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Further Model Codes of Practice Now Approved
As part of work health and safety harmonisation, Safe Work Australia is implementing a staged release of model Codes of Practice for states and territories to adopt and implement. Codes of Practice are practical guides to assist with the standards required under workplace health and safety laws and do not hold the same legal implications as legislation or regulations. A person or a person conducting a business or undertaking cannot be prosecuted for failing to adhere to a Code of Practice. A Code of Practice is however, admissible in Court as evidence of what should be known about hazards, risks or control measures and may be used to determine what is "reasonably practicable" in the circumstances. Inspectors may also refer to Codes of Practice when issuing improvement or prohibition notices or as a means of remedying a contravention. The following Codes or Practice have been previously released: Confined spaces; Hazardous manual tasks; How...
1 August 2012Significant Changes to Workers Compensation Pass Through Parliament...
The Workers’ Compensation Legislation Amendment Act 2012 (the Act) which passed through the NSW Parliament on 27 June 2012 makes a number of significant changes to the NSW workers’ compensation scheme. The changes will affect all new and existing workers compensation claims with the exception of: police officers, paramedics, fire-fighters and emergency service volunteers (RFS, Surf Life Savers and SES volunteers); workers injured while in or around a coal mine; and dust disease claims. The following article summarises the major changes and transitional arrangements. Compensable Injuries Compensation will not be payable for: heart attacks, strokes and their underlying diseases unless the nature of the employment exposed the worker to significantly greater risk of suffering the injury; for disease injuries (including aggravations, accelerations, exacerbations or dete...
17 July 2012Sham Contracting – Employer and Director Fined
In a recent decision, the Federal Court of Australia has imposed significant fines against an employer and one of its Directors due to it engaging in “sham contracting” arrangements. This provides further confirmation of the strict approach and penalties the Court is willing to impose on employers engaging in sham contracting arrangements. Background The employer, Maclean Bay Pty Ltd (Maclean) operated, amongst other resorts in Australia, a tourist resort on the East coast of Tasmania (the Resort). Approximately 13 personnel were employed at the Resort. During the months leading up to the contraventions, Ms Wells, a director of Maclean, advised Ms Robinson – General Manager of the Resort, that she wanted to terminate the Resort’s employees and make them independent contractors, similar to the other sites that she was responsible for. She sought to do this to avoid making payments of superann...
6 July 2012