Did You Know…?

Alena Titterton writes:
Thought NASA was all about space travel? Think again.
Did you know that the number one goal of the Aeronautics Research Mission Directorate of NASA is to revolutionise aviation and enable a safe, environmentally-friendly expansion of aviation? The first objective in this goal is to increase safety by reducing the aircraft accident rate by [...]

Air Safety: Responding to Toxic Flight Incidents

Alena Titterton writes:
Aviation safety has been put in the spotlight this week by Sydney Morning Herald revelations regarding incidents of fumes on aircraft flight decks at Qantas.
According to SMH, Qantas was issued with an improvement notice by WorkCover NSW in relation to two incidents, one on 28 July 2007, when the crew on a Qantas [...]

Beyond Slip, Slop, Slap for Local Councils

Holly Howison writes:
While beaches are one of the most popular areas for fun, recreation and tourism in Australia, especially with the onset of summer, beaches can often present a myriad of safety risks for local councils with control of beach areas. Each state and territory of Australia imposes duties of care on local councils in [...]

Upcoming Safety Event

Alena Titterton writes:
Katherine Morris will be speaking at the annual AusRail conference in December 2007. AusRail is Australasia’s largest rail event and brings together the rail industry internationally. Katherine will be speaking about the impact of the new model rail safety legislation on industry. For further information about the conference, please click on this link.

Australian Dangerous Goods Code 7 Released

Alena Titterton writes:
The 7th Edition of the Australian Dangerous Goods Code (ADG7) has been released and is now available for purchase. ADG7 is scheduled for implementation in 2008. There will be a transition period where the 6th Edition of the Australian Dangerous Goods Code, published in 1998, will continue to apply.
According to the National Transport [...]

Upcoming Safety Event

Alena Titterton writes:
“Implementing A Legal Due Diligence Framework For Your Organisation” will be the topic of a session presented by Michael Tooma and Holly Howison at the Safety Institute of Australia (NSW Division) Inc Safety Conference 2007 on 25 October 2007.
Click here to download the program.

Importance of a Legal Due Diligence Framework

Holly Howison writes:
Occupational health and safety (OHS) legislation in all states and territories of Australia imposes strict obligations on entities and their directors/managers to ensure that people are not exposed to risks of harm arising from their work activities. The Board of Directors of each entity needs to ensure compliance by their relevant entity with [...]

Putting Safety Back in Recruitment

Michael Tooma writes:
People management is often not considered to be part of the safety management but rather a discrete separate albeit related discipline. Indeed, quite perversely, safety management is often regarded as a subset of people management. This traditional formulation is in urgent need of reconsideration. Far from being a subset of people management, effective [...]

Comcare Successful in Proceedings Against National Gallery of Australia

Alena Titterton writes:
Last week, Comcare, the agency responsible for workplace safety in the Federal jurisdiction, successfully prosecuted the National Gallery of Australia in the Federal Court of Australia for a breach of the Commonwealth OHS legislation.
The civil proceedings in the Federal Court of Australia arose from an incident involving contractors at the National Gallery of [...]

Charges Against Company Directors Dismissed in Two Cases in the Industrial Court of New South Wales

Katherine Morris and Simone Alphonse write:
In two recent cases, the Industrial Court of New South Wales has dismissed charges against directors for breaches of the Occupational Health and Safety Act 2000 (NSW). In one case, the directors successfully established the defence of not being in a position to influence the conduct of the corporation. In [...]