​Queensland businesses affected by the coronavirus will receive $27 million in state government assistance, with Premier Annastacia Palaszczuk equating the economic impact of coronavirus to any natural disaster. “The overnight downturn in Chinese tourists, students and export markets is having enormous impact. This $27.25 million is a way of addressing some of those losses and setting us up for recovery once the virus is contained,” Palaszczuk said.

New South Wales has unveiled a new strategy to stamp out silicosis.
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Minister for Better Regulation Kevin Anderson has announced a new plan to reduce cases of the deadly lung disease silicosis, caused by ingesting harmful dust when dry-cutting manufactured stone. 

Victoria has set up a new code to protect tradies from silicosis.
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The state’s new code of conduct sets out employers' obligations to provide a safe environment for people cutting engineered stone.

​Property developer Mainline Developments has pleaded guilty in the Melbourne County Court and received a $125,000 fine for putting workers and the public at risk of serious injury or death during the construction of a residential complex at Narre Warren, Victoria. The company faced four charges over safety breaches, after WorkSafe inspectors observed the safety breaches on six separate visits to the site between 15 January and 15 March 2018. The construction site had no precautions to prevent workers from falling from roofs, with inspectors noting workers using sections of scaffolding with missing planks.

Fire damaged buildings and properties can pose unique and unexpected risks to the health and safety of workers who undertake clean-up and recovery operations.

​Planning and preparation are vital to determine the safest method for the required work.

​The Federal Government is looking for ways to improve the operation of the Building Code.

​The government has released a discussion paper that it says aims to improve fairness, efficiency, safety and productivity and sets higher standards of conduct for businesses that wish to carry out work on Commonwealth-funded building and construction projects.

​Persons conducting business and undertaking (PCBUs) have obligations under the Work Health and Safety Act 2011 and Work Health and Safety Regulations 2017 to provide and maintain a safe working environment for workers, so far as is reasonably practicable. PCBUs may have staff affected by smoke caused by the current bushfire emergency while working indoors or outdoors, particularly during periods of significant bushfire activity. While PCBUs cannot control the movement of bushfire smoke, they can control where, how and when workers undertake their duties.

Waste management company Bradbury Industrial Services has been charged with breaching the Dangerous Goods Act for chemical stockpiles at a Campbellfield warehouse, and is facing seven offences under sections 31 (1) and section 45 of the Act. WorkSafe Victoria alleges that the company, which is now in liquidation, failed to take all reasonable precautions to prevent fire or explosion of dangerous goods at the site.

The Work-related Musculoskeletal Disorders in Australia (WMSDs) report provides a comprehensive and authoritative resource on WMSDs.

​WMSDs are the most common type of work-related injury in Australia, accounting for 55 per cent of all serious workers’ compensation claims in 2015-16.