The Australian Safety and Compensation Council met for the last time in November 2008, paving the way for the transition to its newly formed replacement organisation, Safe Work Australia.

Two reports from the Australian Safety and Compensation Council (ASCC) analyse the causes and trends in Australian workplace fatalities over recent years.

New laws in Queensland will enable elected workplace OHS representatives to issue provisional improvement notices where risks are identified, enabling OHS matters to be dealt with locally and promptly.

The Australian Safety and Compensation Council and Cancer Council Australia jointly released a document for outdoor workers, providing guidance on how to assess and minimise their exposure to solar UV radiation.

The New Zealand Department of Labour released its annual report on the progress of its 10-year Workplace Health and Safety Strategy, identifying the need for government, business and communities to work together more in forming a culture of safety among workers.

Two companies in SA were fined $180,000 for failing to properly supervise the testing of a travelator (at a suburban shopping centre) and not providing a safe work environment, which caused the death of a worker not involved with the travelator but engaged in general construction work around it.

Two companies in SA have been fined a total of $51,000 for failing to ensure the safety of employees, which caused two workers to suffer serious hand injuries when working with machines.

Construction firm John Holland was recognised for its leadership in safety, receiving the Federal Safety Commissioner award at the Master Builders’ National Awards.

A safety campaign on commercial transport companies in WA has revealed mixed outcomes. Improvements were seen in compliance to transport safety; however, WorkSafe were concerned over the high incidence of drivers not taking mandatory rest breaks.

To help curb the high incidence of deaths and injuries from work-related driving, WorkSafe Victoria has published a guide for companies to use to develop safe driving programs.

To warn workers about the potential dangers of air receivers, WorkSafe Victoria has issued a new guide on how to safely install and maintain this equipment.

A company was fined $40,000 for failing to provide a safe working environment for workers on an elevating work platform, which toppled over with them on it after becoming unstable at its maximum height.

Researchers at the University of South Australia were awarded the prestigious (IEA)/Liberty Mutual Medal foir their landmark study on OHS for the Australian mining industry.

After a lengthy appeals process, a High Court decision has cleared the way for two significant safety prosecutions in South Australia to proceed.

Comcare has released two key documents reporting on its preformance over the past financial year — its 2007–2008 Annual Report and ‘Comcare at a glance’.