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
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
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.
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
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.
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
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.
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
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
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
Not “where are your SWMS?” but “what high-risk construction work is being undertaken? How are the risks being controlled?” and lastly, “have you written this up in a SWMS?” The management of HRCW is the purpose of the regs not the production of SWMS.
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
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
A recent decision by the NSW Industrial Relations Commission sheds some much-needed light on the extent of a Principal Contractor’s duty to supervise contractor compliance with SWMS. The PC, Diona, hired subcontractor Cahill to lay pipe, which involved the HRCW task of working near mobile plant. Cahill had prepared a SWMS, which Diona reviewed and
Safe Work Australia has released a case study in its WHS Principles series that provides clear and accurate guidance on the WHS duties owed by PCBU who are supplying and hiring labour hire workers. Finally! guidance that clearly confirms that a PCBU’s duties only extend to the matters over which they have management and control/
I am very grateful to have been given a wonderful opportunity to co-write the Body of Knowledge Chapter on Contractor Safety Management with Jon Harper Slade from NZ. Here is a little article in the AIHS OHS Professional Magazine about the focus of the chapter. Click here to view the article By the way thoughts
I am really looking forward to chatting with our friends across the ditch (NZ) about prequalification of contractors and unpacking what is it good for and how to keep it efficient and effective. Register here for the webinar: https://chasnz.org/events/
It can be difficult to work out if your contractors need a working with children check. It is important to get it right to ensure children are safe but also to avoid costly administration through requiring one when it is not necessary. Join me for the next webinar in the LinkSafe Professional Development Series –
How you respond and how well you are set up to respond following a serious incident involving contractors can be the difference between a prosecution or not. How you engage with your contractors after a serious incident can be the difference between blaming and ignorance or openness and learning. Join me and Joel Zyngier from
Free Webinar – Tuesday 30th January @ 1pm AEDT – Unpacking the 4 Principles of WHS Safe work Australia Guidance Again! In November 2023 Safe Work Australia issued a case study ostensibly to further explain and provide assistance to understanding the 4 Principles of WHS guidance previously issued in May 2023. Sadly, the guidance continues