SafeWork Wrap | September 2024
Welcome to the September 2024 edition of SafeWork Wrap.
Join our team
We are recruiting SafeWork inspectors across all industries and across all of NSW. Find out more below. ?
Building subcontractor work health and safety survey
If you are a principal contractor or subcontractor in the NSW construction sector, we invite you to share your insights on WHS compliance. Your feedback will help identify and address key industry challenges and improve safety for NSW subcontractors. Complete our subcontractor survey. ?
Safe Work Month 2024
Next month is National Safe Work Month, a time to commit to building a safe and healthy workplace. Register for any of our events below to get the most out of Safe Work Month.
In this issue:
A message from the Deputy Secretary
Hello,
As the state’s workplace health and safety regulator, our focus is to protect NSW workers. We work to prevent and reduce work-related fatalities, serious injuries and illnesses by securing compliance with work health and safety and associated legislation.
Currently, we are expanding our Inspectorate with 36 new Team Coordinator roles and additional SafeWork NSW Inspectors from a wide variety of backgrounds, life experiences and skills. ?
SafeWork NSW Team Coordinator
The new Team Coordinator role will provide supervision, operational support and quality assurance, and conduct requests for service, incident investigations, prevention and response programs of work. Applications close Monday, 30 September 2024. ?
SafeWork NSW Inspector
Our Inspectors apply their industry knowledge, experience and training to work in partnership with NSW workplaces to help them meet and maintain work health and safety standards so that workers return home safely each day. For more information and to express your interest, email [email protected]. ?
Stay in touch
Trent Curtin?
Acting Deputy Secretary
SafeWork NSW?
New industrial manslaughter laws
?
From 16 September 2024, a business or individual may be held legally responsible for the death of a person due to gross negligence in the workplace, under the Work Health and Safety Amendment (Industrial Manslaughter) Act 2024.
The NSW industrial manslaughter offence introduces a maximum of 25 years’ imprisonment for an individual and a maximum penalty of $20 million for a body corporate – the highest penalty for this offence in Australia.
These significant penalties reflect the seriousness of the offence and send a clear message that unsafe work practices will not be tolerated.
The new laws do not impose additional work health and safety duties. However, they create a strong new offence to deter unsafe work practices and strengthen accountability.
New crystalline silica substance regulations
?
On 1 September 2024, new work health and safety requirements came into effect for all businesses that process any materials containing at least 1% crystalline silica.
Crystalline silica is found in materials such as rocks, sand, clay, sandstone, concrete, bricks and engineered stone. Processing these materials – including uncontrolled cutting, drilling, polishing and grinding – creates hazardous dust known as respirable crystalline silica (RCS). RCS can lead to serious illnesses such as silicosis and lung cancer.
The NSW Government is committed to reducing the rate of silicosis cases and deaths. In the past year alone there have been 115 new cases of silicosis in NSW and 10 people have lost their lives.
These new regulations complement the engineered stone ban which commenced on 1 July 2024 and will play an important part in protecting the health and safety of workers.
Visit the SafeWork NSW website to find more information about working safely around silica.
Important update on explosives laws
?
On 1 September 2024, amendments commenced under the?Explosives Act 2003.
Additionally, the?Explosives Regulation 2013?was replaced by the?Explosives Regulation 2024.
These changes, following public consultation, reflect our ongoing commitment to safety, compliance and the advancement of industry standards. The amended Act and new Regulation introduce several key changes designed to improve the safe management, handling and transportation of explosives.
The new Regulation includes the following changes:
Workplace Exposure Standards transition
?
The workplace exposure standards (WES) for airborne contaminants list the mandatory exposure limits under Australian work health and safety legislation.
The WES were established to protect workers from adverse health effects caused by exposure to potentially hazardous airborne contaminants.
Following an extensive review of the WES list, Australia is moving to updated exposure limits that will be known as the?workplace exposure limits (WEL) for airborne contaminants.
From 1 December 2026, Australian work health and safety regulators, including SafeWork NSW, will transition to the new WEL list. Until this time, employers must continue to comply with the current limits under the WES list.
While most exposure limits will remain the same, you should check the WEL list for any changes to limits on airborne contaminants you or your workers are exposed to in the workplace. If you work with an airborne contaminant where the exposure limit has been increased, removed, amended or moved, you must review your work practices, so you comply with these new limits from 1 December 2026.
Workplace Health and Safety Show
?
Join us at the Workplace Health & Safety Show, 23 and 24 October at The Dome, Sydney Olympic Park.
Visit our stand for our ‘Meet the Inspector’ panels as well as presentations on:
Join us at the NSW Small Business Month Expo this October
?
SafeWork NSW?will be at the NSW Small Business Month Expo across various locations throughout October.
领英推荐
Speak to a SafeWork inspector,?access our small business resources and sign up for free programs.
You can learn how to manage work health and safety in your workplace – including physical and psychosocial harms. ?
Sydney - SOLD OUT 1 – 7pm Wednesday 2 October Hilton Hotel, Sydney
Central Coast 1 – 7pm Friday 4 October 2024 Mingara Recreation Club, Tumbi Umbi
Dubbo 1 – 7pm Wednesday 9 October Taronga Western Plains Zoo, Dubbo
Northern Rivers 1 – 7pm Tuesday 15 October Twin Towns Clubs & Resorts, Tweed Heads
Wollongong 1 – 7pm Tuesday 22 October University of Wollongong Innovation Campus, North Wollongong
Batemans Bay 1 – 7pm Thursday 24 October Batemans Bay Soldiers Club
Queanbeyan 1 – 7pm Tuesday 29 October Royal Hotel, Queanbeyan
Newcastle 1 – 7pm Thursday 31 October Newcastle City Hall
Health and Safety Representatives Refresher Training Day
?
SafeWork NSW, in partnership with Unions NSW, invites all registered Health and Safety Representatives (HSRs) to our free exclusive Refresher Training Day.
Wednesday 30 October 2024 Australian Teachers Federation Building 37 Reservoir street, Surry Hills NSW.
This training is designed for HSRs looking to make a positive impact in workplace safety. Attendees will:
The program will also cover essential topics such as managing psychosocial hazards, bullying, workload overload, violence and preventing sexual harassment.
Ask an inspector
?
This is our?'Ask an inspector' section, where our inspectors respond to questions sent in by our readers. ?
Advice on lost time injuries
In many workplaces, lost time injuries (LTIs) are only recorded as such if the employee fails to attend the next scheduled shift. Can businesses keep this policy in their safety systems? In a situation where the employee attends the next shift, then takes time off, does this make the incident an LTI?
You are legally required to keep a register of workplace injuries and illnesses sustained by workers or visitors. If an employee attends the next shift, but later experiences complications or requires time off due to the injury, it should be reassessed and potentially recorded as an LTI.
Staying safe from ‘low-risk’ electrical hazards
What can be done to help businesses that are deemed ‘low-risk’ for electrical inspection and testing comply with their legal obligation to provide a safe work environment from electrical hazards as posed by the continued use of untested portable electrical equipment?
If you are a business or employer, you must make sure that electrical equipment is regularly inspected and tested by a competent person if it:
White card requirements
Would participants need a white card to attend a course on building a tiny house?
A white card (or general construction induction card) is required for workers (or trainees) who want to carry out?construction work.
In this case, if the tiny home is constructed with the intention of being transported to another place, then construction of the tiny home is not included in the definition of construction work, and no white card is required.
If there is no intention to transport the tiny home once constructed or assembled, then a white card is required. Additionally, the course providers will have additional responsibilities to ensure the trainees are suitably trained before carrying out any construction work.
For specific information on your work health and safety requirements, please call SafeWork NSW on 13 10 50.
Ask your question Thank you to everyone who has submitted a question for our inspectors in?SafeWork Wrap.
Events, webinars and more
?
Rural Women’s Chat and Create program
Women in the agricultural sector in Narrabri?are invited to attend?our Women in Agriculture (WiA) Chat and Create event.
11am – 2pm
Thursday 26 September
The Tourist Hotel, Narrabri
Reminder: Building and Construction Symposiums 2024
SafeWork NSW is holding free symposiums on workplace health and safety for the building and construction industry across NSW. Register for a symposium near you:
Wollongong 3pm Thursday 17?October Wollongong Golf Club
Albury 3pm Tuesday 22?October Commercial Club Albury
Dubbo 3pm Thursday 24?October Club Dubbo
WHS training resources
You can find huge library of training resources, as well as details of upcoming courses, on the SafeWork NSW website. See our:
Recent incidents
Read our updates on serious workplace incidents in various industries, including:
You can use this information to review your risk management and safe work systems and help prevent similar occurrences.?? ?
Know your notification obligations
You must notify us immediately in the event of a serious injury, illness, dangerous incident or death. Call SafeWork on 13 10 50.
You must also notify us of any adverse health monitoring or of your intention to undertake hazardous work. Learn more about your notification obligations.
Other NSW Government news
Find out about the latest NSW Government initiatives and share with your family, friends and colleagues. ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ?
Have your say
The NSW Government invites you to have your say on:
Tell us what you think
Have you applied any answers from our ‘Ask an inspector’ section to your workplace?
Responses from last month’s survey
Last month we asked: Are you reviewing your work practices this Tradie Health Month?
Yes 64.7%
No35.3%
Thank you to everyone who provided their feedback.
I find it really strange that a white card is required for construction work only if the thing you are building is in a permanent location. Surely the same rules should apply if the building is to be moved. Reminds me of the GST debate on chickens.