 am, Thursday 7 April, 2011

A new workplace safety bill will be introduced into the South Australian Parliament today.

As a result, South Australia will become the first state to formally begin the process of harmonising Australia’s workplace safety laws.

Industrial Relations Minister, Bernard Finnigan said the Work Health and Safety Bill 2011 was an important moment in the history of workplace safety in South Australia.

“South Australia has been at the forefront of harmonisation since the process began under Prime Minister Julia Gillard, when she was Federal Employment Minister three years ago,” the Minister said.

“We have been working cooperatively with South Australian employer and employee groups, the local SafeWork SA Advisory Committee, Safe Work Australia and the other states and territories to reach this point.

“The Model Work Health and Safety Act has been agreed to nationally and endorsed by the Workplace Relations Ministers’ Council and Safe Work Australia.”

All other states and territories will enact legislation that mirrors the Model Act by January 1, 2012.

“Harmonised work health and safety laws will slash red tape for business operators while maintaining a high level of protection for employees,” he said.

“It will also provide for greater labour mobility, with training and licences recognised across states and territories.

“Organisations will have to comply with just one set of laws regardless of the number of states or territories in which they operate, thereby reducing their compliance costs.

“Ultimately it means greater certainty for employers and enhanced safety protection for workers.”

Penalties will rise for a number of serious offences, up to $3 million for a company.  The current maximum penalty is $300,000 for a first offence.

The legislative package will include the new Act, which outlines the essential legal obligations, and model regulations, which provide detail on how certain sections of the Act should be implemented.

It will also include model approved codes of practice, which are a practical guide to achieving the necessary standard of work health and safety.

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08:41 am, Monday 1 November, 2010

Tougher laws may be in place for Victorian workplace bullies, which includes imprisonment, if the Brumby Government retains power.

Premier John Brumby said a review by the Victorian Law Reform Commission was important to ensure victims’ rights were protected.

“Bullying is an insidious crime, which can have the most damaging ramifications for individuals,” he said.

The proposal to impose harsher penalties was sparked by the death of a 19-year-old cafe waitress, who committed suicide in 2006 because of constant harassment by her workmates. Her tormentors were fined, but did not face jail time under the current regulations.

The victim’s kin have welcomed the move of introducing tougher regulations for people found guilty of workplace bullying.

They hoped she did not die in vain and that workers in the state would stop and think about what the impact of harsh words and acts could have on a colleague.

The Government has written to the commission asking whether the current laws are “adequate” and up to par with interstate and international and interstate laws.

“The Government’s preference is to establish a new specific offence of bullying in the Crimes Act, similar to the offence of stalking, because bullying should not be tolerated in a free and fair society like ours,” Mr Brumby said.

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09:57 am, Friday 22 October, 2010

Workplace Health and Safety Queensland (WHSQ) has affirmed its commitment for the harmonisation Occupational Health and Safety (OHS) laws, stating that it will continue working with other jurisdictions over the coming year.

Workplace Relations Ministers from around Australia had come to a consensus in 2008 to nationally harmonise OHS laws. Currently, Safe Work Australia is developing model OHS laws that will be implemented by the end of 2011 by each territory and state.

According to WHSQ, the drafts for the following Model OHS regulations have been considered by the Strategic Issues Group – Occupational Health and Safety:

* hazardous chemicals and inorganic lead;
* construction and induction training;
* asbestos;
* falls;
* confined spaces;
* noise;
* manual tasks;
* diving work.

The model regulations are expected to be made available for public comment in a few weeks. The period for public comments will end on February 2011.

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07:05 am, Monday 18 October, 2010

New regulations may be in the horizon for the construction industry as a result of a bridge collapse in August, ACT Work Safe says.

18 workers were injured when a bridge over the Barton Highway crashed during a concrete pour.

Federal Assistant Treasurer Bill Shorten says they are looking to improve the current safety regulations.

“The Government’s realised that as a result of the bridge collapse there are too many loopholes in the legislation,” he said.

According to Mr Hall, several policy changes have been recommended, including an improved formwork code of practice.

“The ACT Government’s been in negotiations with us now and have made clear commitments to us around training, improving safety training for workers and also improving their tendering process to greater reflect the importance on safety,” he said.

ACT Work Safety Commissioner Mark McCabe said investigation into the bridge collapse is ongoing, but noted that the structure’s formwork may likely be the cause of the collapse.

“I think there’s a high chance we will look at at least adopting a code of practice in relation to formwork,” he said.

Mr McCabe said the authority is looking at how other jurisdictions regulate formwork.

“Although it really will be up to the Work Safety Council and what it recommends to the Minister.”

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06:43 am, Monday 18 October, 2010

The Tasmanian Government is proposing a new scheme to compensate asbestos victims.

The details of the proposal have been released to the public for comment,

People who developed diseases due to asbestos exposure in the workplace could be eligible under the compensation scheme.

They would be eligible for up to half a million dollars, to be funded by a levy on employers.

Under the new policy being proposed, a medical penal will establish the eligibility of a person for compensation.

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