WorkSafe Victoria is calling on both employers and workers to make a concerted effort to keep December fatality free.

New Zealand’s Department of Labour has issued an appeal to crane operators to review their health and safety practices following a court case involving a fatal accident in 2008.

Queensland Rail was recently fined $650,000 over the deaths of two workers in 2007.

Victoria’s work-related death toll is at the highest point for this time of the year since 2001.

A WorkSafe inspection campaign of manufacturing workplaces in Wangara in Western Australia has revealed some good standards in occupational safety and health management, but many areas of concern.

WorkSafe Victoria has put timber mill operators on notice to improve safety after the prosecution of a company and its director on workplace health and safety charges.

In two separate incidents, a company and three individuals have been prosecuted in Western Australia for chosing to carry out demolitions without appropriate licences.

Standards Australia released a new edition of the Risk Management Standard, following the release of the first international standard to assist executives in managing risk effectively.

A second electrocution death of an insulation installer in Queensland in the last two  months has prompted a series of audits to ensure compliance with the requirements of both OHS and electrical safety legislation.

Two South Australian companies have been fined, around $30,000 each, over failures in their safety systems that resulted in serious injuries to workers.

According to workplace drug and alcohol screening specialist, Frontline Diagnostics, employers need to be mindful of the effects of alcohol on safety and productivity, particularly during the festive season.

A Victorian concrete company has been fined for failing to provide an injured worker with suitable employment after returning to work.

An Adelaide carpentry and joinery contractor was convicted and fined by the Industrial Court over a workplace fall that left a young employee permanently incapacitated.

A Victorian company director was convicted and fined $65,000, while his company was convicted on two counts and fined a total of $750,000 over a workplace death on an unguarded machine.

A WA drilling contractor was fined $40,000 over an incident in which he received an electric shock and another man sustained serious burns when a drilling rig mast came into contact with high-voltage power lines.