Safety Alert: 03-2016 .. 05 February 2016 WORKPLACE SAFETY AUSTRALIA PTY LTD This OHS Alert is the copyright of Workplace Safety Australia Pty Ltd. Other than for the purposes, and subject to the conditions prescribed under the Copyright Act 1968, you may not replicate, forward, copy or otherwise transmit this OHS Alert to any other party, except pursuant to the following terms, without the prior written permission of Workplace Safety Australia. Paid subscribers of Workplace Safety Australia Pty Ltd who receive this OHS Alert as part of their subscription may forward or copy this publication within their business or organisation only pursuant to the terms of their subscription. Under no circumstances should this OHS Alert be distributed or copied to any person, or organisation, or any other entity, outside of the subscriber organisation. In This Alert… Editorial Legislative Changes and Proposed Legislative Changes… o Mining and Petroleum Safety Changes Commenced February o Supplementary Changes to Mining and Petroleum Regulations in NSW o Electricity Network Changes in NSW Open for Comment … In Other News… o EOIs Sought for Independent Chairperson of NSW Mining Competence Board o WorkSafe NT Warns of Dangers to Unauthorised Access to Workplaces o WA Quarterly Workers Comp Seminar o Maintenance and Repair of Commercial Vehicles – Warning from Worksafe Victoria o NSW Warning on Work in Wet and Windy Conditions o Queensland Releases 5-Point Plan on Pneumoconiosis o WorkSafe Victoria Urges Vigilance After More Deaths In The Courts … o $1.3 Million in Damages Follows Sexual Harassement and Bullying Note: Web hyperlinks are reproduced in their full text throughout Workplace Safety Australia’s Alerts. If you are reading an electronic copy of this Alert, you should be able to access the pages and documents by clicking the links (holding “control” and left mouse clicking is the usual way). However, some subscribers find that the links do not work effectively by simply clicking. If this is the case, simply highlight the link, copy it, and ‘paste’ it into your web browser. Editorial In our ‘In the courts section’ in this edition of our regular weekly Alert we look at a case of a woman who worked on a construction site in Victoria, who, after continued sexual harassment (including both sexualised verbal threats, and physical touching) developed a psychiatric condition, could no longer work, and was, after a trial where the employer admitted liability, awarded more than $1.3 million in damages. There was evidence that the worker complained to her immediate supervisor (who was one involved in the harassment) and to his supervisor (who said he’d look after it but nothing ever happened) and to the person she understood to be the HR manager for the company (who, astoundingly, invited her to his home ‘for a drink’ ‘to talk about it’. At one point she was moved from one work group to another – whereupon the harassment stopped – but was then moved back to the workgroup she had previously been in – where it started again. The worker stopped work altogether after a co-worker said he was going to follow her home and rape her, and after she had complained about this, had received anonymous phone calls abusing her. In cases where a worker can show they have been injured at work, the courts must evaluate the money value of any damage they have suffered as a result of such work caused injury. Here, the courts made an award under three what are referred to as ‘heads of damage’ – general damages, past economic loss, and future economic loss. General damages: $380,000 Past economic loss: $283,942 Loss of earning capacity: $696,085 General damages here relate to the psychiatric injury suffered by the worker (including in relation to a jaw injury she suffered as a result of continually grinding her teeth – that resulted from the psychiatric condition she suffered resulting from the harassment). Past economic loss amounts to the amount she would have earned from the date of the injury up to the date of trial (she ceased working in July 2010 – the trial finished late last year). Future economic loss is the amount the worker would have earnt from the date of the trial through the rest of the period she would be unable to work. Here, the evidence of doctors and psychiatrists was that she would probably never work again. Construction sites are traditionally seen to be ‘male dominated’ workplaces – but even so, the sort of behaviour that occurred in this case has been deemed unacceptable for 2 decades. It may be true that many people would be sufficiently ‘robust’ that they would not necessarily be affected by the harassment suffered by the worker here – or not to a similar extent. However, as noted, Australian society now sees this sort of behaviour as not acceptable – and even if some workers think it is acceptable, or ‘just for a laugh’ or that the victims should ’toughen up,’ no employer can afford the sort of payout that occurred here – more than $1.3 million. That possibility – in addition to the very obvious fact that no worker should have to suffer harassment at work – should be enough motivation for every sensible employer to put in place processes for effectively preventing – and if need be dealing with – such behaviour. Regards Kim Schekeloff Director Workplace Safety Australia Pty Ltd Go back to ‘In this alert’ 3 Legislative Changes and Proposed Legislative Changes… Mining and Petroleum Safety Changes Commenced February Relevance: NSW Title of Instrument: Work Health and Safety (Mines and Petroleum Sites) Act 2013; Work Health and Safety (Mines and Petroleum Sites) Regulation 2016 Commencement: 1 February 2016 Industries: Mining and petroleum Keywords: Mining; Petroleum; mine safety; petroleum safety Amendments to legislation that regulate work health and safety in the mining and petroleum industries in NSW will take effect from Monday 1 February 2016. The changes to the Work Health and Safety Act 2011 and Work Health and Safety (Mines and Petroleum Sites) Act 2013 and their supporting Regulations particularly relate to the Division of Resources and Energy compliance and enforcement role in petroleum work health and safety. While the amendments predominantly impact on the petroleum industry, some changes also apply to the minerals sector. The new laws will replace the 1992 Schedule of Onshore Petroleum Exploration and Production Safety Requirements (the schedule) under the Petroleum (Onshore) Act 1991. The schedule had been the primary means to address the specific work, health and safety elements associated with petroleum operations. The Work Health and Safety (Mines and Petroleum Sites) Act 2013 and Work Health and Safety (Mines and Petroleum Sites) Regulation 2016 will now apply to petroleum exploration and extraction. The new laws will provide for: A consistent and robust single work health and safety (WHS) regulatory framework that applies to onshore petroleum sites; Specific risks associated with petroleum activities to be appropriately addressed through a modern WHS framework, consistent with the minerals sector, and; Proactive regulatory oversight of the petroleum industry's management of the risks associated with a petroleum operation. Mine operators should be aware that when the legislation comes into effect, the Work Health and Safety (Mines and Petroleum Sites) Act 2013 and Work Health and Safety (Mines and Petroleum Sites) Regulation 2016, among other requirements, will: Allow the regulator to specify where documents are to be served for the purposes of the Act; Require operators of a mine or petroleum site to provide the regulator with a report following decommissioning of a well; Exempt certain hoists used at small gemstone mines from the requirement to be design registered; Require shotfiring apparatus used at underground coal mines to be overhauled or repaired only by persons holding specified accreditation; Make further provision with respect to notifiable incidents; 4 Clarify the circumstances when notification of certain high potential incidents to the regulator is required, including the detection of methane in an underground coal mine; Clarify the use of explosives in underground coal mines, including restrictions around storage, and; Clarify the requirements to perform the statutory function of mechanical tradesperson. Mine Safety staff within Resources and Energy will support industry in better understanding and complying with the new laws. Most updates are already in place for mining, but a range of mining and petroleum forms and guidelines to support the Regulation will be released, including: Quick WHS guide for petroleum title holders and petroleum operators; Managing WHS risks in petroleum operations; Summary of WHS transitional arrangements for petroleum sites; Summary of changes to the WHS (Mines) Regulation for petroleum operators; Appointment and nomination of mine operator guide and form; Appointment and nomination of petroleum site operator guide; WHS notification of incidents guide and form; WHS notification of reportable events form; WHS high risk activities guide and form. Transitional arrangements are in place for the commencement of many of the provisions that apply to the petroleum sector. DRE’s Mine Safety branch will be working with industry to enable industry compliance with the changes. Go back to ‘In this alert’ Supplementary Changes to Mining and Petroleum Regulations in NSW Relevance: NSW Title of Instrument: Work Health and Safety (Mines and Petroleum) Amendment (Harmonisation)