Media Releases 2008

Thursday 4 December 2008

Don't get ripped off by trial work

SafeWork SA is warning South Australian employers that unpaid trial work is illegal.

View this Media Release from the link below.

Tuesday 2 December 2008

Fine for illegal asbestos removal

SafeWork SA is warning employers of the need to strictly follow guidelines and laws for the safe removal of asbestos.

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Friday 28 November 2008

Manufacturers fined over hand injuries

The SA Industrial Relations Court has imposed fines totalling $51,000 on two manufacturers, whose workers suffered serious hand injuries in separate incidents.

View this Media Release from the link below.

Friday 28 November 2008

Penalties over travelator fatality

Two companies have been fined a total of nearly $180,000 by an industrial magistrate today over the death of a worker in an incident involving a moving walkway or 'travelator' at Pasadena.

View this Media Release from the link below.

Friday 28 November 2008

Community-wide plan for asbestos safety in SA

Today is Asbestos Victims' Memorial Day and it will be marked in South Australia by the release of an Asbestos Safety Action Plan, designed to prevent death and disease from exposure to asbestos.

View this Media Release from the link below.

Friday 21 November 2008

Daylight Saving Consultation Extended

Extra time is being given to South Australians to have their say on the extended period of daylight saving.

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Thursday 13 November 2008

Crucial High Court decision on OHS appeal

The High Court, sitting in Adelaide, has effectively allowed two high profile prosecutions to proceed, by refusing leave to appeal in a matter concerning a key element of workplace safety prosecutions in SA.

View this Media Release from the link below.

Tuesday 11 November 2008

Extended hours for Help and Early Intervention Centre

From this weekend, Safework SA will extend the opening hours of its Help and Early Intervention Centre on a trial basis.

View this Media Release from the link below.

Saturday 8 November 2008

Awards highlight innovation and commitment

South Australia's leading safety-conscious businesses, employees and researchers were honoured at the 2008 Safe Work Awards, presented in Adelaide last night by the Minister for Industrial Relations, Paul Caica.

View this Media Release from the link below.

Friday 28 November 2008

SafeWork SA commits to NZ exchange visits

Three South Australian labour inspectors are heading to New Zealand to participate in an exchange programme designed to advance experience and knowledge between the two jurisdictions.

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Friday 7 November 2008

Safe Work award winners lead by example

Industrial Relations Minister, Paul Caica, has called on all South Australian employers and employees to follow the lead on workplace safety set by the winners of this year's Safe Work Awards', announced tonight.

View this Media Release from the link below.

Friday 7 November 2008

Bus company fined over driver's death

A prominent South Australian bus company has been convicted and fined $45,000 over an incident in Whyalla two years ago that resulted in the death of one of its drivers.

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Monday 3 November 2008

Longford and Piper Alpha anniversaries highlight need for safe work

The head of the SafeWork SA Advisory Committee, Tom Phillips, says the anniversaries of two major workplace disasters highlight the need to make occupational health and safety a 24/7 priority for the community.

View this Media Release from the link below.

Thursday 16 October 2008

VOID founder named safety ambassador

The founder of the support and lobby group, Voice of Industrial Death (VOID), Andrea Madeley, has been named an ambassador for the international Passport to Safety programme.

View this Media Release from the link below.

Monday 13 October 2008

Workplace safety in focus as Safe Work 2008 begins

A free community breakfast on the Port Lincoln foreshore this morning has kicked off South Australia's major programme of workplace safety events.

View this Media Release from the link below.

Friday 10 October 2008

S.E. farm company fined over hand amputation

A small farming company has been fined more than $18,000 over an incident in which its farm manager's hand was amputated.

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Monday 22 September 2008

$13.5k fine for amputated fingertip

A major Pt. Lincoln employer has been convicted and fined in the SA Industrial Relations Court over a serious injury sustained by one of its workers on its production line.

View this Media Release from the link below.

Wednesday 17 September 2008

Employer fined after falling load injures worker

A Virginia vegetable wholesaler has been fined $24,000 today over an incident that left a 72 year old employee with a broken leg and put another at risk of injury.

View this Media Release from the link below.

Tuesday 16 September 2008

Warning on crane safety after new incident

SafeWork SA is urging construction firms to review their safety procedures surrounding the use of cranes after another incident today in Adelaide's northern suburbs.

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Friday 12 September 2008

Same machine, two injuries - $40k fine

A northern suburbs business that makes carpets for the car industry has been fined by an industrial magistrate after two workers were injured in near identical circumstances by the same machine on two separate occasions.

View this Media Release from the link below.

Thursday 11 September 2008

Three incidents under investigation

• Fatality near Prominent Hill
• Injury at Yankalilla
• Incident at Seacliff

View this Media Release from the link below.

Tuesday 12 August 2008

Investigation after work box falls 10 storeys

SafeWork SA is investigating a serious workplace incident at a city construction site.

Some time before noon, a work box (known colloquially in the building industry as a 'dogbox') hung from a crane, went into freefall while being hoisted aloft at the Coglin Street site being developed by Kyren Pty Ltd.

View this Media Release from the link below.

Friday 25 July 2008

Zinifex guilty over 2004 workplace death

The then-operator of the Port Pirie smelter has been found guilty of breaking workplace safety laws, following the death of a worker at the facility in 2004.

View this Media Release from the link below.

Friday 18 July 2008

Supreme court win in OHS appeal

A Full Bench of the South Australian Supreme Court has helped clear the way for prosecuting serious breaches of workplace safety laws, by clarifying a key point of law.

In a decision delivered yesterday, the Chief Justice John Doyle and Justices Gray and White unanimously dismissed a joint appeal lodged by Santos Limited and Diemould Tooling Services Pty Ltd.

View this Media Release from the link below.

Wednesday 18 June 2008

SafeWork SA Youth Survey goes online

SafeWork SA has opened an online survey to ask young workers about the workplace safety and industrial relations issues that affect them.

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Friday 13 June 2008

Penrice fined over ammonia leak and cooler explosion

A prominent soda ash manufacturer has been fined a total of $47,000 in the SA Industrial Relations Court over two separate incidents in 2005.

View this Media Release from the link below.

Friday 30 May 2008

Crane mishap incurs $26K fine

The collapse of a crane at a Pt. Augusta railyard in 2005 resulted in a lucky escape for the driver at the time and a $26,000 fine for the employer today in the SA Industrial Relations Court.

View this Media Release from the link below.

Thursday 8 May 2008

Latest Industrial Court Decisions

The dangers of working with pressurised systems and inadequate machine guarding have been highlighted in the latest penalties decided by the SA Industrial Relations Court.

Both prosecutions resulted from investigations conducted by SafeWork SA, after workers were seriously injured.

View this Media Release from the link below.

Monday 5 May 2008

Safety warning as farm activity intensifies

SafeWork SA is warning farmers not to take chances or cut corners on safety, as rain heralds the start of seeding work on properties across South Australia.

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Monday 28 April 2008

Honouring those who died at work

The release of balloons this morning will symbolise the lives lost at work in South Australia and conclude a church service to mark International Workers Memorial Day.

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Thursday 17 April 2008

Incident at Wayville Showgrounds

SafeWork SA is investigating an incident at the Wayville Showgrounds yesterday, in which three people suffered minor injuries.

View this Media Release from the link below.

Wednesday 9 April 2008

Penalty for electrocution fatality

The proprietor of an Adelaide sign installation business has been fined a total in excess of $46,000 over an incident in which one of his workers was electrocuted, and a second was put at risk.

View this Media Release from the link below.

Sunday 6 April 2008

National campaign to reduce hospital worker injuries

South Australia has joined a national campaign to reduce the number of slip, trip and manual task injuries sustained by non-clinical hospital workers.

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Friday, 4 April 2008

Daylight Saving ends Sunday

Industrial Relations Minister Michael Wright is reminding South Australians that daylight saving finishes this weekend.

View this News Release from the link below.

Monday 31 March, 2008

$18k safety lesson for new business owner

Anyone buying a new business is being urged to familiarise themselves with the safety measures of their acquisition and their full responsibilities under workplace safety laws.

View this Media Release from the link below.

Tuesday 18 March 2008

Labour hire company fined over teenage worker's injuries

SafeWork SA warns that labour hire companies have a significant duty of care towards young workers, following a decision yesterday in the SA Industrial Relations Court.

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Monday 17 March 2008

Ensuring the safety of Major Hazard Facilities

A range of industry experts and regulators are in Adelaide for the next two days to discuss the safety and security of major hazard facilities.

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Friday 7 March 2008

Investigators isolate point of winery structural collapse

SafeWork SA investigators have made substantial progress towards determining the cause of yesterday's major structural collapse at the Wirra Wirra winery at McLaren Vale.

View this Media Release from the link below.

Wednesday 5 March 2008

Adelaide to host international conference on safe work

Approximately 200 delegates representing about 40 nations will converge on Adelaide next week to discuss ways of making work safer and fairer.

View this Media Release from the link below.

28 February 2008

Whyalla firm fined after crane runs over worker

A Whyalla engineering company has been fined $32,000 plus costs over an incident in June 2005, that left a 34 year old man with multiple serious injuries after he was run over by a mobile crane.

View this Media Release from the link below.

Friday 22 February 2008

Fishing company fined over work experience injury

SafeWork SA says employers must treat work experience students as they would their own employees with regard to workplace safety.

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Thursday 7 February 2008

Fine for another forklift injury

The dangers of forklifts in the workplace have been highlighted again, following a conviction in the SA Industrial Relations Court.

On Monday, a Gawler fruit and vegetable business was fined a total of $21,500 for breaches of workplace safety laws, involving the provision of safe systems of work and keeping written statements on safe work procedures.

View this Media Release from the link below.

Friday 1 February 2008

Update on Cooper Basin Workplace Fatality

SafeWork SA has now completed on-site investigations into the incident near Moomba on Sunday 27 January, which resulted in the death of a worker.

View this Media Release from the link below.

Tuesday 29 January 2008

Investigations - Moomba and Adelaide

SafeWork SA investigators will spend at least another day on site inquiring into the incident which resulted in the death of a 36 year old Queensland man in the Cooper Basin in the state's far north over the long weekend.

Meanwhile, SafeWork SA was informed today that a 43 year old woman, injured in a workplace incident just over a week ago, had died in hospital.

View this Media Release from the link below.

Thursday 24 January 2008

Warning on harvest injuries

As the state's annual grape harvest begins early, SafeWork SA is calling on farmers and labour hire companies to ensure that workers' safety is given high priority.

View this Media Release from the link below.

Wednesday 16 January 2008

New resources to promote Work Life Balance

As part of the State Government's unique initiative on Work Life Balance, new resources are now available to help South Australians better understand the benefits of Work Life Balance, and implement appropriate programs in their workplaces.

View this Media Release from the link below.

Monday 7 January 2008

Warning on heat stress

As work resumes across South Australia following the holiday break, SafeWork SA is urging care be taken to avoid the ill-effects of heat stress, given the prevailing hot weather.

View this Media Release from the link below.