Small businesses can’t escape work health & safety obligations
A Queensland court has convicted a small business owner for industrial manslaughter under the Work Health and Safety Act 2011 (Qld). The sentence of five years in prison (down from 20 years) will be suspended after 18 [...]
World Day for Safety and Health at Work
Fatally injured workers have been remembered by a touching service in Brisbane as part of the commemoration of the World Day for Health & Safety At Work. This year the World Day for Safety and [...]
Safe Work releases fact sheet for ultraviolet radiation
Safe Work Australia has developed a fact sheet on the risks of solar (UVR) ultraviolet radiation exposure at work. Raising awareness of the dangers of UVR for anyone who works outside is important, given the high rate of skin [...]
Omicron ventilation tool
The Omicron ventilation tool developed by the US Center for Disease Control provides a snapshot into ways in which you can improve the quality of air in your workplace or home to mitigate the spread [...]
Five things you can do today to reduce risks of Omicron at work
With the Omicron wave sweeping the globe, many of our clients have contacted our consulting team to discuss potential ways of increasing the safety of workers as the virus becomes more prevalent in the community. [...]
How to Avoid Workers Compensation Claims At Your Business
How do I avoid workers compensation claims? is a question that is often raised with the Safetysure Team. It is often out of sheer frustration that employer's call us seeking solutions to prevent an ongoing [...]
Supporting Employee Mental Health at Work
It is a widely known fact across global workplaces that many people are experiencing a range of mental health and other psychosocial problems right now. Added stressors associated with the impacts of COVID-19 and remote [...]
Work Safety Storytelling
Whether you need to find support for a new safety initiative or need to bring your team on board with a critical safety concept, safety storytelling is a basic business skill that can help you [...]
Fine demonstrates the importance of following safe work methods statements
A recent successful prosecution against a flooring business in Queensland by the work safety regulator has demonstrated the importance of diligently following safe work method statements (SWMS) in the course of preventing injury. The importance [...]
Dealing with Disruptive Ideas at Safety Meetings
New ideas often lead to creative, useful solutions in organisations even when it comes to safety. Unfortunately new ideas can become a challenge when they constantly interrupt your safety meeting and send it off on [...]
Cafe owner fined over work safety
A South Australian café owner was recently convicted and its' director fined after a young casual worker suffered serious burns in a work safety incident. This recent work safety case highlights the need for additional [...]
Preparing for severe weather and emergencies
Events across eastern states of Australia during 2019 and 2020 have demonstrated the need to plan for severe weather events, specifically fires, storms. floods, and heatwaves. While we recognise that we cant control the weather, [...]
Enter the danger zone – work safety in the silly season
It seems like it should be simple, but unfortunately we are more prone to accidents at working during the Christmas season. We take a look at some of the safety factors to keep of aware [...]
Hazards of working in ceiling spaces
In a recent Queensland work safety incident, a telecommunications worker received burns when he came into contact with a rodent-damaged cable while installing CCTV in a ceiling space. While the exact cause of the incident [...]
Farm safety get more funding in NSW
The NSW Government has recently announced that it will provide $3.3 million in farm safety funding. The funding will be focused around the reduction of high risk activities on farms around the state. Minister for [...]
Work related fatalities in 2019
Safe Work Australia has released the Work-related Traumatic Injury Fatalities Australia 2019 report, which provides the latest detailed national statistics on all workers and bystanders fatally injured at work. The 2019 work related fatalities report shows [...]
Dealing with workplace bullshit
Researchers from Canada, Italy and Finland have finally laid bare the fact the organisations across the world are “dealing with a flood of workplace bullshit” and that bullshit is affecting morale and performance in organisations. [...]
Dreamworld’s work health and safety guilty plea over tragic fatal accident
Dreamworld's parent company, Ardent Leisure Limited has pleaded guilty and been fined $3.6 million over the 2016 Thunder River Rapids ride tragic fatal accident that claimed the lives of four people. The Dreamworld tragedy brings [...]
Maintenance worker falls from earth mover
A worker has fallen from a piece of mobile earthmoving equipment sustaining serious injuries. This article takes a look at preventing falls from earth moving equipment and other plant.
Guarding controls missing on press results in $40K fine
A company who failed to ensure guarding controls were being used on a press has been fined $40K after a work experience student at a sheet metal workshop had the tip of his finger amputated. [...]
Gross negligence in trench collapse
The Western Australian work safety regulator has commenced a prosecution after a plumber died in a trench collapse in 2018. This past week WorkSafe WA commenced a prosecution against Ryan and Melissa, a plumbing company [...]
Recycling company fined over multiple work safety incidents
A Melbourne Recycling Company has faced court and been fined $115K for failing to maintain a safe workplace after multiple fall and machine guarding incidents. The incident provides learning for industries reliant on the use [...]
Tips to Help Keep Your Employees Safe from Cyber Bullying
As businesses move to working remotely in the midst of COVID-19, reports of cyber bullying and online discrimination have been on the increase. While we tend to think that cyber bullying only happens to kids, [...]
Working from Home | Quick Stretches To Do At Your Desk
While many of us have moved to working from home during the pandemic, there's a range of health & safety considerations that go with working at home. Desk work is one of them. In this [...]
How HR Planning Can Reduce COVID-19 Business Impacts
HR Planning COVID | There has been a steady rise in the confirmed COVID-19 cases within Australia and across the world. This unprecedented circumstance has left many employers at a crossroads. Employers are now left [...]
Tips to Stop Workplace Bullying
Workplace bullying can be a significant issue in the workplace and has been a frequent reason for compensation claims and work safety complaints to regulators. There's ample evidence that the practice has continued in some [...]
Keeping your coffee shop COVID-19 safe
As part of re-opening up coffee businesses, employers are now required to implement work safety plans to manage the risk of exposure from communicable diseases like Coronavirus COVID-19. This means ensuring that employee and customer [...]
Transitioning employees back to work after COVID-19 lock downs
Employers are frequently asking us about the process of transitioning employees back to the workplace as COVID-19 restrictions ease. How should we manage the transition to work? what precautions do we need to take? what [...]
Safety questions for post-COVID-19 success in Smart and Safe Automation
Now that the world is slowly re-opening industries to enable the recovery of badly hit economies and save jobs, the key question remains on how best to move forward in automating as much as possible, [...]
New changes to NSW work health and safety
A number of new changes to work health and safety in NSW have been made following the passing of the Work Health and Safety Amendment (Review) Act 2020 in June 2020. The key aspects of [...]
Victorian workplace manslaughter law
New Victorian Workplace manslaughter laws have come into effect from 1 July 2020. The new laws have implemented changes to the Occupational Health and Safety Act 2004 (Victoria) particularly those involving industrial or workplace manslaughter. The new [...]
Respirator quality concerns
Over the last several months there has been a surge in demand for respirators (masks) in the Australia market. Much of the demand has been driven by the incidence of bush fires over December January [...]
Tips for making your conference and exhibition facilities COVID Safe
Conference and exhibition safety - Conference and exhibition facilities can be challenging when it comes to prevention of communicable diseases. With tens or hundreds of people in a room, there is no doubt there will [...]
Brisbane Directors convicted under industrial manslaughter legislation
Two directors of a Brisbane wrecking yard have been convicted and sentenced under industrial manslaughter legislation after a worker was struck with a forklift and died at their worksite in May 2019. The case clearly [...]
Runaway vehicle reminder
According to Workplace Health and Safety Queensland, a man has sustained significant crush injuries after a runaway vehicle crushed him at a gate post. Queensland's safety regulator confirmed that in "April 2020, a man suffered [...]
Brisbane construction company fined for failure to manage critical risk
A Brisbane construction company has been fined for a safety failure to ensure a critical risk was managed on a construction work site. The company was recently fined $85,000 in the Brisbane Magistrate's Court after [...]
Working from home safety
Working from home presents itself with many challenges including dealing with distractions that creep into work life. While we take it that our homes are our places of comfort, they also must be a place [...]
National COVID-19 safe workplace principles
COVID-19 safe workplace principles have been developed accross Australia to assist in managing workplaces safer. Recognising that the COVID-19 pandemic is a public health emergency, that all actions in respect of COVID-19 should be founded [...]
Airline comes under fire over cleaning work safety
A major Australian airline is under fire over the way in which it handled the cleaning work safety of an aircraft returning from a Coronavirus affected country. The outcomes of the incident, which made headlines [...]
Coronavirus COVID-19 in the workplace | A guide for employers
The development and spread of the communicable disease, Coronavirus (COVID-19), has raised a range of concerns for people in and out of the workplace. Many employers, particularly with staff working in high public contact roles, [...]
Dreamworld’s systemic failure to identify and quantify risk
The Dreamworld tragedy and the subsequent coroner’s investigation report issued today by Coroner James McDougall has highlighted a myriad of issues that lie at the heart of effective safety management systems in organisations. Coroner McDougall [...]
Brisbane company charged with industrial manslaughter
A Brisbane Company has been charged with industrial manslaughter involving a category one work health & safety offence of reckless conduct resulting in the death of a worker with a forklift. Brisbane Auto Recycling has [...]
PCYC to be prosecuted over death at gym
Queensland Workplace Health and Safety officials have confirmed that they will proceed with a prosecution of PCYC over the death of 15-year-old Bray Park resident Ben Shaw at its Pine Rivers gym in September 2017. [...]
WHS Offence Categories Queensland
Categories of WHS offences There are four categories of offences for failing to comply with a health and safety duty under the WHS Act and SRWA Act or an electrical safety duty under the ES [...]
Workplace bullying
Australia is home to some of the worst workplace bullying in the developed world, ranking sixth-highest in a recent study comparing us with 31 European countries. Around 10 per cent of Australian employees admit to [...]
Agricultural Safety | Worker caught in machine
The importance of implementing effective agricultural safety programs has been demonstrated through a recent incident. Queensland Workplace Health and Safety have confirmed that in June 2019, a worker suffered traumatic injuries to both arms after [...]
Changes to safety management standards
National safety management system standard AS/NZS 4801:2001 has recently been superseded by AS/NZS ISO 45001:2018, and AS/NZS 4801:2001 will require transitioning to AS/NZS ISO 45001:2018 within the next three years according to The International Accreditation [...]
Work health and safety obligations and how to manage them
When it comes to managing your work health and safety obligations, it can be daunting. Not only are there legal obligations but there are also moral obligations that you must contend with. Navigating these can [...]
New standard out for oxygen reduction systems
One of the most effective ways of preventing fires in buildings is to reduce the level of oxygen in the air. The world’s first International Standard for oxygen reduction systems has just been published. Prevention [...]
Health and Safety speakers
Looking for a health and safety speaker for your next event? Safetysure's John Ninness is a professional health and safety speaker with thirty years of experience in workplace health and safety across a broad range [...]
Safety consultants – the who what why where and when
Selecting the right safety consultants for your business is an important choice for businesses. We are often asked many questions surrounding the who, what, why, where and when do I need a safety consultant. Here [...]
Forklift safety spotlight
Forklift safety is often under-recognised as a potential source of critical injury. Recent cases illustrated by the Queensland Workplace Health & Safety regulator have highlighted the importance of getting forklift safety right. In July 2019 [...]
Electrical contractors warned regarding segregation
The Queensland Work Health & Safety Regulator has warned electrical contractors regarding segregation of wiring in electrical installations and potential risks from improperly installed wiring. The Regulator says that electrical contractors, electrical workers and metering [...]
How to chose a workplace health and safety consultant?
A workplace health and safety consultant can be a great asset to your business, particularly in its' early stages of business growth or if you encounter a safety issue. Choosing the right safety consulting organisation [...]
Safety sensors and mining equipment
The safety revelations surrounding the recent Boeing 737 Max crashes should make us stop and take a good hard look at whether available safety critical technology should be an option on many pieces of equipment [...]
Heat stress an important issue for employers in Queensland
Heat stress is an important issues for consideration by employers. Worksafe Queensland have issued guidelines and tools to manage heat stress at workplaces. With above average daytime temperatures forecast in the months ahead, Queensland workplaces [...]
Safety lessons from Dreamworld tragedy
With the Queensland Coroner, James McDougall, to hand down his findings on the 2016 Dreamworld tragedy, it may be the right time for Australian businesses to take some safety lessons that can be applied to [...]
Mining safety technology advancing at a rapid rate
As the 2018 year draws to a close there is a range of uncertainty in global mining markets that have made a few investors a little nervous. There are, however, some constants emerging across the [...]
Managing chemicals in the workplace
Safework Australia is encouraging small to medium sized businesses to learn how to safely identify, position and manage the risks of chemicals in their workplaces. “If you store chemicals in your workplace and need information on [...]
Managing Work Health & Safety in a Data Centre
On the outside, Data Centres seem very innocuous places. Outsiders often see them as the domain for computer nerds with very few risks but…they can present a range of critical hazards that need to be [...]
Farm safety help from students
A 2019 farm safety calendar competition was launched in Queensland this week with students from Eton State School. The competition aims at building awareness in farm safety and farming hazards among children in regional Queensland [...]
Safe use of crane stabilisers targeted by government
The Queensland Government has announced that it will be undertaking a campaign to educate operators in the safe use of crane stabilisers and outriggers.There have been three deaths and many serious injuries in recent times [...]
Safe Work Australia offers project funding
If you have a work safety project at your workplace that requires some assistance, you may be able to gain funding from Safe Work Australia. Safe Work Australia is offering between $2,000 and $20,000 to [...]
Labour hire company failed safety of workers
A Perth based labour hire company has been fined $20,000 (and ordered to pay $517.50 in costs) for failing to ensure the safety of workers it supplied to a waste recycling company. The company used [...]
National Safe Work Month – Safety Moments
The social & financial impact of a workplace injury or illness is one thing that most Australians will never face. Unfortunately for some in the community, the impacts of a workplace accident are very real [...]
What the changes to AS/NZS 3000:2018 mean for electrical safety
The changes to the AS/NZS 3000:2018 Wiring Rules came into effect on the 26th June 2018. The purpose of the changes is to keep pace with technology like LED lighting, solar panels, home automation and [...]
Augmented reality will transform workplace health and safety
A leading French consulting company has confirmed that many larger global organisations will be using augmented (AR) reality within three years to improve productivity and work safety. AR in the workplace is set to transform [...]
Increased cancer risk in shift work – take precautionary action
Cancer risk in shift work : Recent commissioned research from the UK’s premier occupational health and safety professional organisation has indicated that there may be increased incidence of cancers from workers who work shift work, [...]
Why should I hire a work safety consultant?
Hiring an external work safety consultant is a big decision for any business. It’s like having another person on your team who can hit the ground running. You wouldn’t hire an employee without due [...]
What makes great safety policy and procedures?
How often have you completed a safety induction and then been handed a mountain of safety policy and procedures to read? Some might even be applicable to the job you have to do, but many [...]
What is professional safety consulting?
At Safetysure, professional safety consulting means ensuring that our customers expectations are met while following known standards of practice or methodologies for undertaking the work that we do. Work safety is complex multi disciplinary area [...]
Workplace health & safety programs to benefit from AI
Workplace health & safety programs are set to be transformed by artificial intelligence (AI) in the future as Microsoft moves to introduce unsafe systems and conditions identification in their Azure Stack. In the May 2017 Microsoft developer [...]
Tips to keep ahead of the Work Health and Safety Act
The recent changes to the Workplace Health & Safety Act legislation in Queensland have increased business’ focus on workplace health and safety. The changes are likely to impact all businesses in Queensland but in particular [...]
Safety management system standard revised
A new soon to be released Australian standard for safety management system is set to redefine the relationship between Australian standards and legislation. International Standard ISO 45001, Occupational health and safety management systems – Requirements with [...]