Safe Work Australia Members met in Sydney recently, with the goal continuing to be finding ways to make workplaces safer.
Key outcomes of the meeting included:
Model work health and safety (WHS) laws
Members provided an update on implementation of the model WHS laws in jurisdictions and noted the final report on the examination of the model WHS laws requested by the Council of Australian Governments will be sent to Ministers for their consideration.
Members also agreed to consider proposals to improve the model WHS Regulations and to report back to Ministers by end of April 2015.
Model Codes of Practice and Guidance Material
Members agreed in principle to revised guidance material on Cranes and Plant in rural workplaces subject to further amendment. Members did not agree to guidance material on tree trimming and removal – crane access method. These were the three topics not agreed by Members at their meeting in June of 2014. A Guide to handling isocyanates was also agreed by Members. This material will be published on the Safe Work Australia website shortly. Some further practical material on isocyanates will be developed in the future.
Members approved a number of minor amendments to approved codes of practice.
Development of nationally consistent explosive laws
Members noted the project plan for the development of nationally consistent explosive laws including the proposal for a Consultation Regulation Impact Statement to be released for public comment in February 2015.
Australian Strategy Virtual Seminar Series
Members noted an evaluation report on the Australian Strategy Virtual Seminar Series which was run throughout Safe Work Australia Month in October 2014. The program reached more than 11,500 people both nationally and internationally and Members agreed a similar event will be held in 2015. Videos and transcripts are still available from the Safe Work Australia website.
Communications and Stakeholder Engagement Strategy
Members agreed by majority to the Communications and Stakeholder Engagement Strategy developed following a review of Safe Work Australia’s stakeholder engagement activities. The Strategy is designed to reflect Safe Work Australia’s position as a high level national policy body and outlines a number of strategic focus areas.
Workers compensation
Members endorsed the template for the National Guide for the Assessment of Permanent Impairment (the Guide) and the draft Terms of Reference for the National Permanent Impairment Coordinating Committee which will provide expert and considered advice to Safe Work Australia in maintaining and updating the Guide.
Members agreed to the publication of the Australian Workers Compensation Statistics, 2012–13 report which is the 21st report in the series. The report contains an analysis of the preliminary data for 2012–13 and features a comparison of patterns of serious claims for younger and older workers, highlighting differences in the causes of serious claims between age groups.
Author Kori Shafer-Stack, Editor, Amaxx Risk Solutions, Inc. is an expert in post-injury response procedures and part of the Amaxx team helping companies reduce their workers compensation costs by 20% to 50%. www.reduceyourworkerscomp.com. Contact: kstack@reduceyourworkerscomp.com.
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