During the month of April, several major workplace health and safety cases will be before Victorian courts as WorkSafe ramps up its campaign to reduce preventable deaths and injuries.

A recent court ruling on a workplace fatality highlights the importance of linking a safety system's administration to workplace realities and not blaming the deceased for the incident.

A PPE survey reveals that insufficient information is being provided by manufacturers to help safety professionals and workers make the right choices about the appropriate PPE needed for different jobs in the construction industry.

A court ruling against a worker's civil claims against his employer after suffering a workplace injury highlights the importance of the need for employers to ensure employees have the requisite training on working safely.

The recent Workplace Relations Minister’s Council (WRMC) meeting indicates that progress towards the harmonisation of Australia’s OHS laws is being made.

Following a five-year research program into Australia’s OHS inspectorates, a professor is calling on unions to exercise greater influence in the pursuit of better workplace safety.

Recent court rulings highlight the importance of employers' responsibilities to implement OHS procedures and not just rely on their contractors' safety procedures.

Contrary to traditional OHS views regarding emergency evacuations, a fire engineer advocates the value of using lifts as well as stairs in the evacuation of a building.

Comcare has reviewed its support services for health and safety representatives, identifying a need for training programs to help provide adequate knowledge of the OHS legislation.

A recent ASCC study on Australian workplace design has revealed the OHS implications of our country's growing obesity problem.

WorkSafe Victoria will be focusing on the construction and utilities industries in 2009, after that sector was responsible for nearly half of the state's recorded work-related deaths last year. WorkSafe has released a list of safety priorities based on last year's incidents.

We conclude the three-part series by looking at how privilege can be jeopardised by the actions of external lawyers and organisations involved in the incident. It is vital that procedures are put in place within an organisation to ensure that privilege is maintained and not expressly or impliedly waived.

The National OHS Review Panel's first report was released recently, containing the findings and recommendations for what the National OHS Review Panel considers the optimal content of a model OHS Act regarding duties of care and the structure of offences.

Professionals may overlook important information when they search for research findings about injury prevention and safety promotion, according to a recent thesis by Dr David Lawrence.

In part 2, we look at issues concerning legal advice in relation to a safety incident, and look at ways to control internal investigations and documentation to maintain legal privilege.