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 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
If you missed out on the last ContractorSAFE webinar, Making Sense of Non-Delegable WHS Duties, click on the link below to register and download a recording. Click Here cheers Sue
In November 2024, Twin Connect was fined $180K for failing to ensure the safety of a contractor when an excavator being operated by a Twin Connect employee struck a contracted traffic controller, causing serious injuries. This is an example of a duty holder wearing two hats. Twin Connect had duties both as a Principal Contractor … Read more
A subcontractor, SA Construct and a labour hire provider Brother Hu, have both been fined after a labour-hire worker fell through a skylight when working on a roof. SA Construct, hired by Principal Contractor Sarah Constructions to remove tiles on a roof, prepared a SWMS before work commenced, which did not identify the risk of falling … Read more
