Tag: Safe Work Australia

Positive Duty demands change in sexual harassment response

Positive Duty demands change in sexual harassment response

Positive Duty demands change in sexual harassment response The Australian Human Rights Commission will have new powers from 12 December 2023 to investigate and enforce an employer’s positive duty under the Sex Discrimination Act 1985. Positive duty, introduced in December 2022, was a key recommendation of the Commission’s Respect@Work Report, led by former Sex Discrimination Commissioner Kate Jenkins AO and published in March 2020. It imposes a legal obligation on organisations and businesses to take proactive and meaningful action to prevent certain unlawful...

When the dust settles

When the dust settles

IN 2017, Scott Morrison famously entered parliament with a lump of coal stating “don’t be scared, it won’t hurt you, it’s coal”. But as it turns out, he was wrong. The incurable Black Lung or coal workers’ pneumoconiosis has hit Queensland coal mines with a vengeance, leading to new dust control standards on mine sites. Exposure to dust can cause irritation to the eyes, skin and respiratory tract, and prolonged exposure, breathing in coal dust, silica dust and other finely powdered materials, can lead to a range of serious lung diseases. Workers who are exposed to respirable dust at levels that exceed the occupational exposure limit (OEL) are at risk of developing diseases including silicosis, coal workers' pneumoconiosis (CWP), chronic...