12:54 pm, Wednesday 8 May, 2013

Photo: SafetyCulture Library

Safe Work Australia is rolling out a series of training and information sessions in most capital cities and in some regional centres in the country. The training and information sessions aim to raise awareness and understanding of the hazard classification, safety data sheet and labelling requirements for workplace chemicals in the model Work Health and Safety regulations, which incorporates the Globally Harmonized System of Classification and Labelling of Chemicals (GHS).

At the end of the sessions, participants will be able to understand what GHS is and its objectives, learn the relationship with the GHS and hazard systems that have been used in Australia for nearly 20 years, and learn how to translate current chemical hazard classifications to the GHS.

The training sessions are free of charge. Participants must register to attend one of the training sessions.

Darwin – 15 May 2012

Canberra – 28 May 2013

Melbourne – 18 June 2013

Geelong – 19 June 2013

Adelaide – 2 July 2013

Perth – 4 July 2013

Brisbane – 10 July 2013

Townsville – 11 July 2013

Newcastle – 16 July 2013

Sydney – 17 July 2013

For information on the course content and registration process, please visit the GHS Training page.

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05:45 pm, Monday 29 April, 2013

Photo: SafetyCulture Library

Safe Work Australia is calling on all quad bike manufacturers to immediately reconsider their position on fitting crush protection devices to quad bikes to help prevent quad bike deaths and injuries.

Chief Executive Officer, Mr Rex Hoy said quad bikes are the leading cause of fatalities in Australian farms.

“With over an estimated 220,000 quad bikes in Australia and more than 150 Australians from the ages of 4 to 94 dying from quad bike incidents since 2001, we need to work together to improve safety for quad bike users,” said Mr Hoy.

“There are on average 14 quad bike related deaths on Australian farms every year. If we don’t act immediately more of our sons, daughters, fathers, mothers and friends will be dead from quad bike incidents.”

He said quad bike manufacturers and designers should reconsider improving the design of quad bikes so they are not prone to roll over. He also said crush protection devices must be fitted to minimise the likelihood of death and injury as a result of a crush or asphyxiation when they do roll.

“We cannot sit by and watch people being killed and seriously injured by these vehicles. Everyone has a responsibility for quad bike safety but it must involve a safer product. We need to ask ourselves how much a life is worth opposed to the cost of a crush protection device,” said Mr Hoy.

Mr Hoy said nine people have already died from quad bike accidents since the Quad Bike Safety Forum was initiated by Minister Bill Shorten last year.

“Their families and the communities they live in will suffer with these losses forever. The tragedy behind this figure is some of these nine deaths could have been prevented. Action in the last six months could have saved lives.

“I commend the continuing efforts of the Australian Workers’ Union, Australian Council of Trade Unions, National Farmers Federation, the manufacturers ODES and state and territory regulators to make these vehicles safer for users.

“However the time has come to immediately improve the stability of quad bikes and reduce the risks of injury in cases of the typical roll over,” said Mr Hoy.

“All employers and workers have a duty to ensure when someone leaves home at the start of each working day they can expect to return home safely.”

Quad bike incidents have significantly affected the country with the cost of fatal occurrences estimated to be around $30 million every year excluding huge costs associated with life-changing injuries.

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02:55 pm, Friday 19 April, 2013

Safe Work Australia has recently released the Notifiable Fatalities Monthly report for November 2012.

There were 18 work-related notifiable fatalities reported during November 2012 – 14 male workers and 1 female worker, and 2 male bystanders and 1 female bystander.

Of these fatalities, 6 involved a Vehicle incident-public road crash and 2 involved a Vehicle incident – air crash, 2 fatalities involved a Vehicle incident-not on a public road, and 2 fatalities were the result of being Hit by falling object. One fatality each was a result of being Bitten by an animal, Exposure to environmental heat, Burns, Hit by moving object other than vehicle, Pedestrian hit by vehicle-not on public road and Drowning.

There were seven fatalities at Transport & storage workplaces and 6 at Agriculture, forestry and fishing workplaces. One death happened at each of the following workplaces: Manufacturing, Health & community services, Property & business services, Government administration & defence and Electricity, gas & water supply services.

Safe Work Australia’s Notifiable Monthly report provides a national summary of work-related fatalities notifiable to Australian work health and safety jurisdictions. Aside from providing an estimate of the number of work-related fatalities, the report also shows details of the types of incidents involved. It also includes details of the industry of the workplace at which the fatalities occurred, as well as industry of the decedent’s employer.

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04:10 pm, Tuesday 9 April, 2013

Safe Work Australia has recently released its first report devoted to work-related mental stress and its associated costs.

The report is based on an analysis of Australian workers’ compensation claims data from 2008-09 to 2010-11. It includes comparison of mental stress claim rates across industry sectors and occupations for both male and female workers. The report does not compare public and private sector workers.

According to the report, the highest rates of mental stress claims were from workers with great levels of responsibility for the wellbeing and safety of others or workers at risk in dangerous situations (train drivers and assistants, police officers, prison officers, ambulance officers and paramedics).

Key findings include:

• Mental stress claims are the most expensive form of workers’ compensation claim. These claims result in workers often being absent from work for extended periods.
• Mental stress claims are predominantly made by women
• More professionals make claims for mental stress than any other occupation. A third of these claims are due to work pressure.
• The hazards resulting in mental stress claims vary with worker age. Younger workers are more likely to make claims as a result of exposure to workplace or occupational violence. Work pressure is the main cause of mental stress claims for older workers
• Women were around three times more likely than men to make a workers’ compensation claim as a result of work-related harassment or workplace bullying, and
• Work pressure was stated as the cause of the majority of claims in industries with the highest claim rates.

More information is available on Safe Work Australia.

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07:26 pm, Friday 29 March, 2013

As at 25 March 2013, 34 Australian workers have died at work.

This is according to Safe Work Australia which records work fatality and injury, updates statistics and prepares several reports. The data is an initial estimate for the number of people killed and is based on initial media reports.

Worker deaths by industry of workplace as of 25 March 2013:

Work-related status of this report cannot be confirmed until the death is investigated by authority. Once confirmed, it is reported in the Monthly Fatalities Reports.

Safe Work Australia’s Notifiable report provides a national summary of work-related fatalities notifiable to Australian work health and safety jurisdictions. Aside from providing an estimate of the number of work-related fatalities, the report also shows details of the types of incidents involved. It also includes details of the industry of the workplace, at which the fatalities occurred, as well as the industry of the decedent’s employer.

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07:07 pm, Wednesday 27 March, 2013

Safe Work Australia released today the Compendium of Workers’ Compensation Statistics Australia 2010-11 report.

The Compendium gives a detailed analysis of compensated work-related injury and illness among employees in the country. This is the twentieth report released as part of the Compendium series.

According to Safe Work Australia, preliminary data in the Compendium revealed that there were 169 compensated fatalities and 127 355 serious workers’ compensation claims in Australia for 2010-11, which means there were 1.6 fatalities per 100,000 employees and 12.2 serious workers’ compensation claims per 1000 employees.

The Compendium is available for download at the Safe Work Australia website.

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11:48 pm, Tuesday 26 March, 2013

Photo: Maritime Union of Australia

Hundreds of wharfies and union members have rallied across Australia to protest objections to a national stevedoring code of practice.

The Maritime Union of Australia (MUA) is calling on the Australian Chamber of Commerce and Industry (ACCI) to cease a campaign against the national stevedoring code of practice.

Workers staged protests in Melbourne, Brisbane, Sydney, Adelaide, Darwin and Devonport on Tuesday.

In a news release, MUA said that ACCI intervened in the development of the National Stevedoring Code of Practice (NSCOP), which seeks to create a uniform national set of safety guidelines for stevedoring.

“Wharfies are fourteen times more likely to die at work than the average Australian worker,” said MUA Assistant National Secretary Warren Smith.

“The development of the Code of Practice has been underway for several years through a collaborative effort between Safe Work Australia, the state regulators, the MUA and industry representatives.

“However, the day after the death of wharfie Greg Fitzgibbon at Newcastle Port last year, the big stevedoring companies and the representative of foreign shippers, Shipping Australia, tried to bomb the code.

“To its credit, Safe Work Australia maintained the key protections in the code, but now ACCI has weighed in, delaying the code’s progress by making factually incorrect, misleading claims about the cost of implementation to industry.

“Any stevedore that is obeying current laws won’t experience any problems or additional costs implementing the Code of Practice.

“Every worker deserves to come home from work alive and unhurt. It is disgraceful for ACCI to misrepresent any impact on a company’s bottom line when it comes to protecting the safety of workers.

“This nineteenth century way of viewing industrial relations is at odds with community standards and indeed international safety standards.

“The fact that we even need to be having this argument about the primacy of workers’ lives over profit in 2013 is an absolute disgrace,” he said.

According to AAP, ACCI spokesman David Turnbull said industry will work with unions in ensuring that the code conforms to legislative requirements.

“We all want to see credible, workable guidance on how to operate safely,” Mr Turnbull said in a statement.

He also said Safe Work Australia would make the final decision on the code.

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05:41 pm, Monday 25 March, 2013

Members of the maritime Union of Australia are planning to hold rallies across the country to encourage the Australian business community to support waterfront safety reforms.

The planned rallies will be held outside of the chamber of commerce offices in Sydney, Melbourne, Brisbane, Adelaide, Darwin and Devonport tomorrow.

Warren Smith the Assistant National Secretary of the union said that the Australian Chamber of Commerce and Industry (ACCI) had intervened in the ongoing development of the National Stevedoring Code of Practice (NSCOP).

The Code of Practice is seen as essential to ensure that a uniform set of safety guidelines is available to be used nationally following a run of fatalities on Australian waterfronts in the past ten years.

Mr Smith said that wharfies are fourteen times more likely to lose their life at work that the average worker in Australia.

Safe Work Australia, state regulators, the union and industry representatives have been working together to develop the code.

The MUA feels that the ACCI is now delaying the Code of Practice and misrepresenting the impact that it will have on companies profitability.

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01:42 pm, Saturday 23 March, 2013

Tasmania has a high rate of quad bike deaths per capita according to the recently released figures from Safe Work Australia.

The report shows that four out of the twenty-two ATV deaths nationally that occurred since January 2012 were Tasmanians in the north part of the state.

The fatalities included:

- A 67-year-old male whose bike rolled during work;

- A 63-year-old female whose bike was involved in a collision during work;

- A 47-year-old male whose bike rolled during a recreational ride;

- A 23-year old male whose bike hit a washout on the beach.

Over the past 14 months the quad bike deaths that occurred in Tasmania were third behind Queensland (7) and NSW (5).

According to statistics from the Australian Centre for Agricultural Health and Safety (ACAHS) more than 150 have died in the country because of quad bike accidents since 2001.

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03:02 pm, Friday 22 March, 2013

Safe Work Australia released a report this week that reveals that one fifth of all injuries that are work related across Australia are incurred by workers that are 25 years of age and under.

The report “Work-related injuries experienced by young workers 2009-2010” showed that the young worker injury rate or rate of injuries per 1000 workers was 18 per cent higher than for workers that are over the age of 25.

Ann Sherry AO, the Chair of safe Work Australia, said that it is important for young workers to grasp the different workplace safety issues and to understand the value of safety procedures that are designed to protect them whilst at work.

She said that often young people get caught up with excitement when they get their first job and they may not be aware of the importance of understanding hazards and safety procedures.

The main findings within the report are:

- There is a higher rate of injury for young people in the workplace

- The rates of injury are the highest in the manufacturing, accommodation and food services, health care and social assistance and construction industries

- Approximately two thirds of young workers did not apply for workers’ compensation after an injury with 50% thinking that the injury was minor and it was not worth claiming

- One quarter of injuries that were compensated were for injuries to the hand, fingers and thumb

- Two thirds of young worker fatalities involving traumatic injury concerned a vehicle

Young workers that are looking for more information on safety in the workplace can access the Young Worker Toolkit online.

This resource has information on how to stay safe, what to do in the case of injury and how to get assistance.

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