The recent HVNL amendments mandate that operators wishing to participate in the Heavy Vehicle Accreditation Scheme must have an effective and written SMS that complies with the Safety Management System Standard, and this SMS forms the basis of both General Safety Accreditation and Alternate Compliance Accreditation. The NHVR says “An SMS should be proportionate to … Read more
We’re back and taking the magnifying glass to some interesting cases One in particular is an appeal to the South Australian Employment Tribunal by Dial A Tow which appears to extend the duties of end users of plant, essentially requiring a purchaser of plant to conduct its own risk assessment, even where that plant has been supplied … Read more
In a recent decision, the South Australian Employment Court affirmed the obligation of PCBU/employers to include contractors in their safety management systems in respect of hazards at the workplace that may impact them. In Miller v The State of South Australia & Ors [2025] SAET 119 Mr Millar was an electrician working at the Royal Adelaide … Read more
Yep 2025 is nearly over! In keeping with our practice of putting regulators and judicial decisions under the microscope, Sam Dekker (one of the brightest minds in contractor safety law) and I will be reviewing some of the tastiest contractor safety management cases handed down in 2024/2025. In our last webinar, being held at 2.30 p.m. … Read more
In this webinar, Alan Tait from Taits Consulting, a leading mining safety consultant, and I will outline a clear pathway to critical risk management in contractor safety management- The Golden Thread. We will look at how this approach aligns with regulatory obligations in mining regulations and general WHS regulations, and how to use the Golden … Read more
A recent decision in the SA magistrates’ court reinforces the utter confusion over SWMS and high-risk construction work. The incident involved a worker being struck by a high-pressure hose while cleaning a concrete pumping hose. The magistrate and Safe Work SA stated that the work was high-risk construction work for which a SWMS was required. … Read more
A demolition company engaged a contractor to install a gate. The contracted gate company installed a faulty gate. The faulty gate fell on a passerby. The gate had been used without incident or any issues coming to the attention of the demolition company in the 2 months prior to the incident. The demolition company pleaded … Read more
A recent decision in the SA magistrates’ court reinforces the utter confusion over SWMS and high-risk construction work. The incident involved a worker being struck by a high-pressure hose while cleaning a concrete pumping hose. The magistrate and Safe Work SA stated that the work was high-risk construction work for which a SWMS was required. … Read more
In Farrell v Greyhound Racing SA Limited [2025] SAET 42 (9 May 2025) the South Australian Employment Tribunal Deputy President Stephen Lieschke fined a PCBU $255K and observed that “the PCBU had relied on “ineffective paperwork that was not applied or enforced in practice”. Whilst this was not a case about contractor safety management, every … Read more
Where is the HNVL heading? Hopefully, it will not be off the safety clutter cliff. The Heavy Vehicle National Law Amendment Bill proposes implementing safety management systems as the method by which heavy vehicle operators can gain accreditation in respect of prescribed operations e.g. mass management and fatigue. An operator’s safety management system must be … Read more