Work Health and Safety Act 2011 (Cth)

• Failure to meet duty of care costs employer $120,000 for employee’s rolled ankle

  7th Apr 2022

  If an employer has been alerted to a possible safety concern in the workplace, they must take it seriously, writes Emily Wittig, in light of Michel v Broadlex Services Pty Ltd [2020] ACTMC 2. According to the magistrate, the employer ‘knew or ought to have known that the circumstances giving rise to the risk of injury to the plaintiff were recurring’. 

• Continuing grim reality of work-related fatalities

  14th Jan 2021

  A total of 3,751 workers were killed in work-related incidents between 2003 and 2018. The number of non-fatal work-related injuries in Australia is also extreme.

  Justin Stack observes that changes in legislation have made it more difficult for injured workers to obtain adequate compensation and he discusses avenues through which NSW workers can challenge an insurer’s decision or dispute the amount of compensation they have been awarded.

• The high cost of preventable farm accidents

  4th Jul 2019

  Justin Stack details some recent cases involving preventable farm accidents and emphasises the importance of farm owners and workers understanding their workplace safety rights and obligations.

• Untold Damage - workplace health and safety in immigration

  10th Jun 2016

  Abuse, mental illness and neglect of basic hygiene cause unnecessary and lasting health problems for detainees in immigration detention. They have even caused death. As Commonwealth workplaces, all people affected by immigration detention facilities are supposed to enjoy the protections found in the Work Health and Safety Act 2011 (Cth) (the WHS Act), including detainees. However, an investigation by the Australian Lawyers Alliance (ALA) reveals that this law is being regularly flouted, with the Department of Immigration and Border Protection (the Department) regularly failing to meet its obligations.