On August 20, 2019, a ban on the uncontrolled dry cutting of engineered stone came into effect across Victoria to help protect workers from exposure to deadly silica dust. Workplace health and safety regulations now prohibit the cutting, grinding and abrasive polishing of engineered stone with power tools, unless on-tool water suppression or dust extraction […]

The construction industry, including shopfitting, employs more than 625,000 people across Australia, making it one of the biggest employers in the country – and the statistics surrounding the mental health of construction workers are staggering. According to recent reports from MATES in Construction and PricewaterhouseCoopers (PwC): construction workers are more than twice as likely to […]

All PCBUs, in all states and territories, are required to notify their work health and safety regulator of certain ‘notifiable incidents’ when they occur at work, under work health and safety (WHS) legislation. Work health and safety regulators are committed to preventing work-related deaths and injuries. Notifying the regulator of ‘notifiable incidents’ can help identify […]

A recent study1 involving more than 8,800 employees shows that 39 per cent of us are sleeping six hours or less a night and are more stressed, have less energy and are working longer hours than those employees who get the recommended 7 – 9 hours a night. The concept that workloads and work-related stress […]

PPE (personal protective equipment) is defined as anything used or work to minimise risk to a worker’s health and safety. It includes many items like boots, ear plugs, hard hats, harnesses, goggles, gloves and more. But is using PPE the safest way to get a job done and protect workers? Model WHS regulations require you […]

A company in Victoria accused of breaching safety laws, in failing to conduct monthly inspections of scaffolding, has responded to a serious fall by employing an OHS compliance officer, overhauling its OHS register and entering a $55,000 undertaking. In 2017, a worker was inspecting the eaves at a Victorian construction site, controlled by TS Constructions […]

Do you know how to safely store the chemicals you work with and the obligations you have under WHS legislation? Are you responsible for developing safety data sheets? Working with and around chemicals can be dangerous if you don’t know the right way to use them and store them. Let’s look at some of the […]

Channel Nine has reported on a spate of horrific injuries to small children and toddlers, following falls onto shopping rack and hooks in retailers including Target and K-Mart. Several children have had to have emergency and reconstructive surgery to their eyes after colliding with metal hooks when they’ve fallen over or bent to collect an […]

You may know that crystalline silica is very commonly used in manufacturing building products and in construction materials. You may not know it’s killing workers at an alarming rate, and you don’t have to have worked around it for long to feel its effects. Crystalline silica is a naturally occurring mineral found in most rocks, […]