Energex has renewed its partnership with Queensland Rural Fire Service through a $75,000 sponsorship of vital emergency equipment. [ + ]

Warrnambool’s 1300 Temp Fence has won four tickets to one of Victoria’s premier motorcycle events after competing alongside more than 90 teams who took part in WorkSafe’s Top Tradie competition over the past six-weeks. [ + ]

Tegra Australia, a concrete manufacturing business that provides premix concrete and materials to construction sites throughout NSW, has been fined $80,000 and ordered to pay WorkCover’s legal costs after a 29-year-old man almost died when he inhaled toxic fumes. [ + ]

Minister for Employment and Workplace Relations Bill Shorten and Minister for Employment Participation Kate Ellis have announced a $3.9 million investment for Tasmanian forestry workers facing redundancy to help them access employment and training. [ + ]

Two of Australia’s largest construction companies, John Holland and Thiess, have entered into a $225,000 enforceable undertaking after two concrete sound barrier panels, each weighing 11.3 tonnes, fell from a contractor’s truck near the Eastlink tollway project in Ringwood, Melbourne, in October 2006. [ + ]

The Fair Work Ombudsman has launched a prosecution against a security company, alleging it underpaid 19 employees more than $21,000. [ + ]

To meet national standards, a number of older high-risk work licences will require conversion and renewal before 31 December 2012. This includes licences issued before 1996, licences issued between 1996 and 2004 without an expiry date, and licences issued with an expiry date but not renewed within 12 months of expiring. [ + ]

Scientists from the Hohenstein Institute are creating a database of hand measurements to improve the fit of protective gloves for use in cold stores, steelworks, building sites etc, or for sporting use. [ + ]

Fire protection specialist Wormald is warning businesses to be extra vigilant about using portable heaters and electrical appliances in the workplace. [ + ]

The draft NSW state-wide asbestos plan is now available on the WorkCover website for an eight-week public consultation period. Public comment is open until 5 pm, Friday 17 August 2012. [ + ]

A new survey of 351 APESMA members has revealed that almost 5% of Australian engineers, scientists and other professionals have witnessed acts of violence in their workplace. [ + ]

Australia’s first national Road Safety Remuneration Tribunal began operation yesterday. The tribunal has the power to set pay and conditions for truck drivers to reduce the economic pressures on truck drivers to meet unfair and unrealistic deadlines which risk their own lives and the lives of others. [ + ]

The Minister for Workplace Relations, Bill Shorten, has said that the improved conditions for outworkers in the textile, clothing and footwear (TCF) industry - most of them women - deliver nationally consistent rights and legal protections for the first time. [ + ]

As Western Australia struggles with a skilled labour shortage, a Perth researcher and orthopaedic surgeon has published important findings on long work absences due to lower back pain. [ + ]

Overwork is significantly impacting the mental health and wellbeing of Australians, a Flinders University labour studies expert warns. [ + ]