Thursday 1st April 2021

NSW Government waiving licence fees. 

The New South Wales (NSW) government has announced they will be waving the fee to replace a range of licences and permits lost due to the recent floods.

Asbestos Removal (Class A and B), Demolition (DE1 and DE2), High Risk Work licences, Security clearance, and Traffic Control Work Training are just a few of the eligible licences and permits.

You can find a list of flood affected areas here. If you qualify for the fee waiver, simply call 13 10 50 or visit your nearest Service NSW Centre.

The complete list of eligible licences and permits can be found on the SafeWork NSW website.

Rogue electrical operator to head back to court. 

In Queensland’s Southport Magistrates Court, the Electrical Safety Office (ESO) was granted an injunction to prevent a repeat rouge electrical operator from performing further electrical work in Queensland.

After an investigation by the ESO, it is alleged the rouge operator had advertised on Airtasker for contract work and then performed electrical work without the appropriate licences between 21st March and 19th October 2019.

The rouge operator had been previously issued with improvement notices preventing them from performing electrical work or electrical contracting without an appropriate licence, which they ignored.

Head of ESO Donna Heelan said, “Once again, we’ve had to go to court to stop these people potentially putting Queenslanders’ lives at risk,”

“For those contemplating some moonlighting, if you’re caught doing electrical work without a licence in Queensland you face on the spot fines and possible prosecution.”

Head to the WorkSafe QLD website to read the complete article

Safety blitz puts food delivery operators on notice. 

Multiple food delivery operators have been issued improvement notices after SafeWork NSW completed a compliance blitz in Sydney’s metropolitan area.

SafeWork NSW identified widespread non-compliance with NSW’s workplace health and safety laws.

Six improvement notices were issued to operators such as Uber Eats, Hungry Panda, and Menulog for failing to inform and instruct their riders of safe work practices and appropriate safety equipment.

Minister for Better Regulation Kevin Anderson said, “What we’ve seen is disgraceful - riders out in the dark without high-vis, wearing thongs, cutting in front of trams, using mobile phones and giving passengers a lift while on the job,”

“Enough is enough. In the last 12 months alone, four lives have been lost in this industry, and I won’t sit on my hands while vulnerable workers are at risk.”

Food delivery operators have until 14th April to improve their safety systems or risk a fine of up to $3,00 or prosecution.

Read the full media release on the SafeWork NSW website