Two companies have been fined $270,000 and ordered to pay $130,000 in reparations by a Christchurch court after a man died when his van was struck by a runaway trailer.WorkSafe investigated the October 2020 incident and found the trailer’s locking handle wasn’t engaged, and its safety chain was disconnected from the vehicle.Following the incident, Work…
Safe Work Australia has published its 2022–23 Annual Report.The report provides information about the operations of Safe Work Australia and its achievements in workplace health and safety over the past year.“Our annual report provides information on our performance in 2022–23 to deliver healthier, safer and more productive workplaces through improvemen…
Statistics show 16 young tradies are killed on the job each year in Australia. About two weeks ago, a teen apprentice died after falling at a Queensland worksite. And early this month, a man in his 50s died in a bulldozer rollover at a south Burnett construction site.Figures show the number of young people being injured at work is on the rise.The stati…
Safe Work Australia encourages everyone to prioritise workplace health and safety, as National Safe Work Month enters its third week.Safe Work Australia says employees have a right to work in a safe environment.The safety agency encourages all Australians to work together to support all workers, in line with this week’s theme of ‘Working together to su…
Safe Work Australia has a new Chief Executive Officer after Workplace Relations Minister, Tony Burke, appointed Ms Marie Boland AO to lead the federal safety agency.Workplace Relations Minister, Tony Burke, said Ms Boland previously served as SafeWork SA’s executive director from 2015 to 2017.“Ms Boland brings significant experience to the role, having…
A man has been killed in a vehicle rollaway incident in central Queensland.The 27-year-old man died after the vehicle he was cleaning rolled and struck him on Sunday afternoon.He was rushed to Mount Morgan hospital but later succumbed to his injuries.First published here.…
The safety regulator says a recent incident that left a farm worker nursing serious burn injuries prompted the safety warning.According to SafeWork SA, the man who was burning large stockpiles of grape vine prunings lit a fire after dowsing the stockpile with petrol.
Shortly afterwards, the fire stopped burning and the worker tried to pour petr…
A firefighter has died while fighting a bushfire in the Kyogle region.The NSW Rural Fire Service (RFS) said the firefighter was ‘working on a fire’ at Bean Creek when he suffered a medical episode on Saturday.Fellow firefighters provided first aid prior to the arrival of ambulance paramedics.“My heart goes out to the family of the brave volunteer who l…
Two companies have been charged after a 23-year-old apprentice plunged 20 metres to his death at a Perth construction site in 2020.WorkSafe has charged a steel fabrication company for failing to ensure the safety and health of non-employees, thus, causing the death of an apprentice carpenter and serious harm to a fellow worker.WorkSafe has also ch…
A Northern Territory mine operator has been fined almost half a million dollars for breaching the Work Health and Safety Act (2011) after the death of a mine worker four years ago.The mine operator was fined $487,500 at the Darwin local court after pleading guilty to multiple charges under the WHS Act following the 2019 fatal incident.The 59-year-old m…
A worker has died after an explosion at a chemical factory in Melbourne.The 44-year-old man was found dead inside the factory in Derrimut after the incident on Wednesday morning.Paramedics assessed 28 workers who were evacuated from the building.The explosion sparked a small fire that was quickly put out.WorkSafe is investigating the incident.Read…
Western Australia’s safety regulator has launched an investigation following the death of a quad bike rider on a farm in the Wheatbelt region last week.The 22 year-old woman was fatally injured after rolling her quad bike while mustering cattle on Wednesday.Acting WorkSafe Commissioner Sally North expressed shock over the incident. “The recent Ind…