Opinion: Victoria’s WorkCover scheme “modernisation” is a backward step in managing mental health
On March 31, 2024, changes came into effect to ‘modernise’ Victoria’s WorkCover scheme. Many of these changes are focused on psychological injury claims and the criteria around assessing and managing such claims.
Psychosocial health claims are on the rise. Here’s how to better support your people
New data on psychological health and safety in the workplace from Safe Work Australia paints a confronting picture for businesses and their employees.
Business premiums frozen for 12 months in Victorian WorkCover reforms
Premiums for businesses under the WorkCover scheme will be frozen for the 2024/25 financial year under an agreement to secure opposition support for the bill.
Employers’ legal duty to prevent sexual harassment kicks in as the party season gets underway
Australian businesses now have a “positive duty” to prevent sexual harassment, with new sexual discrimination enforcement laws coming into place.
Australian employers are now legally bound to prevent sexual harassment at work
Attorney-General Mark Dreyfus said the changes would seek to prevent sexual harassment from occurring in the workplace, rather than have workplaces react to it taking place.
$290,000 in fines for first sexual harassment conviction under VIC workplace safety laws
A Victorian boss and two related businesses have been fined a total of $290,000 in relation to sexual harassment in the workplace, marking the state's first conviction of its kind under workplace health and safety laws.
ACTU says workers will ban engineered stone themselves if regulators don’t act
Australia's union movement says its members will forbid the use and transportation of engineered stone unless governments formally ban it outright, escalating pressure on businesses which process and use the popular material in home construction.
“You are on notice”: NSW pulls up food delivery firms on poorly trained riders
Canadian company Fantuan was fined $13,600 and issued with multiple improvement notices related to inadequate or incomplete induction training and record-keeping failures.
The ‘presenteeism’ health struggle for small businesses
Staff going to work but not performing at full capacity due to ill health can be more difficult for businesses to handle than absenteeism.
Like closing a physical door: More employees are wearing headphones to drown out office noise
While it might be easy to dismiss our headphone-wearing colleagues as unfriendly, the increase in usage is symptomatic of another issue entirely - office noise.
NSW set to undertake massive overhaul of decades-old work health and safety codes
The NSW government has opened public consultation for five codes of practice in what is being touted as the state’s largest review of workplace safety in decades.
With new regulations in place, it’s time to make managing psychosocial hazards a top business priority
While new regulations can feel overwhelming, there’s clear processes and steps to take to make managing psychosocial hazards a priority in your business.
