The European CRISMA project, coordinated by VTT Technical Research Centre of Finland, is preparing for disasters by developing a planning and decision-support tool to help authorities, responders, communities and private parties to prioritise the most important measures for saving lives and mitigating the effects of the crisis. [ + ]

The Australian Government’s decision to work with the resource industry to help more Australians secure a job in mining has been welcomed by peak resource industry employer group AMMA. [ + ]

The WA Work Safety Awards are currently open for for submissions from individuals, groups and organisations. The closing date for submission of entries is 6 July 2012. [ + ]

Assistant Treasurer Gordon Rich-Phillips has launched a new year-long WorkCover campaign targeting musculoskeletal injuries. “Musculoskeletal injuries are the most common workplace injury, costing nearly $1 billion a year in medical costs, wages and other expenses,” Rich-Phillips said. [ + ]

Safe Work Australia has released six draft model work health and safety Codes of Practice and two guides for public comment. The public comment period for these Codes of Practice closes on 24 August 2012. [ + ]

Social demographer Bernard Salt and the Hon Peter Collier, Minister for Training and Workforce Development in Western Australia, will join delegates to discuss Australia’s skills needs at an upcoming summit. ‘Skilling Australia: Challenges and Opportunities Towards 2020’ will take place on 30 August 2012, at the Parmelia Hilton, Perth. [ + ]

Labour force figures released yesterday by the ABS show that seasonally adjusted employment expanded strongly in May, increasing by 38,900 to a record high of 11,537,900 Australians at work. [ + ]

Gas detection service provider Industrial Scientific Corporation’s Ventis MX4 multigas detector has been certified to meet the ATEX standards of EN 60079-0, EN 60079-11 and EN 50303 for M1 mining equipment and intrinsic safety in Zone 0 applications (ATEX Markings - Ex ia IIC T4 Ga and Ex ia I Ma; for equipment group and category II 1G and I M1 and IECEx Markings - Ex ia IIC T4 Ga). [ + ]

The second transition milestone for the National Standard for Licensing Persons Performing High Risk Work - adopted in the Northern Territory on 30 June 2010 - is approaching. The Standard has made training, assessment and licensing of high-risk work consistent across Australia, leading to safer workplaces. [ + ]

The WA Safety Show will be held from 7-9 August at the Perth Convention Exhibition Centre. The show will offer visitors an opportunity to network and learn from industry experts via interactive live demonstrations, dedicated feature areas, free seminars and workshops. [ + ]

The National Minimum Wage will be increased by $17.10 a week following a decision handed down by Fair Work Australia’s specialist Minimum Wage Panel. The decision will further assist low-income working families to manage cost of living pressures. [ + ]

Fair Work Building and Construction (FWBC), the new regulator of workplace laws in the building and construction industry, begins operations today. FWBC was created by the Fair Work (Building) Act 2012 (FW Building Act). The agency is headed by the Acting Chief Executive, Leigh Johns. [ + ]

All registered employer associations and unions will be subject to tougher financial and accountability obligations, and Fair Work Australia will have enhanced investigation powers, under legislation introduced into federal parliament today. [ + ]

Queensland-established injury prevention and management company Kinnect has opened state headquarters in Perth, Western Australia. The need for enhanced workplace injury prevention and injury support was not only reflected in the size of the WA resources sector, but a future outlook where known and forecast exploration expenditure signified a continuing strong pipeline of new mining and energy projects, says Kinnect’s WA Director and health professional Rebecca Morton-Stephens. [ + ]

WorkCover NSW will be holding a webinar on 20 June from 10-11 am for small businesses and workers to help them understand the recent changes in work health and safety laws [ + ]