Nicki Milionis

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Proposed amendments to Commonwealth WHS Act

Photo of Nicki MilionisBy Nicki Milionis on Posted in Australia
The author acknowledges the contribution of Artemis Sfendourakis to this article. On 1 December 2022, the Work Health and Safety Amendment Bill 2022 (Amendment Bill) was introduced by the Federal government to amend the Work Health and Safety Act 2011 (Cth) (Cth WHS Act). The Amendment Bill seeks to implement some of the recommendations made … Continue reading

Proposed Victorian Psychological Health Regulations: The submissions

Photo of Nicki MilionisPhoto of Darcy MoffattBy Nicki Milionis and Darcy Moffatt on Posted in Australia
In our last blog post on Victoria’s proposed Occupational Health and Safety Amendment (Psychological Health) Regulations (Proposed Regulations) we set out the proposed changes and our recommendations for employers to address the anticipated obligations under the Proposed Regulations. The feedback period in relation to the Proposed Regulations has now closed and 79 submissions were received … Continue reading

Psychosocial hazards should be top of mind for Victorian employers

Photo of Nicki MilionisPhoto of Darcy MoffattBy Nicki Milionis and Darcy Moffatt on Posted in Australia
Victoria’s proposed Occupational Health and Safety Amendment (Psychological Health) Regulations (Proposed Regulations) were released yesterday and, if approved by the Minister, are slated to commence operation on 1 July 2022. Their introduction follows a period in which workers’ compensation claims for mental injury have persistently increased across Australia. In Victoria, such claims increased by 20% … Continue reading

New infringement notices for offences against Victorian Occupational Health and Safety laws

Photo of Nicki MilionisBy Nicki Milionis on Posted in Australia
WorkSafe inspectors will now be able to issue infringement notices to companies and individuals for certain occupational health and safety offences. The Occupational Health and Safety Amendment (Infringements and Miscellaneous Matters) Regulations 2021 (Vic) which amends the Occupational Health and Safety Regulations 2017 (Vic) (2017 Regulations) commenced on 31 July 2021 in Victoria. Section 139(1) … Continue reading

Outcomes of Australian WHS Ministers’ meeting to respond to recommendations arising from the Boland independent review

Photo of Nicki MilionisBy Nicki Milionis on Posted in Australia
The long-awaited meeting of Australian WHS Ministers to discuss the response to the 34 recommendations contained in the Marie Boland independent review of the model Work Health and Safety Laws final report (published in February  2019) (Boland report), took place on 20 May 2021.  We have previously discussed the Boland report and its recommendations in … Continue reading

Workplace sexual harassment: New WHS guidance materials

Photo of Nicki MilionisPhoto of John TullioBy Nicki Milionis and John Tullio on Posted in Asia Pacific, Australia
The focus on sexual harassment in the workplace, particularly as a risk to the psychological health of employees, has continued in 2021. Australian Human Rights Commission report into workplace sexual harassment The Respect@Work: National Inquiry into Sexual Harassment in Australian Workplaces published in March 2020 (Respect@Work Report), found that whilst the Model Work Health and … Continue reading

Record fine imposed on Ardent Leisure Limited over Dreamworld fatalities

Photo of Nicki MilionisPhoto of Allana SmithBy Nicki Milionis and Allana Smith on Posted in Australia
Background On 25 October 2016, Kate Goodchild, Luke Dorsett, Cindy Low & Roozbeh Araghi suffered fatal injuries on Dreamworld’s Thunder River Rapids Ride after the raft they had been travelling in collided with another raft. Coroner James McDougall undertook a Coronial Inquest (Inquest) which resulted in the Findings of Inquest (Findings) delivered on 24 February … Continue reading

Workplace manslaughter legislation introduced in Victoria (Part 3)

Photo of Nicki MilionisPhoto of Tanya PuriBy Nicki Milionis and Tanya Puri on Posted in Asia Pacific, Australia, General
Bill update As reported in earlier articles on this blog, the Victorian Legislative Assembly has heard the second reading speech of the Workplace Safety Legislation Amendment (Workplace Manslaughter and Other Matters) Bill 2019 (Vic) (the Bill) and passed the Bill on 14 November 2019. The Bill was sent to the Legislative Council on 14 November 2019 … Continue reading

Workplace manslaughter legislation introduced in Victoria (Part 2)

Photo of Nicki MilionisPhoto of Daniel MacphersonBy Nicki Milionis and Daniel Macpherson on Posted in Australia, General
Yesterday, 30 October 2019, the Workplace Safety Legislation Amendment (Workplace Manslaughter and Other Matters) Bill 2019 (Vic) (the Bill) received its second reading speech in the Victorian Legislative Assembly. The Bill, if passed, provides for the new offence of ‘workplace manslaughter’ to come into operation on a day to be proclaimed or on 1 July … Continue reading

Industrial Manslaughter laws introduced to Victorian parliament today

Photo of Nicki MilionisBy Nicki Milionis on Posted in Australia, General
As reported in our earlier article (found here), the Victorian government announced in 2018 that it would introduce an industrial manslaughter offence. The Minister for Workplace Safety, The Hon Jill Hennessy, today announced that new ‘workplace manslaughter’ laws were introduced in Parliament. The Workplace Safety Legislation Amendment (Workplace Manslaughter and other matters) Bill 2019 has … Continue reading

First Industrial Manslaughter prosecution in Queensland

Photo of Nicki MilionisPhoto of Daniel MacphersonBy Nicki Milionis and Daniel Macpherson on Posted in Australia, General
On Friday the Minister for Industrial Relations announced the first prosecution in Queensland for industrial manslaughter under the Work Health and Safety Act 2011 (Qld) (the Act). The industrial manslaughter prosecution has been brought against Brisbane Auto Recycling Pty Ltd (Brisbane Auto) arising from the fatality of a worker killed by a reversing forklift on … Continue reading

The WHS Response to psychological health and a PCBU’s obligations

Photo of Nicki MilionisPhoto of Tanya PuriBy Nicki Milionis and Tanya Puri on Posted in Asia Pacific, Australia, General
Psychosocial hazards and work-related stresses are amongst the most challenging workplace health and safety issues. In recent times, there has been an increased focus by WHS regulators on ‘mentally healthy’ workplaces. Organisations are expected to have appropriate systems in place to eliminate or reduce psychosocial hazards, such as bullying and harassment, to effectively respond to … Continue reading

Marie Boland’s Review of the Work Health and Safety Laws, Part 3: Safe Work Australia‘s Consultation Regulation Impact Statement

Photo of Nicki MilionisPhoto of Tanya PuriBy Nicki Milionis and Tanya Puri on Posted in Asia Pacific, Australia, General
On 24 June 2019, Safe Work Australia released a Consultation Regulation Impact Statement (RIS) seeking feedback on the possible impacts of implementing the recommendations of the Marie Boland independent review of the model Work Health and Safety Laws final report (Report). In February this year, Marie Boland (former Executive Director of SafeWork SA) delivered the Report which found the model … Continue reading

Marie Boland’s Review of the Work Health and Safety Laws, Part 2: current status of industrial manslaughter provisions around Australia

Photo of Nicki MilionisBy Nicki Milionis on Posted in Asia Pacific, Australia, General
As reported in an earlier article on this blog, Marie Boland (former Executive Director of SafeWork SA) undertook the first review of the model Work Health and Safety (WHS) laws and delivered her report on 25 February 2019 (Report). The Report concluded that the model WHS laws are operating as intended and the “three-tier framework” … Continue reading

Update on case involving whether employee can be compelled to give evidence in a coronial inquiry

Photo of Nicki MilionisBy Nicki Milionis on Posted in Australia
The Full Court of the Federal Court of Australia (Full Court) handed down its decision on 15 February 2019 in Helicopter Resources Pty Ltd v Commonwealth of Australia [2019] FCAFC 25.  The case involves an appeal to the Full Court by Helicopter Resources Pty Ltd (Helicopter) arising from a decision of the Federal Court which … Continue reading

Can an employee be compelled to give evidence in a coronial inquiry where the employer is facing a WHS proceeding?

Photo of Nicki MilionisBy Nicki Milionis on Posted in Asia Pacific, Australia, General
A coronial inquiry being conducted at the same time as a criminal proceeding may constitute interference with the due administration of criminal justice amounting to contempt of court. A recent Federal Court decision[1] has considered whether the examination of an employee witness at an inquest will constitute ‘interference’ for the purposes of the criminal proceeding … Continue reading

The long-awaited ‘Independent Review of Occupational Health and Safety Compliance and Enforcement in Victoria’

Photo of Nicki MilionisBy Nicki Milionis on Posted in Asia Pacific, Australia
Despite being dated November 2016, the long-awaited report entitled ‘Independent Review of Occupational Health and Safety Compliance and Enforcement in Victoria’ (the review) was released on 18 December 2017, just in time for some light holiday reading.  At the same time the Victorian government response to the review was also released (the government response). The … Continue reading

High Court clarifies meaning of Victorian manual handling regulations

Photo of Nicki MilionisBy Nicki Milionis on Posted in Asia Pacific, Australia
The High Court has recently clarified the operation of the manual handling provisions in the Victorian Occupational Health and Safety Regulations 2007 (Vic) (the Regulations) in Deal v Kodakkathanath [2016] HCA 31 and held that a jury should have been allowed to hear and consider an injured employee’s claim that her employer breached the Regulations.… Continue reading
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