WorkSafe is conducting a proactive inspection program to look at safety and health issues for workers in WA primary and secondary schools. The program will continue until the end of the 2019/20 financial year, and will include both private and public schools in metropolitan and regional areas of the State. It will expand on a previous inspection program looking at hazards facing cleaners and...

WorkSafe will conduct a proactive inspection program to look at safety standards and issues in commercial kitchens in various WA workplaces. The program will continue throughout the 2019/20 financial year, and will focus on kitchens located in a range of workplaces including cafés, food courts and accommodation premises in metropolitan and regional areas of the State. WorkSafe Director Sally...

A construction company has been fined $38,000 (and ordered to pay $8054 in costs) over the incident in 2017 in which 17-year-old Wesley Ballantine died after he fell through a void in the roof of an internal atrium at the old GPO building in Forrest Place, Perth. Valmont (WA) Pty Ltd pleaded guilty to failing to ensure that persons who were not their employees were not exposed to hazards, and was...

WorkSafe is conducting a proactive inspection program to look at safety issues for commercial vehicle drivers. The program will continue until the end of the 2019/20 financial year, and will be conducted at road train assembly areas in metropolitan and regional areas of the State. WorkSafe Director Chris Kirwin said today the inspection program was being undertaken as an alternative to larger-...

A proactive inspection program undertaken by WorkSafe to look at safety in workplaces where machinery and equipment is repaired has uncovered concerns with hazardous substances, mobile plant and emergency procedures. The program involved WorkSafe inspectors visiting workplaces where repairs are carried out on items such as agricultural and farm machinery, lawnmowers, outboard motors, pumps and...

WorkSafe is prosecuting four parties over the death of 17-year-old Wesley Ballantine, who fell through a void in the roof of an internal atrium at the old GPO building in Forrest Place during a construction project in 2017. Valmont WA Pty Ltd, the main contractor for one stage of the project, has been charged with failing to ensure that persons who were not their employees were not exposed to...

WorkSafe has been conducting a proactive inspection program to look at safety and health issues in stone benchtop fabricators. The program will be conducted for the remainder of this financial year, and will continue throughout the 2019/20 financial year. WorkSafe WA Commissioner Darren Kavanagh said the inspection program was initiated in response to serious concerns raised in Queensland last...

On 1 October 2019, amendments to the Occupational Safety and Health Regulations 1996 (OSH Regulations) will come into effect. The amendments lower the blood lead removal level thresholds for workers and changes the definition of ‘lead-risk job’. Lead stays in the blood for several months. It is important to take action now to ensure that when the new laws come into effect the blood lead levels of...

A scaffolding company has been fined $90,000 (and ordered to pay $2100 in costs) over the death of a worker who fell through a skylight in the roof of the stadium. Perth Aluminium Scaffolds Pty Ltd pleaded guilty to failing to provide and maintain a safe work environment and was fined in Perth Magistrates Court on Friday. In June 2016, HBF Stadium operator VenuesWest contracted a painting company...

A company that supplies and installs underground services and its Director have been fined a total of $69,500 (and ordered to pay a total of $4391.00 in costs) over an incident in which a worker sustained serious permanent injuries. Sunchaser Enterprises Pty Ltd pleaded guilty to failing to provide and maintain a safe workplace and, by that failure, causing serious harm to an employee, and was...

WorkSafe has issued a warning on guarding against the effects of extreme temperatures in work environments during periods of hot weather. WorkSafe WA Commissioner Darren Kavanagh today reminded employers and workers of the need to take extra care during the summer months to avoid the risk of heat stress or the more serious heat stroke. “It’s not just working outside in heatwave conditions, but...