In a Bill passed by the NSW Parliament earlier this month, a number of reforms were enacted that will make the lives of workers and business owners healthier, safer and more productive.
|
All businesses and organisations in NSW need to protect staff, workers, customers and visitors from COVID-19. This applies whether your business has stayed open, or is reopening as restrictions are eased.
Having a COVID-19 Safety Plan in place can help you keep track of what you need to do in your business or organisation. Spatial distancing and personal face mask use could help enable a safer lifting of coronavirus (COVID-19)-induced restrictions around the world, according to a comment published in The Lancet by Professor Raina MacIntyre from UNSW Sydney’s Kirby Institute. The comment addresses a World Health Organizaton (WHO) commissioned systematic review by Chu et al. which analysed all available studies on SARS, MERS CoV and SARS CoV-2 (the virus that causes COVID-19), in order to understand more about the true impact of physical distancing, face masks and eye protection for the prevention of COVID-19.
As businesses across Australia prepare to reopen following coronavirus (COVID-19) shutdowns, New South Wales Health (NSW Health) and industry bodies and experts are reminding building owners and occupiers of their legal obligation to ensure air-conditioning cooling towers are properly maintained, to reduce the risk of Legionnaires’ disease — caused by infection with the Legionella pneumophila bacteria.
Minister for Better Regulation and Innovation, Kevin Anderson, has today announced the launch of SafeWork NSW’s new app, Speak Up, Save Lives which allows workers to anonymously report workplace health and safety issues.
Mr Anderson said the app will make it easier than ever to report workplace risks by sending photos of unsafe practices directly to SafeWork NSW. National Drug Research Institute (NDRI) at Curtin University in Perth has released the first national update on the cost of opioids in 13 years — it’s not a pretty picture. The new national estimate on the social and economic costs of opioid use shows that ‘extra-medical’ use of opioids is costing Australia around $15.7 billion and causing more than 2200 deaths a year.
Worksafe have recently become aware there are organisations offering white card through on-line delivery and who are providing a what appears to be a white card.
WorkSafe is issuing a reminder about the potentially deadly risks associated with working from heights without adequate fall protection, after two construction employees have died in separate incidents.
A report by the Australian Institute of Health and Welfare (AIHW) reveals that an estimated 1.6 million people aged ≥45 years lived with persistent, ongoing pain in 2016, with more Australians than ever visiting their GP for chronic pain in 2015–16.
The ‘Chronic pain in Australia’ report explores the latest national data on the proportion of people with chronic pain, as well as its impact, treatment and management. With construction continuing to work within the current government restrictions and guidelines, we would like to remind businesses that the same risks continue to exist and need to be managed.
|
Archives
June 2020
Categories |
RSS Feed