SafeWork SA and the Environment Protection Authority are conducting an ongoing audit to examine licence compliance among asbestos removalists in South Australia.

Fifteen percent of the state’s licensed asbestos removalists have already been audited between June 2012 and January 2013.

“The incorrect and illegal removal of asbestos, as well as its transport and dumping, remain areas of concern to SafeWork SA and the Environment Protection Authority (EPA),” said SafeWork SA Executive Director, Bryan Russell.

“For this reason, SafeWork SA and the EPA are auditing all asbestos removalists’ licences under the Asbestos Audit Project (the Project). The ongoing audit is assessing licence compliance and confirming that licensed operators are meeting their legal obligations to identify and control the risks associated with asbestos removal.”

So far, a total of 74 Statutory Notices were issued for non-compliance, as follows:

• One Prohibition Notice
• 73 Improvement Notices under the Occupational Health, Safety and Wlefare Act 1986 and the Occupational Health, Safety and Welfare Regulations 2010. Five of the Improvement Notices were for the safe storage and/or transit of asbestos waste.

More information about this can be accessed on the SafeWork SA website.

The van ended up on its side at around 2.45pm, two prison officers were able to extract themselves from the vehicle but a number of people were trapped inside.

Additional prison officers were sent to the scene of the accident to ensure that none of the prisoners, believed to be handcuffed, escaped.

A Corrective Services spokesperson confirmed that there were 12 prisoners and 2 guards on board travelling to Lithgow jail from the Bathurst Correctional Centre.

Five inmates were transported to hospital with non-life threatening injuries.

The report also revealed that two thirds of NSW support the mining industry and a huge 90% feel that it will be important for the state in the future.

The research was commissioned by the NSW Minerals Council and carried out by Crosby Textor

Stephen Galilee the CEO of the NSW Mines Council said at the conference in the Hunter Valley that the research showed that the majority of people in NSW supported mining and understood how important it is to the state.

He said that 83% of participants believe that the mining industry contributes a great deal to the NSW economy and whilst the purpose of the conference was to look at safety in the workplace one of the big risks for NSW Mining is the loss of essential investment in projects.

Mr Galilee said that the media has reported the loss of 1370 jobs in the NSW mining industry over the last 5 months and that uncertainty in the industry needs to be addresses to prevent more positions being lost.

The report sets out 67 recommendations to improve the scheme’s coverage, governance, workers’ compensation costs and legislative inconsistencies.

A number of the recommendations seek to align the Seafarers Safety, Rehabilitation and Compensation Act 1992 with the reforms recently proposed to the Safety, Rehabilitation and Compensation Act 1988 by Mr Peter Hanks QC.

It also recommends that the Occupational Health and Safety (Maritime Industry) Act 1993 be updated to make it consistent with the model Work Health and Safety laws where appropriate for the maritime industry.

“Consistent with the Gillard Government’s approach across work health and safety, we want to ensure we have an equitable and cost-effective workers’ compensation system which has an emphasis on rehabilitation and return to work,” said Mr Shorten.

“The maritime industry is vital to our economy. It is important that those workers and employers covered by the Seacare Scheme have a modern, best practice scheme that reduces the risk of injury in what is an inherently dangerous industry.

“We are committed to harmonising and modernising the Seacare Scheme to help injured workers recover quickly and return to work safely,” he said.

The Government commissioned the review in 2012 to make sure that the Seacare Scheme was useful and effective for Australian seafarers. The Scheme has not been comprehensively reviewed since its establishment in 1992.

“The legislation underpinning the Seacare Scheme has not kept pace with changes in harmonisation of work health and safety laws, workers’ compensation reforms or maritime reforms,” said Mr Shorten.

“This has made the scheme complex and resulted in uncertainties in determining which vessels are covered under the Scheme and which are covered under the various state or territory schemes.”

Minister Shorten will be consulting with Seacare Scheme stakeholders on the review’s recommendations.

Commissioner Mark McCabe is releasing two sets of guidance requirements for the supervision of apprentices.

They include a ban on trainees and apprentices working without the mandated supervision or working without the necessary accreditation.

Mr McCabe said that supervisors need to know that they are responsible for the safety of all their workers, especially apprentices who need a greater level of supervision over workers who are experienced.

He said that these two guidance notes restate the industry requirements and sanctions that are already in place. They are being released as a part of a campaign to improve safety by making sure that supervisors understand and observe these responsibilities.

The guidance notes also outline potential fines for corporations of $3million, and a $600,000 fine and up to 5 years imprisonment for individuals for breaches of the regulations.

White card certification is a requirement for all workers on a construction site prior to commencing work.

The White Card Game was the runner up at the Australian Learning Impact Awards.

The creator of the game Mark O’Rourke from Victoria University’s Serious Games Group said that research has demonstrated that training is just as valuable whether it is delivered in the virtual or real world.

He said that as long as the student is actively engaged in the game they will learn the information just as they would in real life, the advantage of the virtual world is that mistakes can be made without injury.

Mr O’Rourke said that this style of learning suits people that are more visual than verbal and who excel at hands-on learning. He said that trials of the game demonstrated that it was effective at bringing information that is potentially boring to life.

The White Card Game can be downloaded at their website.

The incident happened on Sunday afternoon, according to WorkSafe inspectors both received an electric shock when they inspected a power cabinet at the meatworks. They were flown to the Alfred Hospital in Melbourne for treatment.

A five year old boy was flung from a spinning carnival ride called the Frisbeem during a school fete near Toowoomba.

He received severe head injuries and was flown to the Mater Children’s Hospital with a suspected fracture of the skull.

According to witnesses he was at the top of the wheel of the ride when he was ejected from his seat. He landed on top of a fairy floss stall a number of metres away from the ride he had been on.

Police at the scene said that he may have slipped under the safety bar because he was too small for the ride.

Master Electricians Australia has called on The Western Australian Government to take illegal electrical work seriously, and to direct more inspection resources to discourage unsafe do-it-yourself electrical works in homes.

MEA urges the Government to do the following actions:

• Conduct major media campaign by highlighting electrical safety and the dangers of unlicensed electrical work
• Increase safety switch protection to all circuits
• Require mandatory point-of-sale signage to use licensed electrical contractors for electrical installations and equipments
• Mandate electrical safety inspections when homes change hands
• Establish an electrical safety hotline for unsafe and unlicensed work to be reported.

Master Electricians Australia state manager, Anthony Mancini said the Government should channel their resources into further educating the WA public on the perils of illegal electrical work.

“Rather than spending all of their time checking and double checking the work of licensed contractors who are submitting the appropriate paper work and abiding by electrical regulations, they should be alerting the public to the dangers of DIY or illegal work and following up on reported instances,” said Mr Mancini.

“This can be achieved through a number of simple tactics such as a media campaign highlighting electrical safety.

“There needs to be continued education of the WA public into the values of a Safety Certificate being received for any electrical work that has been undertaken on their homes.

“Safety switches should be installed on all circuits to prevent the risk of an electric shock should an electrical incident occur.

“With growing public awareness, WA can greatly reduce the risk of an electrical safety incident. We should be aiming for zero electrical accidents, fatalities or fires in the state.”

He also emphasized the importance of conducting a review and re-allocation of the current inspection resources.

“The State Government seems to focus their inspection resources on new homes wired by licensed electrical contractors and existing installations where contractors had submitted notices for their work,” he said.

“We need to look out of the box and focus on high risk areas such as DIY electrical work where no notices are submitted.

“We urge the WA Government to put forth a requirement for mandatory signage in stores selling electrical equipment that a licensed electrical contractor must be used for any electrical installations.

“Under current legislation two safety switches are required in WA homes but internal checks are not mandatory. Creating a mandatory home point-of-sale electrical check by an electrical contractor would ensure no illegal wiring exists in the home.

“Safety checks into unapproved fittings would also ensure electrical compliance and prevent fires and the risk of an electric shock.

“Lastly, we ask that an electrical safety hotline with a dedicated advertised number be established where illegal wiring or electrical work can be reported and immediate advice and necessary steps can be taken to prevent a serious electrical safety injury.”