WorkSafe

On 1 October 2019, amendments to the Occupational Safety and Health Regulations 1996 (OSH Regulations) will come into effect. The amendments lower the blood lead removal level thresholds for workers and changes the definition of ‘lead-risk job’.

Lead stays in the blood for several months. It is important to take action now to ensure that when the new laws come into effect the blood lead levels of workers do not exceed the allowable level.  When a worker’s blood lead levels exceed this the worker must be removed from lead-risk work.

WA’s Commission for Occupational Safety and Health is seeking public comment on the code of practice for workplace behaviour.

At the May meeting the Commission endorsed the draft workplace behaviour code of practice and agreed to a three-month public consultation period ending 30 August 2021. 

The guidance in this draft code of practice should be considered in conjunction with the general duties in the Occupational Safety and Health Act 1984 and the draft Violence and aggression at work code of practice.

The department has released a series of translated information on the WHS laws to assist vulnerable worker groups, including culturally and linguistically diverse (CALD) populations.

These information sheets are based on the WHS interpretative guidelines, the information sheets contain simplified wording providing people with guidance on the key concepts they need to understand, with hyperlinks to detailed publications.

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Work health and safety regulations for the control of psychosocial risks will come into effect on 24 December 2022. These regulations will require a person conducting a business or undertaking (PCBU) to eliminate psychosocial risks, or to minimise them so far as is reasonably practicable. This new duty places psychosocial hazards on the same footing as other significant hazards such as falls or operating machinery.

WorkSafe inspectors will be visiting crane businesses and operators to audit registered mobile cranes. Initial visits have revealed that some owners and operators are not conducting major inspections of their cranes. 

A major inspection must be carried out by a competent person, and requires:

The Work Health and Safety Regulations Amendment Regulation (no.2) 2023 came into effect on 10 August 2023 and provide for minor corrections and technical refinements.

These amendments include:

A crane hire company has been fined $12,000 at a retrial for failing to ensure the required number of people were involved in the use of their crane at a construction site.

Halifax Crane Hire Pty Ltd was found guilty of breaching the now-repealed Occupational Safety and Health Regulation dealing with the number of people required to be involved in the use of cranes, and was fined in the Bunbury Magistrates Court yesterday.

WorkSafe’s prosecution of Fortescue over failing to supply documents and answer questions is to be discontinued, with an Enforceable Undertaking agreed to by both parties.

Acting WorkSafe Commissioner Sally North has accepted an undertaking by Fortescue to deliver wide-ranging strategies to address inappropriate workplace behaviours in the mining industry.

An Enforceable Undertaking is an alternative to prosecution, but it is not an admission or finding of guilt.

Common causes of injury to workers in mining are missteps and falls when stepping out of large trucks and other plant.  Under the Work Health and Safety (Mines) Regulations 2022, duty holders need to manage the risk of falls at mining workplaces, and this can only be done by considering all the factors which can lead to a potential fall risk. Other than the design of steps, accessibility of grab rails for plant users and the integrity of tread grip, several organisational and environmental factors can influence the risk of a fall.